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Sunday, January 20, 2002

By Pohla Smith, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Johannesburg won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Repent was second, but it's third-place Siphonic who is the current winter-book favorite for the Kentucky Derby at two Las Vegas sports books.

The David Hofmans-trained Siphonic, who was posted initially last year at 100-to-1 odds at Caesar's Palace, has dropped to 5 to 1, linemaker Chuck Esposito said Friday. He's the same price at Bally's, where the chief linemaker is John Avello.

Johannesburg, an Aidan O'Brien trainee who shipped from Europe for his Breeders' Cup win, and the Kenny McPeek-trained Repent, each are 6 to 1 at both hotels.

Conversely, Officer, who dominated 2-year-old racing until his fifth-place finish in the Juvenile, has gone up in price, from 12-1 to 50-1.

Esposito said there are between 250 and 300 horses on the Caesar's Palace line, and the prices can vary daily. (Once a bettor puts money down, his price is guaranteed through the Derby.)

"We have staff that goes through all the horses racing all the time," he said. "Sometimes a customer will come in and suggest a horse. We'll check it out and put it up."

The variations in price depend on "performance and public perception," Esposito added.

The prices on a number of horses have dropped dramatically following big or promising performances. Consider these at Caesar's Palace:

Listen Here, who won the Nashua Stakes for trainer Bill Mott, has dropped from 150-1 to 30-1.

Popular, a Bob Baffert trainee owned by the Thoroughbred Corp., has declined in price from 125-1 to 40-1 after winning the San Miguel Stakes at Santa Anita Jan. 13.

Todd Pletcher trainee Nokomo, who has one win and a second (in the Remsen Stakes) in three starts, opened at 125-1 and dropped to 30-1.

Dubai Destination, one of Sheik Mohammed's many Derby hopes, has two wins and a second in Europe. One victory was in the Group 2 Rothman's Royal Champagne Stakes, hence his drop from 125-1 to 20-1.

Maybry's Boy, who already has six starts for Shug McGaughey, recently won Gulfstream Park's Spectacular Bid Stakes and his price has gone down to 150-1 to 15-1.

Avello said he has had quite a number of bargain shoppers, people who take a flyer on the 200-1 or 100-1 horses. "For most [customers], the limit to win is $20,000," he said. "It's not necessarily a big bet. To win $20,000 on a 200-1 shot, that would be a $200 bet. If it's a 20-1 shot it would take $2,000."

Eclipse Award finalists

No surprise here: Point Given was the unanimous choice as Eclipse Award 3-year-old colt champion in balloting by members of the National Turf Writers Association, employees of Daily Racing Form and racing secretaries and chart-callers.

The other division winners were not that clear-cut and won't be announced until the awards dinner at the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort in Miami Beach Feb. 18. The NTRA, however, did announce the top three vote-getters in each of the remaining 10 equine and five human categories.

They include:

Horse of the Year -- Johannesburg, Point Given, Tiznow.

2-year-old colt or gelding -- Johannesburg, Officer, Siphonic.

2-year-old filly -- Habibti, Tempera and You.

3-year-old filly -- Exogenous, Flute and Xtra Heat.

Sprint -- Delaware Township, Squirtle Squirt and Xtra Heat.

Older male -- Lido Palace, Sakhee and Tiznow.

Older female -- Gourmet Girl, Spain and Tranquility Lake.

Outstanding trainer -- Bob Baffert, Bobby Frankel and Scott Lake.

Outstanding jockey -- Jerry Bailey, Ramon Dominguez, Laffit Pincay Jr., and John Velazquez (there was a tie in there someplace, but it wasn't revealed).

Baze wins, again

Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze, who dominates the racing in Northern California, has won the Isaac Murphy Award as the nation's top percentage rider for the seventh consecutive year. That's every year since the National Turf Writers Association created the award to honor Murphy, the legendary African-American rider of the 19th century.

Murphy had a lifetime winning percentage of 44. This past year, Baze won on 423 of 1,502 mounts, or 28.1 percent.

Pohla Smith can be reached at psmith@post-gazette.com.