Rebel split into 2 sections

[JolyB]

Since we will be using Oaklawn as our contest venue on Saturday, the following article might be of interest:

"Jennifer Hoyt, media relations manager for Oaklawn Park, said track officials agreed Tuesday evening to run multiple divisions even if entries didn't reach the previously announced magic number of 20 horses. They wound up with 19 total.

Hoyt said the split was made regardless "out of consideration for the horsemen and the fans."

The Rebel originally carried a $1 million purse and awarded Derby qualifying points on a 50-20-10-5 scale. Now, the flights will run with separate $750,000 purses, and the races will award 75 percent of the original points, on a 37.5, 15, 7.5 and 3.75 scale to the Top 4 finishers.

Horses with common connections were split -- that means unbeaten Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-olds Game Winner and Improbable won't face one another -- and others were sorted randomly into a flight"

What a great act of sportsmanship, or perhaps very enlightened business, on the part of Oaklawn's management.

Full entries for Saturday should be available later this afternoon.

The 1 1/16-mile Rebel tops a card with two other noteworthy stakes, the Azeri (G2) for older fillies and mares expected to include Grade 1 winners Elate, Midnight Bisou, Shamrock Rose and Eskimo Kisses; and the Essex Handicap led by veteran Giant Expectations

[JolyB]

Oaklawn entries for Saturday have been announced.

The 11 race card will begin at 1:05 PM Central, with post time for the 11th not until 6:38 PM.

The two divisions of the Rebel will be at 4:57 PM as race 8 and 6:06 PM as Race 10. That should allow both divisions to fit into the time slot of Fox Sports' Saturday at the Races, which will run between 5:00 and 7:30 Eastern. They should also be able to include the Azeri as Race 7 and the Essex as Race 9.

I'd welcome your thoughts as to how many races we want to play (and score). We could play all 11, or lop off Race 1 or 11 for a 10 race program, or, I suppose, have a 9 race card that begins with Race 3 and runs through the end of the card. If you have any strong thoughts, please post them here before I make some arbitrary decision by this time tomorrow.

[RUFFIAN]

THE SOUND OF ONE CAT MEOWING

*** HOWZ ABOUT RACE 2–10
ENDING THE DAY ON A “HIGH REBELLIOUS” NOTE

EVEN R3–10 MAKES ME MEW WITH KITTENS JOY

{{ I personally can’t see any benefit in including race 11 }}

[Alabama Stakes]

Didn't Bob Baffert win both ends of the split a few years back at oaklawn ?

[Real Quiet]

2012 Southwest Stakes with Castaway and Secret Circle.

[cal828]

Secret Circle won the Rebel that year. He beat a horse named Optimizer that was trained by Lukas. I was in Vegas that year and had the exacta for that race. I wonder if I am the only person that flies 1600 miles to watch a race that is happening at a track that is only 10 miles from my house.

[Roamin42]

Cal828, That's a lot of money just to see a race. The airfare would have been for a gigantic payoff if you put it all on that exacta. But I have been in the same position. Everybody has their motives. Good luck.

[ElPrado]

Probably couldn't find a parking space.

I'd be just as happy with the full card.

[cal828]

Originally Posted by Roamin42

Cal828, That's a lot of money just to see a race. The airfare would have been for a gigantic payoff if you put it all on that exacta. But I have been in the same position. Everybody has their motives. Good luck.

I was just joking. I usually do play the horses when I go there, but it was just a coincidence that racing was going on at Oaklawn, my hometown track. My wife and I used to go to Vegas 2 or 3 times a year. She was the administrator of a non- profit in Hot Springs and we would sometimes go when she was on her Spring Break which was when races at Oaklawn were still going on.

[JolyB]

Our contest venue this Saturday will be Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where we will be able to enjoy two Derby preps, both of which are named the Rebel Stakes. However, we will only be playing Races 3 through 11. That includes all 4 of their stakes races.

I had asked for comments about the scope of our contest card, and I appreciate those who responded. Unfortunately, you can't please everyone. I only hope that this card will be enjoyable to all of our players.

I do want to applaud the management at Oaklawn for stepping into the breach caused by the cancellation of the San Felipe at SA and offering the Rebel in 2 divisions with an aggregate purse of half a million dollars more than the original single race was to offer. They attracted a number of Southern California horses, including Game Winner and Improbable. I hope the increased handle makes up for this unbudgeted cash outlay.

Threads will be posted in due course.

[Roamin42]

Cal828, I was a dealer in Vegas and most of my time off was at the race book, most of my tokes was spent there. That was a hard time while I lived there I had to walk with blinkers on going past the casino. "BUMMER"

[cal828]

Originally Posted by Roamin42

Cal828, I was a dealer in Vegas and most of my time off was at the race book, most of my tokes was spent there. That was a hard time while I lived there I had to walk with blinkers on going past the casino. "BUMMER"

What casino(s) did you work in? I've stayed in several and have probably been to almost all of them at one time or another. My wife and I went to Vegas a lot between 1988 and 2017 when she died. There were a lot of changes in Vegas in that time period. Lots of construction on new casinos.

I have played pretty much every casino game except maybe baccarat, I think, but finally settled on the horses which I could play for a week with a few hundred dollars whereas that same amount in table games or slots might only last a couple of hours. I usually, wouldn't win more than a few hundred or lose more than the same so it was good. If you can keep it within reason, you can still call it and it is "fun."