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Kudos go to the California Horse Racing
Board as they gave Bay Meadows another
chance to shine and will grant them days
for the 2008 season. The end of an era
was close, but cooler heads prevailed and
Northern California fans will have one
more year to lay it in and get some glory.
Next action for the Meadows is in about
six weeks, but it’s never too early
to get a jump on the competition so check
out this info. This track has always held
a special place in my heart. It was my
base of operation when I first came west
and tried to make a living betting the
horses.
The days were long, it was about an hour
drive from my home in San Jose, and the
lessons learned were tough to swallow.
I learned quickly that racing at Monmouth
Park and Bay Meadows were two completely
different animals and that class had nothing
to do with speed and speed was king in
the West.
I went to the track so often I got in
free. People thought I worked there. I
would just go to the employee gate, put
on a snarl, and say I work for Greenman
and just blow past the security.
Greenman was the Silver Fox, trainer Walter
Greenman, who would smooze daily with owners
at the bar in the afternoon and be up at
the crack of dawn the next morning doing
a better job than most conditioners at
the track. He was one of my first California
folk heroes of the game.
The Silver Fox is long gone and Jerry
Hollendorfer now is king but other guys
that stir the drink in the training department
in NoCal include super sharp Art Sherman,
Mickey Martin, Steven Miyadi, Greg Gilchrist,
Tony Diaz and the betting barn of Andy
Mathis.
Bettors have to pay extra attention to
any runners from those barns.
The key to having a winning return on
investment in Northern California is trying
to beat Russell Baze. His mounts are always
over bet and if you can find a false favorite
among them, you are on your way to winning
cash.
Look for riders like David Lopez and more
importantly Carlos Silva to offer betting
value every day. Silva, with 10 less mounts,
tied Baze for top rider at the recently
concluded Solano meeting.
A few special things have occurred at
Bay Meadows over the years and those things
should be mentioned.
The track did its part for the country
as it remained open during WW II by virtue
of an agreement to put 92% of its profits
toward the war effort.
The first horse ever to be transported
by plane, El Lobo, went from L.A. to the
Bay Meadows parking lot to basically change
the way the game is played.
Bill Shoemaker started his career galloping
horses at the Meadows and his first stakes
win came there in 1949. And runners that
raced at Bay Meadows are a virtual who’s
who of the game.
Seabiscuit raced there. Triple Crown winner
Citation raced there, as have Kentucky
Derby winners Determine, and Majestic Prince.
The inaugural winner of the Breeders’ Cup
Classic, Wild Again, raced over the surface;
as did the venerable two-time Horse of
the Year John Henry.
For once, the heads that live in the ivory
tower have made a wise decision and have
saved, for now, at least 500 jobs. Let’s
hope the reprieve gives those people a
chance to regroup and come back even stronger.
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Posted on 7/20/2007
4:53:00 PM
THE REPRIEVE - BETTING ON HORSES
By Brian Mulligan
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