- The bill that would establish worker’s compensation coverage for jockeys in Kentucky by adding 1/10th of a percent to the mutual takeout will apparently die in the state Senate. It seems like a pretty painless way to cover the costs; I don’t think any bettor who calls himself a racing fan would object to such a relatively miniscule takeout hike; and those who do can go sit at a poker table with the other contemptible, despicable, loathsome, miserable, and vile people (and that's from a poker fan, folks). But some in the Senate don’t want to establish a precedent of providing insurance to independent contractors. Seems to me that jockeys are a pretty unique case, in that they engage in this particularly risky profession in an industry that provides jobs and lines the state coffers.
Matt Hegarty in the Form reports that another factor stalling the bill is the lack of breakdowns on the Polytrack surface at Turfway, and the fact that Keeneland is expected to install it too, leading to the hope that premiums will come down in the future. But the sunset clause in the proposed bill would allow it to expire or to be changed if warranted by such events. With tracks in the state currently providing coverage up to $1 million, the pressure on the lawmakers to act is diminished at this time.
- Two more horses in the Seldon Ledford stable have been found dead, these in Illinois. One recently claimed trotter was previously found deceased in his New Jersey barn.
Some Ledford horses have been transferred to other connections.
The pacers include Sleep Easy, a 4-year-old pacer who won four of five races when he was switched to the Ledford barn, and All Star Blue Jean, a 7-year-old pacer who turned in miles of 1:48.4 and 1:49.3 after being claimed for $50,000 and moved into Ledford's stable.- - Wild Fit is out of the Kentucky Oaks with a lung infection, and those who made her 8-1 in Pool 3 of the Oaks futures pool are out $4488. Yeah, that’s all, fortunately. The final pool of the Oaks attracted just $51,212, as opposed to $454,743 wagered on Pool 3 of the Derby.
His best previous winning time in 2006 had been 1:53.4. [NJ Star Ledger]
4 Comments:
...about Oaks futures, yeah, they're just not very popular...i might add, there are NO Oaks futures in Las Vegas this year...i've only been here six years, but this is the first year i haven't seen them...and unfortunately, it's probably the start of a trend...
...i just received a very strange Virtual Stable notification...Ron Ellis' supremely talented but long-absent sprinter Long Range Missile worked three furlongs @ Fairmount Park this morning...where the hell is Fairmount Park???...and what the hell is Long Range Missile doig there???...very strange...leads me to believe Ellis doesn't have him anymore...oh well, at least he's alive and kicking...
Fairmount Park is my first home track. It's in southern Illinios, in Collinsville, just accross the might Mississippi from St. Louis, Missouri. That where I learned to read the form, and place wagers. Illinios had the lowest betting age of any state--17. It didn't matter, though. If I could drive there, they figured I could place a bet.
Though the legal betting age in New York was 21 at the time, I used to bet at Roosevelt and Yonkers, (and occasionally Aqueduct), when I was 16 (and I looked closer to 13). I'd say I was stopped twice in all that time; it was such a joke.
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