Today is the big day for harness racing (trotting) in Europe, as its very own "Arc", the Prix d'Amérique Marionnaud, is being run at Vincennes, just outside Paris (14:25 GMT). I'll be doing a small dutching bet on Ready Cash and Quif de Villeneuve, but with the big field anything can happen, as it often does! Try to watch it if you can, they are the fastest trotters in the world..................... Here's a clip of the 2011 running, won by Ready Cash. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFuuJ5TezRs (Should also mention that Sweden have a really good chance to win this with Maharajah who recently ran very well in a big Grand Circuit race the "Prix de Belgique"). Video replay of today's renewal of the race down below.
Very interesting Swan. No 13 nearly got back up. There seemed to be a fair bit of talking going on between 13 and 15. I noticed one horse came out off a trot; do they get disqualified (or did it pull out)? Amusing that one rider back in the field (white with blue cap) seemed to be looking for a way through; not an easy thing to do. Do they ever clash wheels? It's amazing how so many can whizz round that track without any collisions.
Ron: No he broke stride, possibly for the second time during the race. They usually ignore a mild break first go, but this was a serious break. He was on the inside so there is a facility at the major courses for the horse to be pulled off onto an inner track. If they are disq. when on the outside then they must be pulled wide immediately. The driver cannot fail to hear the barked orders from the judge, but of course he would already know he's out. Yes, these drivers do yack to each other; bit offputting for a punter, actually. Don't know what they are talking about in this instance as I can't lip-read French......... Yes, they do occasionally clash wheels, thank God not often, as it does cause nasty accidents. Saw one at Daglfing once, here in Munich, in which the then champion driver down here, Helmut Biendl, was involved. Awful tangle, causing both drivers to miss the rest of the meeting due to being so shook-up.
That was a big run by the winner Swanny. I hope he can go back to back for you mate. Ron, take a look at this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tulUkezdHvI&feature=related
Apparently there's a live stream here: http://www.meadowlandsracetrack.com/event_detail.aspx?id=4898 Haven't a clue if it will work though! Or maybe here at race time, I just dunno: http://www.meadowlandsracetrack.com/video.aspx?id=252
Ta Cyc. Maybe I'll do a few mix-ups with these two with the Swedish horse Maharajah (see edit above). Think I'll make my first visit to a bookie here for quite a while, then I can be sure of watching it. Won't be betting a lot on the race though, it's always a tough one to work out. Hope the livestream from Meadowlands works however.
Ron: Very small profit, should have just stuck with the one bet, but a forecast there is always worth having a go at.........................Ready Cash is something else...................Made the fav. my main bet with QdV a saver due its big price. Tried a few small speculative forecasts with Maharajah (4th) which didn't come off!
Here's a video replay of the race: http://www.paris-turf.com/pid59-cid114472-video-revivez-la-victoire-de-ready-cash.html As he was the defending champion Ready Cash had the worst start position of all (2nd row, on the outside). A fantastic performance by a truly great trotter. Given a great drive too. Note the packed stands; a very popular sport in many parts of Europe.
I saw a promotion for the race where the trainer of the second horse said he was the one to take it to Ready cash. He said that his mare had beaten Ready Cash 25m just recently.
What a wonderful race. Fantastic drive from from the winner who got that animal into a spot where it got the run of the race. He had first crack at them when the opening came at the top of the straight. The second horse looked to be on his back for a while, but had nowhere to go. By the time she was extricated, the bird had flown. She came home nice and hard. Easily the two best horses in the race. Do you know what the 1-2 paid? Easy to see how she's beaten him home in the past. Champions though, stand up when it counts. They win the big races.
Cyc: Good day to you! Glad you enjoyed the race, that makes it worth putting the thread up! It was fantastic. The way that winning driver "buried" the horse during the race was amazing; had a bit of diffÃculty finding him. That was the mare you were talking about who was second? The forecast paid â¬18.01 for â¬1.00 stake. Not bad at all. Don't know what the 1 cent is all about, probably a tip, or a "Glückspfennig" (Lucky Penny) in Deutsch. Looking at the packed stands, harness racing lives on!
Thats one big track, the harness racing akin of the Daytona 500. People may laugh and ridicule harness racing but it is fun to watch and sometimes bet. We have many harness races in Canada and the US that put group thoroughbred races to shame regarding prize money. Mowhawk and Woodbine are the best for prize money over here, races regulary have monies of $100,000 to $ 1,000,000 Olde home week here on PEI has two race cards a day for 14 days straight, with horses traveling from Florida and West Canada to run, some of the best horses have come frome Atlantic Canada . www.standardbred.ca may be of interest to you
