by Patricia N. Saffran

In April, I called Mary Jo Slonaker, the Cambridge City, Indiana authority on the horse Single G, who many consider to be the greatest Standardbred pacer of all time. He was born nearby on a farm in Centerville, Indiana, and Ms. Slonaker is the secretary treasurer of the Single G Association. I told her that I was going to do an article on him.

A few days later she said, “The whole town is excited. They’re going to plant new flowers around Single G’s monument so that we can take a better photo for you.” (The monument gives the horse’s dates, foaled 1910 died 1940, so the town is still honoring a horse that most today have never seen. The town marked Single G’s centennial on his birthday on April 4, 2010.)

Ms. Slonaker continued, “We used to have a Single G float, last seen in 1993, to mark the annual Indianapolis 500 Festival parade downtown, but now we just have the sign left, which I gave to the Richmond Museum nearby for their Single G Room.” I told Ms. Slonaker, “I don’t think there’s any European or American town that honors a horse in the way that your town does. I found out that you even have a mural devoted to the Single G on the side of the US Bank building downtown that was done very recently in 2010.” “Yes,” Ms. Slonaker said, “That mural is a big draw for tourists. It’s called ‘Single G in his Time’ by Pamela Bliss. People come from all over and drive to our town to see it. The honoring of Single G even extends into some of our residents’ homes. They have called me to say they have old wallpaper or hand painted décor of Single G that they refuse to redecorate or cover up. The town also has a thriving downtown with really good restaurants and shops, while other towns nearby are fading.”

Read more: Single G Remembered

The advancements in data and content sharing are tremendously valuable for anyone who handicaps a horse race. The world of technology makes the availability of wagering on races, via phone or computer, a dream for the horse player who remembers the days of running to the track, finding a bookmaker or searching for other "creative" alternatives.

Handicapping tools and publications abound such as Timeform, Thoro-Graph and The Ragozin Sheets all compile data to help a horseplayer gain an edge against a less-informed public.

There are great places where you can find today's horse racing events so both the serious punter and occasional player can enjoy convenience and data from tracks around the world.

Although websites accurately capture information such as odds, changes and track conditions, there are factors in handicapping which cannot be measured. For example, a track bias. There are some tracks which on some days may favor a closer. Other days, a speed horse. Sometimes, horses from the inside win. Other days, there is a "dead rail."

So, one day a horse on a speed-favoring track wins easily. A bettor who follows the racing game closely may remember that particular day where speed won. If the next day, the track favors closers, the sharp bettor may look elsewhere. However, this "speed track" favoring data is not easily quantified.

Other data that can't be measured is a bad trip. Sure, we can read in a past performance if a horse was checked repeatedly or swung five wide in the stretch, but no quantifiable number can be assigned to a bad trip - whereby 10 would be an excellent trip on a "golden rail" and one would be checked and bouncing repeatedly off that same rail.

Jockeys play a critical factor too as he/she has a key role in the outcome of the race. There are no statistic for "bad rides" or controversial trips such as grabbing a speed horse or sending a closer early in the race. Likewise, a rating of a 10 would reflect a rider who has a Midas touch and chemistry with this horse while a rating of a one would reflect a ride that's rubbish.

Some data is measureable - but perhaps not necessarily accurate. For folks who have never been to the backside on a busy morning where scores of horses are training are truly missing out on one of the most beautiful experiences in this game. There are mornings where so many horses are training, there is an opportunity for confusion and inaccuracies are bound to happen. For example, if a horse has a published work for three furlongs in :38, one hopes that this is correct. But, having owned race horses where a timed work in the morning is sometimes different than a published work in the Form leads an owner to scratch their head. People wager on this published data, often trusting its accuracy.

Fortunately, there is a lot of data available and with social media there's great transparency. Bettors can look at the same set of data and interpret it differently. Many smart players watch for trends and pick their spots. But, when playing a multi-race pick and one leg is just a bit too tough, there's always the ALL button!

The Editorial Team of EquineInfoExchange.com

There are lots of informative articles in our section on Horse Racing.

Exaggerator previously lost four races to Nyquist who entered the Preakness Stakes unbeaten. However, Exaggerator turned the tables on Nyquist on the sloppy track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD. Longshot Cherry Wine closed well finishing second and nosed out Nyquist who finished third. Interesting note: Exaggerator's sire, Curlin, won the Preakness Stakes in 2007.

Nyquist wins the 142nd Kentucky Derby and remains unbeaten after holding off Exaggerator in second with Gun Runner running third. Watch it again here!

The greatest two minutes are upon us, and we are excited to share Purina’s in-depth profile of American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.

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Enjoy and share this behind-the-scenes look at Kiaran’s captivating career.

Learn more at Purina Animal Nutrition LLC.

A Triple Crown winner -- and a local artist -- is adding new lustre to the jockeys now standing guard outside NYC's classic '21' Club.

Read the original article on the NY Post here...

On a 94-degree day this July, a heist appeared to happen in broad daylight on West 52nd Street.

One by one, 36 colorful iron lawn jockeys were yanked from their spots outside the iconic ‘21’ Club, where they guarded the doors to the dining room of the city’s cultural, political and business elite.

As six foremen spent four sweaty hours lugging the statues into a moving truck — the smallest jockeys on the stairs weigh 50 pounds, while the largest near the entrance top 200 — they attracted not only scores of passers-by, but the attention of New York’s Finest.

“The NYPD slowed down [to ask] the mover what the heck was going on,” Andrew Tedesco, 45, says.

The jockeys were headed to Tedesco’s home in Montclair, NJ, where the artist is currently putting the finishing touches on an eight-week, major refurbishment of them — marking the first time in the club’s 85-year history that the little iron men have been missing from its facade.

Read more: American Pharoah is now permanently hitched to the ‘21’ Club

American Pharoah edged by 16-1 long shot Keen Ice in Midsummer Derby

By Mark Singelais Updated 12:09 am, Sunday, August 30, 2015
Read the original article on Times Union here...

Saratoga Springs
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah walked down a dirt path back to his barn at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday afternoon, another beaten star at a track long known as the "Graveyard of Champions."

Eduardo Luna, his groom, held his lead shank and a pair of Saratoga Springs police officers followed behind. After a crowd of 50,000 cheered his every move before the Travers Stakes, now only a few onlookers on the backstretch snapped his picture and gave him a smattering of applause.

At 6:36 p.m., American Pharoah and his small entourage passed Barn 27. It's the summer home of trainer Dale Romans, who had just won his first Travers when a 16-1 long shot named Keen Ice passed a tiring American Pharoah in the final sixteenth to win by three-quarters of a length.

Inside his office, Romans slumped back in his leather swivel chair. The heavyset Kentucky trainer wore a white dress shirt that was soaked with sweat from the chest up. He hadn't shown up at the postrace news conference.

Read more: American Pharoah Upset in Travers

Read the original article on Times Union here.

NYRA trumpets appearance, reminds public event is sold out.
By Tim Wilkin Updated 6:37 pm, Sunday, August 23, 2015

American Pharoah is going to run in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday. Trainer Bob Baffert said as much Sunday morning after the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years worked six furlongs in a time of 1:10.98 (by Baffert's stopwatch) at Del Mar Race Track in San Diego.

"He went very well, a real positive move," Baffert said by cellphone as he was watching American Pharoah get his bath following the work. "I needed to see something like that. We have his bags packed (for Saratoga). Right now, everything is set in play. He had to 'wow' me and he did that. I've been looking for an excuse not to come (to the Travers) and I can't find one."

The official word won't come until Monday, after a physical examination shows the horse was not impacted by Sunday's workout. But it looks like it's all but official. The New York Racing Association officially announced the appearance already - along with a reminder that only pre-paid tickets, season ticket holders or those with table reservations will be able to get into the 50,000-plus event.

American Pharoah is scheduled to leave California and fly to Albany International Airport on Wednesday. Baffert said the only possible glitch would be if American Pharoah does not come out of the work in good shape, but he doesn't anticipate that happening.

"He is great today," Baffert said. "As long as he is great (Monday), things look good."

The Travers purse is currently $1.5 million. If American Pharoah is in the starting gate, the value of the race is $1.6 million. The New York Racing Association has put a cap on attendance at 50,000. All tickets for the event are sold out.

There will be no tickets available.

Read more: American Pharoah is coming to Saratoga