Friday Fun: Google Earth with Racetracks

It's Friday and the Form is burning a hole in my coat pocket. A fun evening of handicapping the Dubai World Cup awaits. Canadian racing fans can watch and wager from 9:30AM Saturday morning on HPI TV.
If you're up, I hope to be tweeting race-by-race.

If you're a fan of stallions such as Big Brown, Point Given and Exchange Rate then you may want to consider the following.
Three Chimneys has taken the lead in connecting with racing fans by establishing the Three Chimneys Fan Club. The first 500 people to sign up receive a discounted annual membership of $35. Membership includes:

*A Three Chimneys Club Member hat
*Quarterly installments of the Club Three Chimneys newsletter
*An annual membership pin
*2 vouchers per year for a free stallion tour for you and a guest (for use on regularly scheduled tours; reservations required)
*Priority scheduling for you and up to three guests on any regularly scheduled tour
*Access to seasonal photos of the Three Chimneys stallions
*Opportunity to purchase Three Chimneys stallions photography at a discounted price
*Special offers on Three Chimneys merchandise for sale
*Contests, including the opportunity to name Three Chimneys racehorses and meet Pat Chapman, owner of Smarty Jones
*Email alerts with updates about the stallions and their progeny's most recent accomplishments and accolades
*8 FREE issues of The Blood-Horse magazine and the opportunity to subscribe at a special low rate.
*$5.00 voucher good toward the purchase of merchandise on HorseHats.com
*10% discount on all orders placed on ExclusivelyEquine.com

Sounds like a great idea to me. Eight issues of Blood-Horse and a Slew of fan club specials. I dig it.

* * *
Meanwhile, on the other side of the sea, I found this oddball nugget of news involving a kid who decided to prank his parents by drawing a giant, um, "thing" on the roof of his house in order to be immortalized on Google Earth.

I'm not sure if this is a UK phenomenon but there's quite a few stories of Google Earth pranks.

Though the stories made me laugh, it hasn't inspired me to go out and buy industrial strength chalk. I did, however, take a few moments to look up - or, I guess the appropriate term is, look down at - a few tracks from the heavens courtesy of Google Earth

Here's a sunny Woodbine Racetrack.


Thinking about the Derby? Check out Churchill Downs!


Tomorrow's Dubai World Cup will be raced at Nad Al Sheba.


Why not try your luck on the late Pick 4 at Aqueduct?


Santa Anita has a decent Pick 4 to pick at as well.


Mountaineer looks to be very scenically situated.


Finally, I'm thankful there will be racing at Fort Erie's oval this season.


TGIF readers, see you tomorrow morning on Twitter.

Dubai World Cup - Will Desert Party Emerge?

The Dubai World Cup is one of the biggest racing days of the year, but in North America many racing fans are still focused on narrowing down the potential Kentucky Derby field. For many, the reason may have to do with access to information about the card and the ability to actually watch the individual races.

Canadian racing fans are fortunate to be able to watch and wager on the full Dubai card starting Saturday morning from 9:30AM on HPITV.

Before continuing further though, Triple Dead Heat would like to commend The Meadows for providing racing fans with a triple dead heat! On Tuesday, TSM Goldenridge, Serious Damage and magnificently-monikered Teen Elvis crossed the wire at the same time in what was almost a quadruple dead heat!

Getting back to the potential desert party on Saturday, the races on the card are as follows: (Links provided by Dubai Race Night)

Duty Free (8.89f, Turf, $5 million)
Godolphin Mile (8f, dirt, $1 million)
Golden Shaheen (6f, dirt, $2 million)
Kahayla Classic (10f, dirt, $250,000 - Arabians)
Sheema Classic (12f, turf, $5 million)
UAE Derby (9f, dirt, $2 million)
World Cup (10f, dirt, $6 million)

Last year, Curlin absolutely dominated the World Cup field.


This year, the field is wide open. Albertus Maximus is the probable favourite along with local hero Asiatic Boy, but those two will be challenged by Well Armed and Arson Squad. Also competing is the temperamental Anak Nakal who is a Jekyll & Hyde type on form bouncing between brilliant and bewildering. Perhaps the biggest wildcard in the race is Japan's Casino Drive. The winner of the G1 Peter Pan a year ago has done little since and now has an opportunity to stake his claim on the world stage.

If you really must have a Derby contender on the card to make it interesting, then look no further than the UAE Derby where Desert Party will carry the Godolphin colours to well-backed victory under guidance from Lonfranco Dettori. Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor is confident going into this race, "He is a horse that reminds me of his dad, Street Cry. He looks like him, he is always really calm. He looks stronger this time and I am happy with him - it is a big test before the Kentucky Derby."

Other notables racing on the day include, but certainly not limited to:
Indian Blessing (Golden Shaheen)
Kip Deville (Dubai Duty Free)
Vodka (Dubai Duty Free)
Doctor Dino (Sheema Classic)
Marsh Side (Sheema Classic)
Red Rocks (Sheema Classic)

So, set your alarm for 9:30AM Saturday morning and tune in to HPITV to enjoy what should be a fantastic day of racing.

View the pre-entries for the Dubai World Cup here:



Dubai Pre-Entries

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Subscribe To Down The Stretch Newspaper

I had a fun Sunday afternoon at Woodbine Racetrack helping Down The Stretch newspaper film our very first television commercial. Editor Peter Gross put together a fun script that will be featured on HorsePlayer Interactive television.

The commercial is part of a campaign to attract new advertisers and seek out new readership with a special subscription drive. Email me directly to find out how you can subscribe to one full year of Down The Stretch for only CDN$24.

All Woodbine locals and fans of Down The Stretch should also take a moment to join the Down The Stretch Facebook group. Over the coming weeks, we'll be filling up the group page with photos and stories culled from recent issues.

We began filming the commercial on Woodbine's second level overlooking the satellite feeds of racing from across North America. The scene begins with Peter entering a crowd of racing fans to ask if they would like to know more about Down The Stretch.

The gang squeezes in for a shot as Matt works the camera.


Big smile from associate editor Eleanor LeBlanc.


Peter mugs it up for the camera.


After a few takes, Eleanor applied a little makeup to make Peter's eyes pop!


Thanks to unseasonably warm weather, the group moved outdoors to the grandstand for the next shot. The grass is still a bit yellowed but will no doubt be ready in the spring to reclaim its standing as North America's top turf course.
Sunny skies made for great lighting in the grandstand.


Peter is resplendent in $600 jacket and $7 shoes. (Shoes not shown.)


Off to the main entrance for the third scene, where punters must pass a statue of Northern Dancer on their way to the track.


Peter, with stacks of the paper in hand, rushes through the crowds to deliver copies of Down The Stretch to the waiting masses.



Big thanks to Paul and Matt for filming and directing the commercial. They were fun, professional and had some great ideas to keep the show running smoothly.



Extra special thanks to Peter's Seneca College Radio Broadcasting students: Karin, Sandeep, Samantha, Bradley and Sadaf for taking time out on a Sunday afternoon to make up the cheering audience featured in the majority of the shots.

Look for the commercial to be run in the opening weeks of the Woodbine thoroughbred campaign on HorsePlayer Interactive television. Don't forget to join the Down The Stretch Facebook group.