Contact Information:
Bob Roberts (216-662-8600)
November 25, 2008
www.thistledown.com
Who is the Ohio Horse of the Year for 2008? For the second year in a row, you can help decide the champion racehorse as the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners are inviting racing fans to vote on line at it website. Balloting will officially open on Friday, Nov. 28, with railbirds asked to pick not only the "Best of the Buckeyes," but 12 divisional champions as well.
The Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners website is www.otbo.com. The champion horses will be announced at the OTBO's annual dinner dance, which will be held Jan. 17 at Darby Dan Farm in Galloway, Ohio.
THANKSGIVING AT THISTLE --- The track will be open for holiday wagering on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27) on the races from nine ovals --- eight thoroughbred and one (Chester) harness. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. with the first races being from Calder (11 a.m.) and Laurel Race Course (11:05 a.m.) The other signals are from Aqueduct, Churchill Downs, Woodbine, the Fair Grounds, Hollywood Park, and Golden Gate Fields. Wagering will continue to approximately 6 p.m. Doors will also open early at 11 a.m. for weekend simulcasting on Friday (11/28) and Saturday (11/29).
HEADED FOR VEGAS --- Jack Pentek of Chardon and Rick Chew of Natrona Heights, Pa. finished first and second, respectively, in last Saturday's World Series of Handicapping Tournament qualifier, held in the Thistledown clubhouse. Pentek collected $600 in prize money and air fare and hotel accommodations for the 2009 Coast Casinos World Series of Handicapping Tournament at The Orleans Las Vegas Feb. 19-21. Chew is also headed for Vegas. He collected $400 for finishing second.
CHAMPION DIES -- Ronnie Fairholm, the leading jockey at the 1960 Randall Park Meeting, died Monday (Nov. 17) in Anderson, Indiana after a long battle with cancer. Fairholm was believed to be 64. Following his riding career, Fairholm served in a variety of positions as a racing official. "He was a great guy," said former jockey and current Thistledown trainer Tony Rini. "I knew Ronnie for nearly 50 years."
FEED BAG --- Thistledown's Gift Shop and Ohio Lottery Stand will be open Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, but will be closed on Thanksgiving . . . Winter officially arrived at Thistledown when 50 tons of salt was trucked in last week. The track usually uses more than 500 tons of salt each winter to service its parking lots . . .Thistledown will be open for late night full-card simulcast wagering Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday this week (Nov. 25-26 and Nov. 30). The North Randall oval is open each and afternoon for wagering on the leading tracks in North America . . . Veteran Thistledown trainer Mike Nance was named Trainer of the Week at Hoosier Park (Nov. 8). Nance won four races in five days at Hoosier . . . Weldon Cloninger, who finished third in Thistledown's overall jockey race with 68 winners, has returned to riding after serving a lengthy suspension. He celebrated getting back up with a riding double at Beulah Park last week . . . Thistledown lost one of its longtime regulars when Louis (Papa Lucio) Drago died Nov. 19. Drago, 85, owned popular Lake County pizzerias for decades until his retirement.