You Bet is the latest ADW to drop the Colonial Downs signal, making it nearly impossible for some horseplayers to bet on the New Kent, Va. track.

You Bet sent out an email to players on Wednesday that said in part, “Because you wagered on Colonial Downs with us this year, we wanted to inform you that Colonial Downs is not available on Youbet.com as of Tuesday, June 23rd until further notice. Please accept our regrets for any inconvenience this may cause.”

That leaves TVG as the only major ADW taking Colonial Downs. Premier Turf Club is taking wagers on the track but does not provide video.

I decided to open my You Bet account (which had laid dormant since 2005) to use the video for Colonial Downs.

They wanted $17.95 per month, or $2.50 per day to access the video. I sent customer service an email to ask how to switch my plan to the $2.50 plan, and had to wait five days for their customer service department to respond to the email.

It took me all of three minutes to respond back canceling my service to You Bet.

The problem is stemming from a new law that goes into effect on July 1 that stipulates that out of state ADW’s pay Colonial Downs and horsemen 11.5% of every bet by a Virginia resident.

Handle for the first 13 days of racing has declined from $12,901,036 to $9,270,072, a decline of 28% percent.

Last Saturday’s Colonial Turf Cup card saw handle dip from the 2008 figure of $2,646,117 to $2,112,875.

Colonial Downs carved out a nice niche among simulcast players with their abundance of turf races and large fields, but there are far too many wagering options out there for horseplayers to jump through hoops to wager on any signal.

With over 85% of all mutuel handle bet off track, this is no time for tracks and horsemen to be seeking outlandish signal fees from ADW’s.

The vast majority of horseplayers are not attached at the hip to any one particular signal.

Colonial Downs once felt like my home track, and while I will finish out the season doing “Off to the Races” in the Virginia market, it is hard not to think racing in Virginia is in intensive care, and it won’t be long before the plug is pulled.

R.I.P. Colonial Downs, we’ll miss you.

So the “Natinals” open a three game series against the New York Yankees tonight, and manager Manny Acta is STILL the manager…His lineup almost defies logic, as Adam Dunn is in left field instead of being the DH…I guess Acta wanted to get a few more AB’s for Austin Kearns, the anemic hitting right fielder who is batting .201 after going 0 for 4 last night, which included grounding meekly into a double play.. Once again, the bullpen blows a 3-2 lead and the Yankees rally to win 5-3…The Nats are now 16-46 and heading toward becoming the worst team in history…

What are the odds that Einstein, Kip Deville, Indian Blessing, and Music Note would all lose this past weekend?…Chalk players must have had a tough weekend…I touch on the four chalks biting the dust here:Stars Fail to Align Over Weekend, Leading to Eclipse of Chalk Players Bankroll…We did benefit in a couple of those races with my top picks Seattle Smooth ($6.20) in the Phipps and Sailor’s Cap ($13.40) in the Poker ‘Cap, and thankfully I did not back any of the four heavy favorites…

Wesley Ward scored a huge upset on the opening day of the Royal Ascot meeting with Strike The Tiger at 33/1 in the listed Windsor Castle Stakes…The Ascot meeting runs through Saturday and Ward will be sending out several other runners this week…Among the horse he has entered are Jealous Again in the Queen Mary Stakes (G2) on Wednesday, Yogaroo  in the Norfolk Stakes (G2) on Thursday, Honor in Peace in the Chesham Stakes on Friday, and Aegean in the Albany Stakes (G3) on Saturday…

There is a 12 race card at Colonial Downs on Saturday that includes the first leg of the Grand Slam of Grass, the $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup (G2)…The race drew a field of ten three year olds…A horse that wins the race then goes on to win the Virginia Derby, Secretariat Stakes, and the Breeders’ Cup Turf wins a $5 million bonus…Yeah, it probably won’t be paid out again this year…

The field is led by Battle of Hastings, who is the 2/1 morning line favorite (Kudos to the morning linesmaker at Colonial for having the odds on Tuesday!)…Other contenders include the Todd Pletcher trained Take the Points, who was 13^th in the Preakness Stakes in his last start, and Lime Rickey, coming off a sharp win versus first level allowance company at Belmont Park…

Derby Bill Watson made my homework assignment for Saturday’s radio show (11:00am ET on espn950am.com) the Colonial Cup and the All Along (G3) as well as the Charles Town Invitational Dash and the Red Legend Stakes…I’ll have my selections on the show and if I remember I’ll post them here…

Like this sport really needs more bad press…A vet at Philly Park euthanized a horse by shooting it. With a gun….Really… Dr. Thomas J. Lurito allegedly shot the four year old filly Rich and Mean, who had a bum knee…The shooting occurred a couple of weeks ago, and although I heard rumors, the Daily Racing Form first reported it on June 16…PETA should have a field day with this one…

Belmont Park Track Bias For June:

6/3/09: track played fair, 0 gate to wire

6/4/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

6/5/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

6/6/09: track played fair, 3 gate to wire

6/10/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

6/11/09: track played fair, 3 gate to wire

6/12/09: track played fair, 1 gate to wire

6/13/09: track played fair, 3 gate to wire

6/14/09: slight edge to speed, 3 path in, 4 gate to wire

Here is the four stakes making up the late Pick 4 at Churchill Downs for Saturday:

Here are some of the prop bets being offered by Bodog.com for Belmont Stakes Day

141st Belmont Stakes - Will any horse better Secretariat’s margin of victory (31 lengths) from the 1973 Belmont Stakes?

Yes                                          75/1

141st Belmont Stakes - Will any horse better Secretariat’s world record time for the 1 1/2 mile (2:24:00) from the 1973 Belmont Stakes?

Yes                                          100/1

141st Belmont Stakes - Who will the winning jockey thank first in the post race interview?

Parents                                     3/2

Trainer                                      7/2

Horse                                       4/1

God                                          4/1

Owner                                       6/1

Himself                                     20/1

Odds to win the 141st Belmont Stakes
Mine That Bird                           1/1

Dunkirk                                     7/2

Charitable Man                          5/1

Chocolate Candy                       13/1

Flying Private                            18/1

Mr Hot Stuff                              20/1

Summer Bird                             20/1

Brave Victory                            28/1

Miners Escape                          30/1

Luv Gov                                    50/1

Nowhere to Hide                        50/1

141st Belmont Stakes - Who will ABC/ESPN Horse Racing Analyst Jerry Bailey select to win the race?

Charitable Man                          7/2

Mine That Bird                           4/1

Dunkirk                                     6/1

Chocolate Candy                       10/1

Brave Victory                            30/1

Field (Any Other Horse)             13/2

141st Belmont Stakes - Will the 141st Belmont Stakes have a greater attendance than the 140th Belmont Stakes (94,476)?

Yes                                          +250

No                                            -400

141st Belmont Stakes - Will the on track handle for the 141st Belmont Stakes surpass that of the 140th Belmont Stakes ($13,233,071)?

Yes                                          +350

No                                            -600

141st Belmont Stakes - Will ABC/ESPN better the 8.2 Nielsen Rating it received for the 2008 Belmont Stakes?

Yes                                          +1250

No                                            -2500

A quick look at the Track Bias Report for May shows the surface was bias free for much of the month, 18 days rated as “fair”.

There were four days where the surface was kind to speed, and one day where outside stalkers and closers seemed to have the advantage.

While most of the days the track was labeled fair, there has been an abundant number of speed horses that have won at six furlongs. Of the first 57 races run at six furlongs on the main track, 46% were won by front-runners.

According to BRIS stats, 82% of the six-furlong races were won by E or EP types.

While the track profile has favored early speed in sprints, I do not think we can always blame the surface. On May 30 for instance, four went gate to wire, but all four figures to do just that.

And the prices reflect that: $3.00, $3.50, $5.50, and $3.70.

In one-mile races, the disparity shows the bias has been minimal. E and EP types accounted for 46% of the winners, while P and S types won 54% of the races.

Therefore, going into Belmont Stakes week, I might lean toward speed in sprints, but for the most part, I am going to consider the routes of one mile or more as fair to all running styles.

As for turf, I am just going to try and not bleed too badly. My handicapping of the turf races has been sub par to put it nicely.

There is going to be plenty of grass racing this week, giving us plenty of opportunities to turn that trend around.

Track Bias For Belmont Park for May:

5/1/09: track played fair, 1 gate to wire

5/2/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

5/3/09: track played fair, 0 gate to wire

5/6/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

5/7/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

5/8/09: track played fair, 0 gate to wire

5/9/09: track played fair, 4 gate to wire

5/10/09: edge to speed, 3 path in, 5 gate to wire

5/13/09: slight edge to speed, 3 path in, 3 gate to wire

5/14/09: track played fair, 0 gate to wire

5/15/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

5/16/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

5/17/09: slight edge to speed, 3 path in, 3 gate to wire

5/20/09: track played fair, 1 gate to wire

5/21/09: slight edge to speed, 3 path in, 3 gate to wire

5/22/09: track played fair, 1 gate to wire

5/23/09: track played fair, 1 gate to wire

5/24/09: track played fair, 1 gate to wire

5/25/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

5/28/09: track played fair, 1 gate to wire

5/29/09: slight edge to stalkers/closers, 3-5 paths, 1 gate to wire

5/30/09: track played fair, 4 gate to wire

5/31/09: track played fair, 2 gate to wire

 I always find it amusing, or should I really say irritating, when a columnist writes about something in horse racing, and it is blatantly obvious the writer knows little or nothing about the sport.

Chris Bean from Slate magazine called me last week for a story he was doing on the importance of jockeys in big races.

It was obvious a few minutes into the phone conversation he knew little about horse racing. We had a good discussion about jockeys and just about everything to do with the Preakness.

He called me back to check on a few facts, and then emailed me a couple of times for more information.

There is no doubt he was doing his homework, and produced a couple of solid articles about the Preakness Stakes.

However, some just do not seem to do their homework, and spout utter gibberish. Whether they are legitimate writers for a print or online newspaper or just a blogger, they need to check their facts.

Some should check their opinions as well. Sometimes they are so ill informed it is scary.

In a column on NWAnews.com (Northwest Arkansas’ News source), Wally Hall pleads with Jess Jackson to keep Rachel Alexandra in her stall.

He wrote:

So much so that it is totally unnecessary for owner Jackson to even consider running her in the grueling mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes on June 6.

Please, Mr. Jackson, go back to California and worry about your pinot noir, chardonnay and merlot. Don’t put this beautiful creature in what could be harm’s way.

More and more these days, it is discussed that the Belmont’s 1/2 miles is too long for any 3-yearold.

Some point to last year’s story that there is too much inbreeding in the breeding industry and it has weakened joints and bones and perhaps even stamina.

Rachel Alexandra is the best, but she is still a filly and still filling out, just as the colts are.

So please, Mr. Jackson, stick with the wines and let this filly retire on top.

Let her be the Joe DiMaggio of our time, not the Brett Favre.

Mr. Jackson, please, you bought her to breed to your great colt Curlin - who ran as a 3- and 4-year-old - and if something were to happen to her in the toughest leg of the Triple Crown the world would blame you.

Your goal was to create a great racing family, and you have a great plan.

Breeding Rachel Alexandra and racing her offspring is a winning formula.

You don’t need the purse money.

You have more money than three generations of Jacksons could spend, so please, don’t take the chance of putting her in harm’s way.

Rachel Alexandra is, today, the king and queen of horse racing; she has nothing else to prove to anyone.

Thoroughbred racing doesn’t need another tragedy, and this, perhaps, would be the greatest of them all if something were to happen to her.

:

What exactly is going to happen to Rachel Alexandra is she runs in the Belmont Stakes? Why on earth would this clown believe she is in harm’s way?

Just because we saw an isolated incident in last year’s Kentucky Derby, where Eight Belles suffered a life ending injury?

There is no evidence that running a filly against the colts and geldings puts them at greater risk.

Mark Story wrote something similar at Kentucky.com:

I hope the filly’s connections pass on The Belmont Stakes. Having beaten the boys in The Preakness, nothing she would prove by winning in New York would justify the physical risk that going a mile-and-a-half would inflict.

It is not just the ill informed writing Rachel Alexandra’s obituary.

Veteran horse racing writer Paul Moran wrote:

The last filly to win the Belmont, Rags to Riches, paid a huge price - the rest of her career. Having tempted fate without apparent cost - as far as we know — pressing Rachel Alexandra’s luck would be at least imprudent and at worst reckless on the part of owner Jess Jackson.

The only thing reckless is scribes who know nothing about training a horse saying it is dangerous or reckless to run.

How about we let Jess Jackson, who paid millions for this filly, and Steve Asmussen, one of the top trainers in the country decide what is best for the filly.

I think I have a lot more confidence in the opinion of Asmussen and his assistant trainer Scott Blasi than alarmist writers who likely have never been on the back of a horse.

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Preakness Props Courtesy of Bodoglife.com 

If Rachel Alexandra wins the 134^th Preakness Stakes, what will her winning margin be?

Over/Under                   4.5 Lengths

If Rachel Alexandra wins, will Calvin Borel celebrate before Rachel Alexandra has crossed the line?

Yes                  -140

No                    EVEN

Will Jockey Calvin Borel have to use his whip on Rachel Alexandra during the running of the 134^th Preakness Stakes?

Yes                  EVEN

No                    -140

What position will Rachel Alexandra be in at the 1^st quarter pole?

1 or 2                            -120

3, 4 or 5                        Even

6 or worse                     7/1

Will Rachel Alexandra better the time set in 1924 of 1:57:20 by Nellie Morse, the last filly to win the Preakness Stakes?

Yes                              -1000

No                                +500

Will NBC better the 9.8 Nielsen Rating it received for the 135^th Kentucky Derby?

Yes                              +2000

No                                -5000

Will NBC better the 6.2 Nielsen Rating it received for the 2008 Preakness Stakes?

Yes                              -250

No                                +170

Which winning margin will be greater?

135^th Kentucky Derby Margin of Victory (6 ¾ lengths)      -1000

134^th Preakness Stakes Margin of Victory                       +500

Head to Head

Rachel Alexandra          -200

Mine That Bird               +150

Odds to win the 134^th Preakness Stakes

Rachel Alexandra                      7/4

Mine That Bird                           7/2

Pioneerof The Nile                     6/1       

Musket Man                              8/1

Papa Clem                                8/1

Friesen Fire                               8/1

General Quarters                       9/1

Hull                                           18/1

Big Drama                                20/1

Flying Private                            20/1

Take the Points                         22/1

Terrain                                      25/1

Luv Gov                                                30/1

Tone It Down                             35/1

Will any horse win the 134^th Preakness Stakes wire to wire?

Yes                              +450

No                                -900

Will the Pimlico track record for 1 3/16 miles of 1:52:20 be broken at the 134^th Preakness Stakes?

Yes                              +2000

No                                -5000

What position will Mine That Bird be in at the 1^st quarter pole?

1 or 2                            5/1

3, 4 or 5                        3/2

6 or worse                     -180

Who will be the Jockey for Mine that Bird during the 134^th Preakness Stakes?

Mike Smith                                11/10

Calvin Borel                              6/5

Chantel Sutherland                    8/1

Joe Talamo                               15/1

Ramon Dominguez                    15/1

Field (Any Other Jockey)            3/1

Will the all sources handle for the 134^th Preakness Stakes exceed the $45,689,562 which was wagered in 2008?

Yes                              +350

No                                -700

Will the attendance for the 134^th Preakness Stakes exceed the 2008 total of 112,222?

Yes                              +550

No                                -1100

Will the 134^th Preakness Stakes record an attendance of 100,000+ for the 9^th straight year? 

Yes                              -130

No                                Even

Who will Gary Stevens pick to win the 134^th Preakness Stakes?

Rachel Alexandra                      2/1

Mine That Bird                           3/1

Pioneerof The Nile                     3/1

Musket Man                              11/2

Papa Clem                                6/1

Field (Any Other Horse)             5/2

 Jan Rushton, the paddock reporter and handicapper for the NYRA tracks has resigned her position, the NYRA is reporting on its web site.

From the NYRA website:

“I would like to thank all the fans, horsemen and fellow NYRA workers for all the support through my years in racing but I have to resign my position to be caretaker for my brother, who has a serious illness,” said Rushton, who began working for NYRA in May, 1995. “This has been a hard decision, but I feel that family must come first. I will miss all of you and thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.”

She has worked for the NYRA for a dozen years and was extremely popular not only with on-track patrons, but also with simulcast players.

Her astute handicapping and paddock observations as well has her vast array of headgear will be sorely missed!

Mine That Bird’s upset victory in the 135^th running of the Kentucky Derby earned the gelding a cover in the May 6 edition of Sports Illustrated.

The cover headline is “Miracle in the Mud,” along with a large “50-1.”

My Si subscription lapsed, and I found out about it through a story on the Bloodhorse web site.

I find it sad for racing when it is “news” that the sport made a front page cover of a sports magazine after its biggest event of the year.

We will see how the SI jinx works in horse racing. If I was the owner of Mine That Bird, I would have called SI and declined.