Gomez favored in Jockey Bet

[clevfan]

November 4, 2009


Gomez favored in Jockey Bet

By Jennie Rees
courier-journal.com

ARCADIA, Calif. — Garrett Gomez, the two-time defending Eclipse Award winner, is the 3-1 favorite in the Breeders' Cup's new Jockey Bet, where fans can bet on which jockey will win the most Breeders' Cup races Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita.

Gomez is to ride in 11 of the 14 races, including favored Lookin At Lucky in the Saturday's Juvenile, favored Ventura in Friday's Filly & Mare Sprint and second-choice Gayego in Saturday's Sprint.

Louisville's Julien Leparoux is the 6-1 co-second choice with Frankie Dettori and Johnny Murtagh.

The Jockey Bet is for wins only. All bets must be placed before the first Breeders' Cup race Friday, the $500,000 Marathon. Other rules: If a jockey picks up additional mounts, any wins count toward his or her final total. If two or more entrants finish with the same number of wins, the results will be considered a dead heat, with multiple winners paid accordingly. Once the first leg is completed, all bets are final, and there are no refunds.

Betting numbers are assigned to 13 jockeys, with No.14 being a mutuel field covering all other jockeys. Gomez is No.1, Leparoux No.11.

Churchill simulcast

For the first time since 1999, Churchill Downs will be racing live during the Breeders' Cup simulcast. Admission gates will open at 11:30a.m. EST Friday and Saturday, with live racing starting at 12:40p.m. and the first Santa Anita race (non-Breeders' Cup) starting at 2:15 p.m. EST Friday and 1:05p.m. Saturday. There also will be advance wagering Friday on Saturday's card (there's no advance wagering Thursday for the Friday card). Regular admission and parking applies.

At Keeneland: Admission and parking are free, with drive-through betting windows open each day from 8a.m.-7 p.m. Dining reservations are still available by calling 859-288-4275.

Baffert on Zensational

Trainer Bob Baffert, after Sprint favorite Zensational drew the unfavorable (for a speed horse) No.1 post for the third time in five races: “He lives in the one-hole; that's his home. I ought to hang a haynet in there for him.”

Exacerbating the situation for the 3-year-old Zensational, who has beaten older horses in Grade I races in his last three starts, is the fact that fellow speedsters Cost of Freedom and 2008 Sprint runner-up Fatal Bullet drew posts 2 and 3.

“If they hook up, they're going to go 20-and-change (for the first quarter-mile), and he'll go with them because I can't stop my horse,” Baffert said. “So I'm at the mercy of those other two speed horses. But that's one of those things you can't worry about. He's got one style, one dimension, and he just goes. We don't know what he's made of for the second part of it.”