Page 8 - The Game February 2006

8 The Game, February 2006 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
Future Betting for the Kentucky Derby at Woodbine
Fundrasier held for veteran horseman Terry Shepler
By Harlan Abbey
Race-trackers are a strange breed; they'll do their best to beat each other in a race...but when tragedy strikes, they're "all for one."
More than 150 people attended a fund raiser for "hands-on owner" Terry Shepler at Furlongs in Fort Erie January 19; he was left partially paralyzed after an injury suffered from a fall while caring for his horse Nechisar, trained by his long-time friend Ralph Biamonte.
The charity event was organized by Chris Shepler, Terry's nephew and fellow horseman; Gary Chudobiak, who races as Circle J Ranch; and Thoroughbred Niagara, the new organization of those involved in Thoroughbred racing living in the Niagara Peninsula.
Entertainment was by The Spinz band, whose members include Chris Chudobiak, Gary's son. Many area businesses donated horse-related and gift packages for draw prizes.
"He is a person who always sees the glass as half full," Chris Shepler told those attending the event, "and I am sure he will be out of the hospital and back among the horses as soon as possible."
An account at the Niagara Credit Union has been set up for Terry Shepler to help pay for his mounting expenses. Visit www.thoroughbredniagara.com for more information.
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If I Could Do It All Over Again
Get Tied On
with Chaplain Shawn
It's early in the year and time for reflection for many people - this precedes an almost manic hope for those involved in horse racing. Reflection can include resolves to change, for better or worse, but doesn't have to. Often, we think about what we could or should have done with 20/20 hindsight. ("I knew I shouldn't have run that horse!"). Al Gore spoke frankly about his campaign defeat in 2000. "If I had to do it all over again, I'd just let it rip," Gore said a year ago. "To hell with the polls, the tactics and all the rest. I would have poured out my heart and my vision for America's future." That kind of passion and frankness was definitely missing in his speeches!
Maybe it's also missing in our lives. Horse racing is redundant work. Do a stall one day and you know you'll be doing it the next. Rarely do you go to the barn, (unless you're just starting out), and are told you'll be doing challenging and fascinating work today. It's usually the same ol', same ol',
just a different day.
Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his book When All You Ever Wanted Isn't Enough: The Search for Life That Matters told a story about an 85 year old woman from the hill country of Kentucky who was asked in an interview to look back over her life and reflect on what she had learned. Her answer was laced with wistfulness.
"If I had to do it all over." she said, "If I had my life to live over, I would dare to make more mistakes the next time. I would relax. I'd be sillier. I would take fewer things seriously. I would eat more ice
cream and fewer beans. I would have more actual troubles but fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who lived seriously and sanely hour after hour, day after day. I've been one of those persons who never went any place without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I'd travel lighter."
How does that sound to you? It sounds about right to me. After 85 years she had come to see things in proper perspective.
Generally, we live life in a state of
procrastination. Do we dare wait 85 years? Things that we think we can address down the road, (think years from now), sometimes pop up when we least expect it. Words we wished we'd said to loved ones are forever lost when those we care about pass away. Things we wished we had done are lost in an empty, unattainable space that cannot be accessed.
I know it's an old cliché, but we need to live each day like it's our last. Last December, I watched a Christmas play at a church in Maple. A young girl who was mentally challenged was part of the kid's choir. Although she didn't know all the words to each carol, she knew the first line, which she would
sing as loud as she could, hands clasped, head tilted back, eyes closed and a smile as large as Christmas. She didn't care what people thought, or who she offended. The two boys on either side grimaced in tandem as each song began, knowing this girl was going to belt out, off-key and loudly, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" or some other classic. I found that as the program progressed I couldn't wait for the choir to sing, as it meant that this girl's joyous expression of life as she knew it was about to be on display for the world to see. I saw her do some of the things the 85 year old woman wished she had done - take risks, be sillier, who cares what people think? I envied her.
At some point in your life, you may have to ask yourself the question, "If I could do it all over again, what would I do?" James 4:13-15 says: 13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not
even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." Maybe that point is now.
Racing fans don't have to wait until May to bet the Kentucky Derby.
For the first time ever at Woodbine, fans can wager on the Kentucky Derby in January, in March and in April with the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
The bet offers racing fans the opportunity to wager on Kentucky Derby contenders well in advance of the famed "Run for the Roses" at odds that may be more attractive than they would receive on Derby day. It is a minimum $2 wager and is a win bet only. There are no refunds in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
Winning payouts in all Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools are based on the odds that are in place on each wager- ing interest at the conclusion of
each respective pool.
The Kentucky Derby Future
Pool #1 was in January.
The KDFW Pool 2 is sched-
uled for March 2-5 and the third and final pool is set for April 6-9.
The 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, May 6.
The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager is also available.
Each pool in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and Oaks Future Wager will include 24 wagering interests. Those interests will include 23 horses chosen by a three-member committee of racing analysts and handicappers and the 24th wagering interest will be a mutuel field that consists of all other three-year-old thorough- breds.
Did You Know....
That Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze was North America’s leading jockey in 2005. The 47-year-old tallied 375 wins out of 1,247 starts riding at Bay Meadows. Jockey John Valezquez was the leading 2005 money earner with $20,799,923 winning 250 races from 1,147 mounts.
Texas based trainer Steve Asmussen was N.A.’s leading trainer in 2005 with 474 wins
out of 2,227 starts. Trainer Todd Pletcher was top money earner setting a new N.A. record for trainers with $20,867,842.
Michael Gill was leading owner in N.A. for the third consecutive year with 351 wins in 1,870 starts and earnings of $6,397,180 in 2005. Melnyk Racing Stables was second with 89 wins in 417 starts and $5,875,007 in earnings.
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