Las Vegas Review-Journal

Strange incident almost overshadow­ed Breeders’ Cup

- MIKE BRUNKER Mike Brunker’s horse racing column appears Fridays. He can be reached at mbrunker@reviewjour­nal. com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter.

LAST weekend’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar lived up to its promise, delivering sensationa­l internatio­nal racing at an amazing venue.

Unfortunat­ely, the single serious snafu — a strange starting gate incident that led to the removal of an entrant from the betting pools in one of the Breeders’ Cup races — was the hottest conversati­on topic when it was over.

As recounted here, the 14 horses in Friday’s nightcap, the $1 million Juvenile Turf, had been loaded in the gate and were awaiting the start when a ruckus erupted in the inside stalls. No. 2, Albahr, flipped in the gate and was scratched. So, too, was No. 1 Modern Games, at least briefly.

It was quickly discovered that the horse had been wrongfully removed due to a series of miscommuni­cations, so the stewards allowed the Godolphin-owned son of Dubawi to race, albeit for purse money only.

If you don’t already know, Modern Games won nicely in the one-mile race, finishing 1½ lengths clear of Tiz The Bomb, while the latter was the winner as far as the parimutuel pools were concerned.

The connection­s were delighted to collect the $520,000 winner’s share of the purse, I’m sure, as were those lucky folks who wagered on Tiz The Bomb to win. But countless bettors around the world who backed Modern Games were given the royal shaft.

Those who bet Modern Games to win, place or show got their money back at least, though they had to endure watching their horse cross the finish line in front. But those who used the horse in multi-race wagers were doubly burned, as their bets were transferre­d to the post time favorite, Dakota Gold. He finished fifth, as if it mattered.

If anything good comes from this colossal failure, it should be a universal rule allowing bettors to designate alternate selections in exotic wagers if one of their horses is scratched. It’s really not rocket science, as the technology was available back when I was filling out paper Pick 6 tickets at Bay Meadows in the 1980s.

‘Find an Irishman’

I discovered a new handicappi­ng angle at a post-race celebratio­n at the Pennant bar in Mission Bay, where I encountere­d a gaggle of wildly celebratin­g 30-somethings who, it soon became clear, had made a big score at the Breeders’ Cup that day.

It turns out, several of them had bet the exacta on the top two finishers in the Distaff — Japan-based

Marche Lorraine, the winner at odds of 49-1, and runner-up Dunbar Road, herself a 12-1 shot. The return was $513.30 for each dollar wagered, and they, I was told, had it multiple times.

When I asked one of the celebrants how they’d managed to come up with those horses, he replied that he’d never been to a horse race until that day, so had asked a friend with a little knowledge of the game how to decide which horses to bet on. His friend responded that the best technique he knew was to “Find an Irishman and see who he likes.”

A short time later, near the crowded Del Mar paddock, the neophyte heard someone saying “Excuse me, excuse me” with a noticeable Irish accent and buttonhole­d the gent to find out who he liked. The Irishman replied that he was all over the 10 and 11, numbers that turned out to correspond with the winner and runner-up.

So there you have it. The next time my handicappi­ng heads south, I might just have to give it a try.

William Buick, left, rides Modern Games to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf race last Friday.

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Gregory Bull The Associated Press
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