NEWS STORY 31 - Rockin and Rollin at Hollywood Park. Champagne Joe reports in from the coast.
Champagne reports in from the coast, some important stat numbers of hot jocks and trainers to watch, and some great stories for the fans about the 'Quakes that jolted the area.

Story by Champagne Joe

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The comments and ideas expressed in the story below are those of the author, Champagne Joe, and should not be considered to be the same views of the owner or staff of this web site..

6/18/05

ROCKIN N ROLLIN AT HOLLYWOOD PARK It's not unusual for Hollywood park to be rocking N rolling with their Friday nite concerts following the races, but on Thursday June 16th, when a 4.9 richter scale earthquake struck California, that rocking and rolling was for real! The quakes' epicenter was determined to be 90 miles east of Los Angeles, but shock wavers were felt thruout central California and rumbled all the way down to the Mexican border.

Hollywood Park was itself shaken & stirred, and the old building quivered, creaked, and moaned but held together and racing continued. Still, the anxious moment was apparent in the voice of track announcer Vic Stauffer who calls the races from a perch situated atop the uppermost grandstand roof, when during the race call of the 2nd race he blurted "We're having an earthquake!" then as if fearing the worse added "I love all you fans and I love horseracing! I better make this the best call of my career!".

I happened to be there, stopping off on my way back to San Diego after spending a few days at the Morongo Resort/casino (where they have no off track wagering). I had gone to Hollywood specifically in order to see how Excess Temptations would fare in his debut since I had recieved some very good training reports about this In Excess colt. I felt the quake down at track level. I was seated in one of the clubhouse area boxes just past the finish line and I sure felt the ground rumble, rather menacingly I may add. I could just imagine what Vic experienced up in that 10 by 10 announcers' booth way up there!

However, the quake didnt seem to affect how the horses ran for the remainder of that day and the good news is there was no reported damage to Hollywood Park. Even better was the fact that Excess Temptations ran as expected and paid $14.80 for the win! Jon Kenton Court was the jockey. JK has brought in quite a few double digit winners during this meet, and his ROI numbers are excellent. He's certainly worth a play anytime at odds of 4-1 or more.

In the trainer standings Doug O Neill continues to lead with 19 wins over Vladimir Cerins' 14, but Vlad sports the better win pct. (14 from 50). Champagne Fairy showed good early speed in the 3rd, tired late, but she 's one to watch. Expect improvement next out. Meanwhile , attendance remains below expectations except for Friday nites, but Friday nites alone cannot keep the old track afloat. Future for Hollywood remains bleak!

Looking forward to Del Mar! I'll see you there!

Champagne Joe

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