Fantasy Racing
What a great weekend of racing we just enjoyed, watching some terrific horses run and seeing that the spring has finally arrived at Oaklawn. This weekend we will go back to paying attention to three-year-olds as such three-year-olds of regard as Lookin At Lucky, Noble's Promise, Dublin and others are expected in Saturday's featured $300,000 Rebel Stakes at a mile-and-a-sixteenth. On Sunday the filly companion race to the Rebel, the $125,000 Honeybee, will be offered, assuring that we will see some three-year-olds of note from both the colts and gelding and filly divisions. What we learned from last weekend in playing the WFRC is that just because a jockey doesn't participate on both days of the competition doesn't necessarily eliminate that jockey from having an important impact on the outcome. Corey Nakatani did not ride at Oaklawn on Saturday, but returned with a vengeance on Sunday, riding four winners, and became, as a result, the highest scoring "3-point" jockey of the weekend. Clearly you can't only look at the entries for one day and be well prepared for the weekend's contest. This week you will notice one significant absentee, Calvin Borel. He will be riding Rachel Alexandra in her prep for the Apple Blossom Invitational on Saturday, then he will be in California to receive the George Woolf Award on Sunday. He may discover that he was cheered louder on the reception of the award at Oaklawn than at Santa Anita. Calvin is a beloved member of the Oaklawn racing community and his success is always well received here.
Fans at Oaklawn will be watching the prep races for Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta very closely this weekend, in anticipation of them participating in the $5 million Apple Blossom Invitational on April 9. Fans at the track will also be participating in the popular boat/truck giveaway, so there are plenty of reasons to be at Oaklawn on this Saturday afternoon. We anticipate a number of ship-in riders for the stakes at Oaklawn this weekend, but we have not used any in the WFRC, since we would just as soon use riders we feel confident will be here for two days. That, of course, doesn't necessarily include the top jockeys, since they can always, like Corey Nakatani did last weekend, go off on a big day and make up for missing some full cards. This weekend your choices will be for Saturday and Sunday, March 13-14. The weekend's stakes races at Oaklawn are terrific races, but not likely to be the races which determine the outcomes of the WFRC. It's your ability to analyze the remainder of the card which will spell the difference. For that we wish you all the luck.
Weather has turned and it appears that spring has finally arrived. The long range forecast doesn't suggest any stormy conditions, so you should have good racing conditions all weekend. That should help the majority of you.
As you now know our total focus is the live racing at Oaklawn. You are given choices of jockeys and trainers, but for this game they only score points at Oaklawn. In the lists of jockeys and trainers the participants are grouped into those which qualify as "three-pointers", "two-pointers" or "one-pointers". You may choose one each from the "three-pointers" and "two-pointers" and two each from those labelled "one-pointers". Altogether your team consists of four jockeys and four trainers. They earn points for you according to how they perform during the days of the weekly contest. There are weekly prizes of Oaklawn caps and/or Media Guides. There will also be a season champion, the one person who scores the most points for the entire season. That champion will receive $500.
It will be pretty tough to be the champion and miss a week of the Weekly Fantasy Racing Challenge, so we encourage you not to miss a single edition of the WFRC from now through April 10. Our whole philosophy is that we hope to make better players out of you by showing you the importance of who's hot and who's not. We try to present you jockeys and trainers who are in top form and who start plenty of horses, so that you get familiar with them, since they are the ones winning the most races and giving you the most winning tickets.
When you select your "three-point" jockeys or trainers, their totals for the time period of the weekly contest will be multiplied by three. The "two-point" jockeys and trainers will have their point totals multiplied by two. All will get five (5) points for a win, three (3) points for a second and one (1) point for a third place finish. It is the best selection of "three-point" jockeys and trainers, as well as "two-point" jockeys and trainers, which could spell the difference between winning a weekly prize as well as the season-ending cash award. When a three-point jockey or trainer wins a race, they are registering five points for the win and that is multiplied by three. So the wins by the "three-pointers" are actually worth 15 points.
If you have not yet registered, you need to do so. If you have already registered for prior competitions, we should have your information. The winner(s) for each weekend of WFRC will receive an Oaklawn cap.
We incorrectly posted a two-way tie for the win over the past weekend, but an audit of points indicate we had a 3-way tie between Glenn Wolf of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, and Sally Carmona of Chicago, Illinois and Stephen King of Ward, Arkansas.
Glen and Sally both used the same jockeys, Corey Nakatani (60 points), Abel Castellano, Jr. (16 points), Chris Emigh (12 points) and Quincy Hamilton (16 points). Glen combined them with trainers Steve Asmussen (84 points), Mack Robertson (10 points), Steve Hobby (5 points) and Donnie K. Von Hemel (6 points). Sally used Asmussen, Robertson, Bret Calhoun (11 points) and Chris Richard (0 points) for her 209 points. Stephen King used a best-possible jockey combination of Nakatani, Hamilton, Cliff Berry (16 points) and Alex Birzer (15 points), but coupled them with trainers Asmussen, Tim Ritchey (6 points), Von Hemel and Randy Morse (6 points). The best-possible score for the weekend would have been 218 points and used Nakatani, Birzer, Hamilton and either Berry or Castellano, along with a trainer team of Asmussen, Robertson, Calhoun and Von Hemel.
For their great job all of our winners will receive an Oaklawn cap.
Chuck King continues atop the season-long standings, with an 11-point lead over Dan Musetti, 1502-1491. Those who have played in the WFRC know that there have already been a number of lead changes during the live meet, so don't be discouraged. This could be the very week which vaults you into contention for the season-long prize of $500.
Again, if you have not already done so, you'll need to go through the registration process again. Click here to register. This does remain the best FREE horse racing contest on the Internet, so you will not be asked for any money to play. In the meantime, don't hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have.
We are happy to have all of you participating with us this season. In the meantime you have chance to pick up some prizes and bragging rights, so don't miss the opportunity.
Remember this week's contest involves Saturday-Sunday, March 13-14.
This is the live season edition of the Weekly Fantasy Racing Challenge and we're excited to have you with us.
Good luck
The Commissioner's Office
If you have any questions regarding this Contest, please contact Oaklawn via email at commissioner@oaklawn.com.
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