Home >  Sports >  Notebooks

Sunday, February 18, 2001

He's still the leading driver at Ladbroke at the Meadows, but Dave Palone definitely is finding the competition a little tougher this year.

Consider these statistics from harness racing's best numbers man, track announcer/TV host Roger Huston:

Palone started out his record-setting season in 2000 by driving 42 winners in January. Brian Sears, usually Palone's toughest competitor, won more -- 55 -- before Palone went on to lead not just the Meadows' driving colony but North America.

This year, January was a little slow for Palone and Sears -- they finished with 27 and 26 wins, respectively. Through Tuesday, Palone ranked only 16th in North America with 48.

The primary reason, Huston said, is increased competition from Tyler Stillings, Brian Zendt and newcomer Mike Wilder. The numbers back him up.

Stillings got hot late last year and has not cooled off. He had 36 victories through Tuesday, only five behind second-place Sears. Wilder was fourth at 24, and Zendt fifth at 23.

The arrival of Wilder from Scioto Downs also made a difference. Engaged to the daughter of trainer Dan Altmeyer, he moved here to serve as the regular driver for Randy Bendis' stable. Drivers were so often accepting multiple mounts and then dropping Bendis' horses that he decided to go with one steady driver. He first offered the job to Sears, who turned it down, Huston said.

All of the additional competition has affected one of the other statistics Huston finds important in handicapping: The percentage of victories drivers have when they choose between two or more mounts in a race. Last year, Palone picked right about 65 percent of the time, Huston said. This year, Palone has chosen right 37 out of 76 decisions. "That's 48.7 percent, and that means he's been picking right less than half of the time."

Early Derby bets

You don't have to fly to Las Vegas to get down an early Kentucky Derby bet this year. Ladbroke at the Meadows and its off-track wagering parlors are among the simulcast participants in the three Derby future wagering pools being offered by Churchill Downs.

You've got until 4:30 this afternoon to wager in Pool 1, which opened at noon Thursday. The next future wagering period is March 8-11, and the third is April 5-8.

The future wager allows fans to make advance wagers on potential Derby starters at odds that may be far better than the real price at post-time May 5. Of course, they could end up worse, too.

Last year, wagers on Fusaichi Pegasus in Pool 1 paid off at $27.80, while the Derby day price was $6.60. Conversely, Pool 1 bettors only got $10.20 on Charismatic and the rest of the mutuel field in 1999, while he paid off at $64.60 on track.

The proposition differs from Vegas book wagers in that all horses can be bet individually out west. Through Churchill, you have a slate of 23 individual horses and then a mutuel field wager covering every other 3-year-old thoroughbred. The 23 horses are picked by three expert handicappers.

This year, an injury to Macho Uno forced revision to the betting slate within hours of its advance release. He was replaced by Bobby Hurley's Songandaprayer.

When the wagering started Thursday, the mutuel field was favored at 5-1 and Point Given was 6-1. The rest of the prices were double digits:

A P Valentine, 10-1; Buckle Down Ben, 20-1; Burning Roma, 20-1; City Zip, 30-1; Dollar Bill, 10-1; Early Flyer, 20-1; Global Gait, 30-1; Gold Trader, 30-1; Hero's Tribute, 30-1; Holiday Thunder, 15-1; Invisible Ink, 30-1; Meetyouathebrig, 30-1; Millennium Wind, 10-1; Monarchos, 20-1; Mongoose, 30-1; Ommadon, 30-1; Outofthebox, 30-1; Palmiero, 30-1; Songandaprayer, 30-1; Startac, 15-1; Street Cry, 20-1; and Talk Is Money, 30-1.

Other views:

Racing-oriented publications have begun running Derby polls.

Thoroughbred Times' most recent Top 10: 1, Point Given; 2, Millennium Wind; 3, Street Cry; 4, A P Valentine; 5, Dollar Bill; 6, Early Flyer; 7, Holiday Thunder; 8, City Zip; 9, Buckle Down Ben; 10

The Louisville Courier-Journal's Top 10: 1, Point Given; 2, Macho Uno; (injured); 3, Millennium Wind; 4, A P Valentine; 5, Dollar Bill; 6, Street Cry; 7, Turnberry Isle; 8, Holiday Thunder; 9, Buckle Down Ben; tied for 10, Gold Trader and Windsor Castle.