Finding Your Lon Kyng

 One of my favorite all-time gambling movies is Any Number Can Play from MGM in 1949 starring Clark Gable and Alexis Smith as Charley and Lon Kyng.  Gable plays the proprietor of upscale gambling joint - complete with horse book ("still got a couple more races - Western tracks") - called Charley's.  He is suffering health ills from the stress of running the operation for 20 years and is advised by physician to slow down.  Entire movie told in single long night with thunder storms looming and Charley staring down both business and personal challenges.  

Directed by one of the founding members of Hollywood Park - Mervyn LeRoy - and with screenplay by legendary Richard Brooks adapted from book by Edward Harris Heth, Any Number Can Play has strong supporting cast led by Mary Astor and  many MGM regulars including Audrey Totter, and Frank Morgan.  Lewis Stone's role as down on his luck old gambler Ben Snelerr is particulary poignant for anybody who knows similar characters from racetracks or casinos.  

Gable is perfect as Charley playing the benefactor for gamblers down on their luck with early scene providing money for degenerate woman horseplayer who pawned her wedding ring as well as supporting never well brother-in-law Robbin (played by Wendell Corey) who is cheating Charley as crooked craps dealer to pay off gambling debts.  

Gable's son Paul is shamed that his reputation at school suffers the shame of his father running a gambling joint.  Gable's defense of gambling to his son is a classic:

"Let me tell you something about gambling.  You know how many decks of cards were bought last year?  Over 60 million.  And more than 5 million pair of dice.  I didn't use all of them believe me.  More than half the people gamble.  And I didn't force one, not one, to come to my place.  Over $6 billion was bet on the horses last year.  $70 million collected in taxes from racetracks.  Legally.  You can buy horse racing shares of stocks legally.  People gamble on bridge, football, fights, poker, the lottery, the weather, there's pinball machines, punch boards, bingo.  In this town, gambling is open.  If you don't gamble, you might say you're not supporting your city government.  In some places, you can even place a bet as to how long you are going to live.  Wrong? Maybe it is.  But I'm not smart enough to judge over half the population.  And honest kid, I don't think you are old enough to judge your father."

Alexis Smith as wife and mother Lon Kyng is the focus here.  From the opening shot of her taking phone call from Charley all the way to closing scene,  she plays the rare role of a woman supporting her man in his gambling endeauvors as well as his life.  I've watched a lot of gambling movies and can't recall a similar supportive female character. An early scene has her showing Charley hidden room with memories from their early days including tickets stubs from 1931 World Series:

Lon:  "That's where we spent our honeymoon watching Pepper Martin steal bases.  

Charley"  "Who won?"

Lon: "I don't know who won the series but you won a lot of money." 

The strong relationship between Charley and Lon is at the heart of Any Number Can Play and her rallying at end of movie when told by grand dame Sarah Calbern (played wonderfully by Marjorie Rambeau) "You better get all the cash you've got honey, he's going to need it" in middle of epic crap game to bring cash and jewels from years of anniversaries saying "We might as well be partners all the way" brings lump in throat to any gambler.  

At virtually same time as Any Number Can Play was released in July 1949, MGM released The Great Sinner - an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Gambler starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner.  The Great Sinner's leaden production bombed at the box office while Any Number Can Play provided MGM healthy profit on one of the best gambling movies ever.  

Future of Daily Racing Form

Buying and purchasing printed version of Daily Racing Form has been part of my life for decades. Growing up in an area without a racetrack, the Form would be shipped to town via bus from Chicago and made available at downtown newsstand on day of races.  Starting with buying Racing Form on Kentucky Derby Day and expanding to getting Form to other major racing days like Arlington Million Day.  Going to college in Evanston, walking down to the Chicago Main Newsstand - in all forms of weather -  to pick up the next day's Form was almost daily part of routine.

Watching Daily Racing Form's struggles in the past two decades has been painful.  Not that this situation is significantly different from other print publications like daily newspapers and magazines in Internet era.  Other racing publications like Blood Horse are also struggling with print edition  - detailed well by Ray Paulick in 2012:  https://www.paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/loss-of-the-thoroughbred-times-and-then-there-was-one/

It has been reported this week that Churchill Downs is not  allowing Daily Racing Form to be sold onsite at the track and CDI has started providing free past performances for both Churchill and Fair Grounds via their BRIS information provider:  https://www.brisnet.com/product/tracks/USA/TB/CD

Blood Horse and TDN offer invaluable daily updates on horse racing industry with TDN's offering providing more international content.  For most racing fans, both are must reads to stay on top of what is going on in the industry.

Daily Racing Form's editorial content has been increasingly thinned over the past decades to the point that only Thursday-Sunday editions have significant content.  DRF.com had much of this content behind firewall with the site recently loosening firewall to provide 30 free articles per month.  DRF.com is producing digital edition of printed form with PPs for 3-4 racetracks for cost of $6 per single edition (less if purchased monthly or annually).  DRF.com seems to be transformed every 9-12 months with recent emphasis on signing up bettors to drfbets.com - Daily Racing Form's ADW site using XpressBet as their delivery platform.

As reader of both Racing Post (UK daily racing paper) and Paris Turf (French daily racing paper),  DRF digital edition is lacking many features including ability to use it off-line as well as a price tag more than double the European counterparts.


The printed version of DRF increases price on regular/annual basis much to chagrin of regular readers with my edition stating price is $10 ontrack and $11 offtrack.

The path forward for Daily Racing Form to this observer seems clear:  Provide free daily digital edition of Daily Racing Form focused on stakes previews and recaps, wagering, handicapping contests, and sports wagering supported mainly by advertising from ADW's, racetracks, global racing operators, handicapping contest hosts and handicapping content providers.  Unlike Blood Horse Daily and TDN, Daily Racing Form has the advantage of being trusted information source for horseplayers and currently are not leveraging this to full extent.  Providing daily digital edition of DRF - with ability to upgrade to purchase PP and handicapping packages tailored to user preferences - is most logical path forward for future sustainability.  Racetrack situations like Churchill Downs - where printed version is not available - are likely to become the norm rather than the exception in the decade ahead due to steep cost of publishing and distributing printed DRF edition and cheaper printed and digital alternatives.

150th Anniversary of Birth of Pittsburgh Phil

George Ellsworth Smith was born in Sewickley, PA one hundred and fifty years ago today.  Nicknamed Pittsburgh Phil during his time in Chicago wagering on horses, he was the most famous and successful horseplayer of his era.   He lived for only 42 years - until February 1, 1905.  He would see only the beginning of the automobile era but likely had the prescience to see how the "horseless carriage" would eventually replace the horse in the day to day activity of most people.  He would not live to see the closing of the great metropolitan tracks of New York in 1910 due to anti-gambling legislation and would also not see the rebirth of horse racing with the advent of parimutuel wagering in the 1920s and 1930s. 

It's tempting to imagine Pittsburgh Phil living to the old age of 86 as his fellow Pennsylvanian gambler and horse owner Colonel Edward R. Bradley did.  Perhaps settling down in the Bluegrass after the New York tracks shuttered and living the life of a horse breeder and helping to finance his brother and nephew in baseball team ownership.  Continuing to enjoy traveling to his beloved Hot Springs and seeing the birth and growth of Oaklawn Jockey Club. 

The opening paragraph of his biography in the book American Turf in 1898 still rings true today - 150 years on:

"His experiences have to a remarkable degree, constituted one of the most romantic sides to racing affairs in this generation.  Could his biography be recounted in full, it would be most interesting reading, and full of suggestiveness as illustrating the opportunities that the turf affords to a young man of capacity and dash."

July 5, 1969 - Hope Goddard Iselin and Sir Henry Cecil

Forty three years ago today, Henry Cecil won his first major race - the 82nd running of the Eclipse at Sandown Park.  The winner was a 5 year old named Wolver Hollow - the horse was named after the Upper Brookville, Long Island estate of her 101 year owner - Hope Goddard Iselin whose husband was the famed yachtsman of his day - C. Oliver Iselin.  It was the final start of Mrs. Iselin's long career on the turf in both American and in England and likely her richest winner.  She had grown disenchanted with the commercialization of American racing in the early 1960s but maintained her stable in England where she was quoted as saying "There I am treated like a lady, instead of a business corporation" (NY Times, April 6, 1970).  She would disperse her stable (8 horses including Wolver Hollow who was given to her longtime trainer Sir Cecil Boyd Rochfort who had retired the previous season) in the following week. When Mrs. Iselin died the next April at the age of 102, she would leave Hopelands Gardens to the City of Aiken where she maintained a residence for many years and helped to develop the area as a winter training area for racing.  Today this is the location of the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame & Museum - a beautiful spot of racing history in South Carolina. 

Sir Henry Cecil will turn 70 in January and is believed to still be in the business of training top-class thoroughbreds. 

Bold Venture & I'll Have Another

Bold Venture was the last Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner to scratch from the Belmont Stakes due to injury before I'll Have Another was scratched yesterday morning.  Bold Venture was scratched with a tendon injury after working six furlongs on May 25, 1936.  The New York Times reported this in story the next day on page 33 (of a paper that was likely larger than the one published today) with no mention of the phrase "Triple Crown" in the story.  "This trouble was not entirely unexpected, since the colt was unsound as a 2 year old."

The story was not viewed as that significant because the sport of horse racing in 1936 was so much more than a series of three races for 3 year old colts in the spring.   The previous weekend had seen a black gelding named Rushaway - a castoff from the powerful Joe Widener stable - win the Illinois and Latonia Derby back to back on Friday and Saturday - an unheard of feat in modern racing.  The 50th Suburban was scheduled to be run on the next Saturday - a race won by Firethorn who got up in the last jump to beat Belair Stud's latest great 3 year old Granville by a nose.   A week later - June 6 - Granville would return to the races to win the Belmont Stakes by a nose with the legendary racing official Walter Vosburgh on hand to see his 68th (all) running of the race.  This was during the same time that the 1935 Triple Crown winner Omaha was making his dramatic bid for Gold Cup glory at Royal Ascot - failing by a short head to win with jockey Rufus Beasley losing his whip during stretch run.

Now that I'll Have Another has been scratched, we do have some stories like these - Wesley Ward's contingent has landed at Newmarket in preparation for their assault on Royal Ascot - but there is very few notices in mainstream media outlets or what is left of them.  I don't believe we also have the storytellers that we had in 1936 - the ones who could weave the wonderful tales from the horses and characters  from the turf.

That's why the scratch of I'll Have Another is a noticeably larger story today that the last occurrence when Bold Venture scratched in 1936.

North American Racing - Saturday, May 12, 2012

1:54 p.m. ET - Belmont - 3rd - 7F - You & I - 3yo - Quintet of sophomore sprinters including Hopeful winner Currency Swap after his disastrous debut around two turns in the Illinois Derby and Capossela winner - Bay Shore 2nd (to Trinniberg) Hardened Wildcat for trainer Chad Brown and New Farm.

Currency Swap gets on easy lead and wires field as 3-2 second favorite - Hardened Wildcat unable to close in stretch as even money favorite.  

3:30 p.m. ET - Belmont - 6th - 6F Inner Turf -  Genuine Devotion - 3&up - F&M - 12 entered (2 are Main Track Only, 3 entries) for this overnight turf sprint stakes including three that were imported after racing in Europe last year.  Martin Schwartz' Whipsaw City likely to be the favorite off two turf wins at Gulfstream with Julian Leparoux up.

Whipsaw City scratched.  Tony Dutrow trained Going to Kukaro - 6-5 favorite - goes to lead under Castellano and holds off Trix in the City.

4:27 p.m. ET - Lone Star - 5th - 1 1/16 - Texas Stallion - 3yo C&G - TX bred -  7 starters (two horse entry of owner Will Farish) led by the 1-2-3 finishers in the Jim's Orbit at Sam Houston on February 18 and Como Se Llama off an allowance win at Oaklawn in his first route try.

WS Farish's homebred Boca Bay wins under Luis Q at 3-1 (part of Farish entry) by a half lenght over 11-10 favs Sword Trick for Clarence Scharbauer Jr.

4:45 p.m. ET - Delaware Park - 8th - 1 1/16 - Winter Melody - 4&up F&M - Opening day at Del Park celebrating 75 anniversary season (opened 1937, didn't race in 1943 and 1983 so it's 74th year of racing at track) and the road to the July 21st Del Cap begins!   7 evenly matched distaffers with edge perhaps to Farnsworth Stables' Bahama Bound trained by Tony Dutrow who finished 3rd to Tiz MizSue (while running for Lael Stables) in 2011 running.

Bahama Bound scratched - Tony Dutrow's only entry of North Freeway wired field by widening four and a quarter lengths as 7-5 favorite.  

4:49 p.m. ET - Woodbine - 8th - 1 1/16 - Marine - 3yo -  Field of six led by two Todd Pletcher shippers from Keeneland including Spiral 2nd Winstar Farm's Holiday Promise and the Lexington 70-1 winner Sll Squared Away trained by Wesley Ward.  Locals offer up the first two finishers from the Wando on April 21 - Kinghaven Farms' homebred Incredicat trained by Ian Black and Classic Bryce.

Locals run 1-2 with Strait of Dover winning by six and a half lengths at 11-2 over Classic Bryce.  Pletcher trainees run 3rd & 4th and All Squared Away beaten in 5th.  

5:03 p.m. ET - Hollywood - 3rd - 7F -  17th Laz Barrera Memorial - 3yo - Quartet led by two of the top 3 year old sprinters in country - Bob Baffert trained Drill and Jack Carava trained America Act.  These two battle the length of the stretch in the San Vicente in February with Drill getting win by a neck.  The other two - Gun Boat trained also by Baffert and Boompa trained by Gary Mandella - are lightly raced talented upset possibilities.

Drill wins by a half-length over American Act as 6-5 favorite.  Connections have two of the best one-turn horses in country with Secret Circle also in stable.  

5:06 p.m. ET - Belmont - 9th - 1 1/8 - 58th Peter Pan - 3yo - Nice field of 12 entered for this prep for the Belmont Stakes on June 9.  7 winners of the Belmont have won this race with AP Indy being the last twenty years ago.  FG Stakes runner up Mark Valeski for Brereton-Larry Jones, Barry Schwartz' The Lumber Guy off win in the Jerome, and Magnolia Racing's Street Life are the headlines but all appear to have a shot in here running the longest one turn race in America.

Dominant performance by Mark Valeski with Rosie Napranvik up winning by a length and a quarter as 13-10 favorite for the Jones Boys of Larry and Brereton. 

5:18 p.m ET - Monmouth - 10th - 6F - Decathlon - 3yo & up -  Opening day at The Shore's Greatest Stretch for 67th season of racing!  Field of nine entered (Comedero and Flat Bold are also in the Diablo at Belmont on Thursday - Monmouth looks the easier spot) led by Robsham Stables' Soaring Stocks who rattled off three straight at Gulfstream for Todd Pletcher and Godolphin's Bank Merger making his seasonal debut for Kiaran McLaughlin with Joe Bravo up.  Longview Drive for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer tries grass for the first time. None of his siblings - including half brother Pyro (2008 2 year old champion) and half-sister stakes winning War Echo - have ever ran on turf.

Ponzi Scheme won at 12-1 with spill wiping out 5 of the 8 runners

http://www.drf.com/news/monmouth-ponzi-scheme-takes-spill-marred-decathlon

5:23 p.m. ET - Lone Star - 7th - 1 1/16 - Texas Stallion - 3yo F - TX bred -  8 starters (two horse entry of owner Tom Durant) led by 1-2-4 finishers of the Two Altzano at Sam Houston on February 18. 

Luis Quinonez sweeps the Lone Star stakes on Saturday taking the filly version with Im a Bear as part of 2-1 2nd favorite Tom Durant owned entry.

7:15 p.m. ET - Golden Gate - 7th - 1 1/16 Turf - Alcatraz - 3yo -  Field of seven with four shipping up from SoCal led by Pasadena and Eddie Logan winner Chips All In for Jeff Mullins and John Sadler trained Stoney Fleece whose last win was in the Generous last November at Hollywood Park.

SoCal raiders take first three spots with Stoney Fleece at 5-2 defeats Chips All In by a nose.

10:37 p.m. ET - Prairie Meadows - 8th - 6F - John Wayne -4up C&G - 11 Iowa bred sprinters led by top 3 finishers from 2011 edition including winner Mutti Blues, Wings of War who has won 3 of 4 this year including two at Oaklawn, and the 7 year old gelding Kate's Main Man - earner of over $500k - looking for his first win in ten months.

Trainer Chris Richard's two starters - Mutti Blues and Cresco Direct Hit dueled with the latter pulling away to win by a length and a half at 7-2.

North American Racing - Friday, May 11, 2012

Lincoln Race Course in Nebraska begins final meeting of 29 days through July 8th.  Track will keep open simulcast facility through September 2013 but demolition of horse barns will begin in September to allow for more parking for University of Nebraska basketball games (WTF???).  Plans for new mile racetrack in Lincoln are being finalized. 

2:41 p.m ET - Woodbine - 4th - 7F - AlwN1X - 3yo F - 2nd career start for Johannes after winning wire to wire by widening 11 1/2 lengths in debut in MSW at Woodbine earning 96 Beyer.  She is a half-sister to Devereux who ran 2nd in Matt Winn at CD in 2008 and faces six rivals. 

7-20 favorite Johannes beaten into third with 9-1 Man Stuff wiring the field under Eurico Rosa da Silva. 

2:58 p.m. ET - Belmont - 5th - 7F Turf - OC25k/N1X - 3up F&M - Full field on the lawn in the middle of a Belmont Friday card that has four New York bred races.  Trainer Jimmy Toner was 0 for 24 since moving stable from Aqueduct last fall but his last three starters have all been winners including Winter Memories winning the Beaugay on Saturday.  He sends out 4 year old Fire Assay out of the millionaire mare Jostle in her first start in four months.   Steve Klesaris saddles Minestrone - half sister to millionaire Riboletta (who won the majority of money on the dirt) .  Trainer Mike Stidham looks for his first win on the New York circuit in over a year with Cobra Farm homebred Sweet Miss Avery.  Kiaran McLaughlin sends out likely favorite in Darley homebred Questing who was stakes-placed in England last year and finished 5th in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies race in her only dirt start. 

Irish bred Sylvestris scores in her 3rd American start for Bobby Barbara at 19-1 with Darley's Questing running 5th as 35-20 favs.  

6:32 p.m. ET - Arlington - 6th - 6F - OC40k/N2X - 3up - The Ingrid Mason 3 year old trainee Apprehender may be one of the fastest 3 year olds in the Midwest.  His mother was the very quick Missy's Mirage trained by Allen Jerkins and his last race was frontrunning 2nd in the Bachelor at Oaklawn.  He faces a tough field of seven older sprinters

Synth negates the speed of Apprehender who finishes last in field of five as 11-10 favs - Savoy Stable's Conchacer wires field as 8-5 2nd favorite for trainer Dale Bennett.

8:31 p.m. ET - Lone Star Park - 3rd - 4 1/2F - MSW - 2yo - 10 entered included two entries from the W. Bret Calhoun barn and one from Steve Asmussen.  Sleeper may be Poindexter Thoroughbreds homebred Redstone Mist trained by Francisco Bravo who has won 2 of 5 two year old first timer starts in past five years.

Jockey Larry Taylor wires field on 16-1 longshot Pardonmecomingthru by a neck over 2-1 favorite Miss Goodthing from the Asmussen barn.  Redstone Mist checks in 5th at 13-1.

10:37 p.m. ET - Prairie Meadows - 8th - 6F - Mamie Eisenhower - 4up F&M - Evenly matched field of six led by 6 year old mare Sakakawea who is going for her third consecutive win in the stakes and her 10th win in 20 career starts.She has to beat 4 year old challengers Someplace Else trained by Kelly Von Hemel and Ginger Added trained by Dick Clark.

Sakakawea wires field to take her third straight Mamie Eisenhower at 7-2 for her 10 win in 20 career starts and 9 win in 11 Prairie Meadows races. 

11:35 p.m. ET - Hollywood - 4th - 6F - OC80k/N1X - 3yo F - Baffert sends out half sister to Soldat  - My Selection - for third lifetime start after fading to last in field of four last time on the slop at Santa Anita.  She faces four rivals including Cal bred Heleonor Rugby making her 11th career start for trainer AC Avila having already earned $231k running mainly in Cal bred races.

My Selection wins her 2nd start at 3-1 by three quarters length under Rafael Bejarano.

North American Racing - Thursday, May 10, 2012

4:29 p.m. ET - Churchill - 8th - AlwN1X - 1 1/16 - 3up - Another Flower Alley 3 year old likely to be favorite in field of 7 - Neck 'n Neck who returns to allowance ranks after finishing middle of pack in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby meets five 4 year olds and one other 3 year old - Eddie Kenneally trained Quiet Man shipping in off two straight wins at Aqueduct.

3-10 favs Neck 'n Neck widened throughout the lane to win by 6 1/2 lengths - likely to go back into stakes next time out in the  Matt Winn on Foster Day at Churchill. 

4:34 p.m. ET - Belmont - 8th - Diablo overnight stakes - 6F - 3up - Top notch field of seven led by Grade I winner Jersey Town who gets rematch against Todd Pletcher trained Travelin Man who defeated him at Gulfstream two months ago by a half-length on Florida Derby Day.  Field also includes Rick Dutrow trained This Ones for Phil and the quickest Arkansas bred in years - 5 year old gelding Comedero (throw out the last stinker at Keeneland).

 7-1 Royal Currier shook loose from Comedero entering at the quarter pole and drew off to a comfortable win under Rajiv Marah.  Travelin Man broke poorly and never got into the race.