TR – 11 calendar months gone by & 1 calendar month to go! The countdown is on & the excitement is in the air & is evident in the DigitalDowns forum by players abroad. Players heading to Louisville, Kentucky are from Australia, California, Connecticut, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio & Texas. Excitement will be even more prominent when Administration & family members & DigitalDowns members, some also with family & guest meet at Churchill Downs to take in a day of events at the races.
What a day that will be when players of DigitalDowns meet. Some previous individuals reacquainting with a hand shake & maybe even a hug, to some acquainting with the group themselves for the first time with a warm hearted hand shake.
Members of the DigitalDowns simulated horse racing game will meet face to face at the Churchill Downs track to take in the day’s events. The Events of excitement of watching Real Live racing of four legged beasts & jockeys competing for Victory.
From playing the slot machines to relaxing in the lounge with discussions of the day’s activities with even a possibility of discussions of the DigiitalDowns game itself. From meeting jockeys to even posing for a picture with a jockey or two or more to walking among the beautiful scented blooming flowers or visiting the museum or taking in other activities. The day of activities among the DigitalDowns group will be one that will be cherished for a lifetime, a lifetime of cherished Memory.
So, how did such a meet at Churchill Downs of Administration & players at DigitalDowns come about? Long… story… just kidding!
The annual meet at Churchill Downs was Founded by Pat of Donovan Stables with the First meet taking place in 2008. To arrange such a function requires time & effort. For the past three meets, Donovan Stables has graciously devoted his time & effort to seeing that all the required is met for this joint occasion for Administration, family, friend, guest & DigitalDowns.us game players.
Pat makes all of the arrangements for the suite at Churchill Downs to making sure that attending members have funds in their stable accounts for the shared payment among attendees for the suite.
The day’s events along with attendees, Administration, members & family members & guest are below as forwarded to “The Tracksider Newspaper” by Pat of Donovan Stables.
We will be at Churchill Downs on June 12th, there are 5 graded stakes that day 2 grade 3s, 2 grade 2s and the headliner is the grade one“Stephen Foster Handicap”.We have 14 members, one Administrator and 6 guests for a total of 21 people. This is our third annual trip and it has grown every year. I am looking forward to meeting previous acquaintances & new acquaintances.
Members attending are:Nigel (Getting Lucky Lodge), Norm (Getting Lucky Lodge), Norm's son, Rory (Ryan's Express), Dave (Amadave Farms), Brian and guest (Bald Farm), Kelly (Fog City Racing), John (Racing Downs), Larry (Faraway Farms), Falcon (Falcon Oaks), Mike (Barycki Racing), Russ (Sparc Stables), Craig (Circle High Stables), Carl (Administration) & 3 family members, Val (Pat's wife), Megan - Pat's daughter (Chattest) Pat of (3 Diamond Ranch), & Pat (Donovan Stables - Founder of the annual meet).
A job well done by Pat (Donovan Stables). A Special Thank YoutoDonovan Stablesfrom, past, present & future attendees!
What is Churchill Downs? Where is Churchill Downs? How does Churchill Downs rank according to the Horseplayers Association of North America?
Churchill Downs is a thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. Churchill Downs officially opened in 1875 holding the First Kentucky Derby & the First Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders Cup on six different occasions. The most recent one was in 2006. Churchill Downs Incorporated owns & operates the racetrack.
Churchill Downs is located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky.
The Horseplayers Association of North America ranked Churchill Downs #2 in 2010 through a rating system for 69 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America.
2010 Kentucky Derby - SUPER SAVER Jockey - Calvin Borel
Placing cursor on Flash Screen will offer other links for selection once video commences.
TR – My, doesn't time fly by quickly? It appears just like yesterday that “The Preview Eliminator Races” were run but another season has come & gone & here we are again in S16. Doesn’t time go by quickly when having fun? And fun at DigitalDowns.us it certainly is, fun due to the fact of an Elite Game of Elite players!
“The Preview Eliminator Races” run on 7f dirt Bel & founded by Falcon Oaks in season 8 (S8) with the First Preview Eliminator Races kicking off in S9 for two-year-old first year racing horses has become a seasonal stepping stone here at DigitalDowns.us that definitely deserves a standing ovation. Time & effort of organizing these races by Falcon Oaks along with Landon’s Racers being the official score recorder for the eliminator picking contest.
What is the eliminator picking contest? The eliminator picking contest is individual stables submitting their selections for which horse they think will be 1st, 2nd & 3rd for the colt division & filly division as each division is run. Points are awarded & individual stables offer a FREE breeding to one of their stallions or mares, which is a very good opportunity & chance for participating members to pick up a decent pedigree in their stable.
For “TPER” individual stables hope & even possibly pray that they will succeed of being able to breed the next champion. Hoping & praying that one of their home bred colts or fillies would have exceptional traits bred into them to succeed to the final round. That of a colt or filly making it to the final round and collecting an enormous payout.
Not only collecting an enormous payout but a breeder being able to take pride in their efforts of having matched up a sire & dam of producing a “TPER” Finalist. Sound exciting, you bet it is… stables that have been entering horses into these seasonal specialty races continue to look forward to the next season for “TPER”.
Could one class “The Preview Eliminator Races” by Falcon Oaks & the “Seasons End Stakes” by Bald Farm Inc. as the Highlights for Specialty Races at DigitalDowns.us? Definitely!!
Excellent, Falcon Oaks, Landon’s Racers (score recorder) & Bald Farm Inc. Keep up the Excellent work!!
Your contributions at DigitalDowns.us is Highly valued & Appreciated by Administration, The Tracksider Newspaper & Members! A Special Thank Youfrom ALL!
Digital Downs is full of horses whose bloodlines harken back to the
days of the monsters of the track. Horses such as Jumpin\' Jack Flash,
Pension Plan, Zoom, etc. can be found in the pedigrees of many current
runners daily in the forms for each day, which makes what happened
yesterday, February 4th all the more rare. Obscure Golden State
Bloodstock stallion Fast Ride, who has no pedigree since he was created
with the press of a button and a 10k wish, got himself another winner
in yesterday\'s 5th race, a 5f sprint on turf. The winner
Tinacomegetsomeham (out of Vo Vo Von Trapp) broke like a shot from his
rail slot and ran the first 2f in 22.11 seconds. He then blazed the
second quarter mile in 22.78 around the turn, running a half mile in
44.89 seconds. He never looked back and won by a diminishing head,
earning a stout 96 speed figure. Who finished 2nd? Another Fast Ride
offspring of course, Golden Rail (out of Rail Position). Golden Rail
was outrun early, but settled nicely while two wide and unleashed a
powerful stretch move to pass four horses in the stretch and just miss
getting the money by a head. It\'s happened before with more
fashionable stallions, but for a stallion who is pretty much unknown,
hails from a low percentage barn, and only a winner in 3 of his 21
races lifetime? How he became a stallion in the first place is a
miracle, let alone sire the first two finishers of a race.
Where did Fast Ride come from?
Well,
consider him The Chosen One of stallions by Golden State Bloodstock.
He was claimed for 20k in April of \'09 and was one of the few
stallions who survived the break in action by GSB when they folded up
their tents and took a break of roughly six months to \"recharge the
batteries\". The entire barn was either sold or retired except for two
horses, Fast Ride and Splashed, another obscure stallion. Splashed was
used first when GSB came out of hiding and had a non-descript
offspring. Splashed was then retired to pasture, which left only one.
Fast Ride. GSB Barn Manager Stuey had this to say about Fast Ride:
\"He was always a trier, and got there a few times as well. With any
luck he could\'ve won a few more than he actually did, but he never got
embarrassed and always gave it a good effort. It was also pretty
evident he loved the grass, and performed much better on the grass than
the dirt.\" Indeed, Fast Ride was 0 for 9 on the dirt, but 3 for 12 on
the turf with 4 seconds, making the exacta in 7 of 12 races on the
sod. Stuey continued: \"When he dropped in for $20k, I let Ron the
owner know, and the rest is history.\"
What exact history is
that? Well, Fast Ride hasn\'t had a stakes winner yet, but Stuey is
high on Tinacomegetsomeham and Golden Rail, both of whom are showing
signs of being pretty darn good, and also carrying the family trait of
enjoying the turf a little more than the dirt. There are also a few
Fast Rides still figuring things out, including Jule Thief, who
finished 2nd by a head in his debut at 4f and earning the highest speed
figure of any Fast Ride so far, a 98. Only one Fast Ride has been
retired by GSB out of the 10 or so offspring they\'ve bred so far, The
Ride. \"Couldn\'t outrun me. It happens.\" Stuey says with a glare.
What
is next for Fast Ride as a stallion? Numerous barns have already tried
their luck with him and if works are any indication, Fast Ride might
not be obscure any longer, which will not sit well with Stuey. \"There
are four breeds going to the public for 5k apiece still sitting out
there. I hope Ron gets his act together and saves them for us. We
can\'t ever get them back.\"
Time will tell ultimately, but so
far, Fast Ride offspring have hit the track 82 times in all with 13
winners, 16 seconds and 13 thirds for a slightly above average 16%
winning percentage and a 51% ITM overall.
Featured Articles
printer version
full story
