Getting ready for bowl week

I hate the whole bowl system, NCAA Football is as corrupt as they come.

Come on!!! You mean you aren't looking forward to the Rice/Troy or C.Michigan/M.TN St matchups?

im down with that the super is made up of the 456 horses jocks in battle royal..

:)

I am not even looking forward to OSU/Florida?

They were HANDED a chance to win something, and I am a big fan of EARNING a chance, FIVE weeks off....come on

EASILY could have a 16 team bracket, and IF THAT HAPPENS. I will INSTANTOUSLY become a fan.

You know, I was all hammered one night down at SIU and we were talking about favorite teams, I realized that I didn't have a College football favorite, so I choose Auburn, no idea why. I learned about them and got into their game. Then COMEDY stuff like 2004 happened and I said forget this. THAT team would have SMOKED both teams whoever played in the so-called championship game, they just had nothing to play for in their bowl game. Pride is a tricky thing in football. Like 30% of the Auburn team only cared about being healthy after they got screwed because they were thinking about going to 'the show' and not winning a game

Bowl system is just another cash cow for universities that already have a boat load of money

I'm a U of AZ alum so I dont care that much about winning the championship, since they have pretty much no shot . I just like betting the games.

Oh, I still do that plenty, but just not a fan

Huge fan of wagering on College basketball, it is probably second to horses

[quote=Scav]:)

I am not even looking forward to OSU/Florida?


Me neither. THE two teams I hate the most....
Its the 1st annual "satan bowl" as far as Im concerned.

Berube
 

Took a look at the TRPB site and see that Berube, track honcho at TBD was the head of the TRPB org. for 17 years. I guess he wanted to start this area of the cleanup in his own backyard. I look forward to seeing the little ones all out in the same race. :D

Me too.
I spend almost every NCAA tournament in Vegas, camped out at a sportsbook, surveying the madness that is LV. It's amazing...

This year... I may be AT a game (only other one I went to was the 2nd round in '05), if my Dragons can continue their torrid play...

I'll be out there this year for it most likely. I already have 5 nights reserved at Ballys (on them) and will probably watch them over at Caesars

Like I have told Kev.......

1)The horses at TBD that look like they deserve to be chalk seem to just somehow get beat.

and

2)The horses who don't look like they deserve to go off lukewarm favorites...............Oh me, oh my, they kick some a$$.


I have seen this particular pattern constantly there.BTW,the race I will go to my grave knowing was fixed was 12/13 race 3 HWD. Two speed horses,and the one(Ella Ella) who shows speed every damn time was somehow way far off the pace.The winner was a Bob Bone horse that has to have a clear lead,or she will stop badly.Like Oracle said,nobody seems to care.

There goes my TD avatar.

Understood.
I see no reason why Billy Patin is back riding at the Lousiana tracks.
There are other honest and hard working riders available I'm sure.

Now...
"made for TV productions" ? LOL

If there's any silver lining at all, at least the rest of the meet will be scrutinized and monitored daily. Nothing like a giant microscope to keep everything on the QT... It will be interesting to see how the M/L favs fare this weekend...

One of my favorite spots for the tourney as well. Ironically, was wearing the free t-shirt they give out last night!

Other shoe finally drops: http://www.drf.com/news/man-pleads-g...thletes-jockey

Man pleads guilty to bribing college athletes, jockey
By Matt Hegarty

A Detroit man accused of bribing college athletes and a jockey who rode briefly in the United States pleaded guilty to three counts, including conspiracy to fix races, in a case that has touched on the careers of several riders.

Ghazi Manni, 57, admitted in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Tuesday that he paid bribes to players at the University of Toledo to shave points in basketball and football games from 2004-06. He also admitted to paying bribes to a jockey, Ricardo Valdes, to hold horses in four races at Tampa Bay Downs and Delaware Park during those same years. Valdes left the United States in 2006, several years before the indictment was released, and his whereabouts are unknown, according to officials.

Although the indictment against Manni and others associated with the scheme was not unsealed until 2009, an investigation into some of the allegations in the indictment had been launched years earlier by the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, a private investigative agency owned by tracks. As a result of the TRPB probe, Tampa Bay Downs banned seven jockeys, including Valdes, in late 2006, under the suspicion that the jockeys had held horses in races at Great Lakes Downs in Michigan.

Other than Valdes, none of the jockeys was ever charged by authorities, though some tracks, including Arlington Park, temporarily barred several of the jockeys as a result of the Tampa Bay Downs bans. Over the years, most of the affected riders either left racing or received licenses to ride in other jurisdictions, although one jurisdiction, Kentucky, has declined to approve a racing application from Terry Houghton, one of the jockeys banned at Tampa Bay Downs, even though he has filed license applications.

Marc Guilfoil, the deputy director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, said Thursday that the KHRC was scheduled to hold a licensing review hearing for Houghton in January. However, with the case involving Manni now closed, Houghton’s license likely will be reconsidered for approval this year, following discussions with the U.S. attorney’s office that brought the case, Guilfoil said.

In the case of Manni, seven former college players have pleaded guilty, along with Manni’s partner, Mitchell Karam. None has been sentenced.

Holy cow. Great pull on a 8yo thread. What, you own this joint or something?

Hey SB, come to the Tampa vacay reunion in Feb. ATRAB live from BigsMC finish line box.:tro:

Happy Birthday Kev :)

happens at Belmont and Aqueduct all the time.....

always good to know a tough little exercise rider. they are small enough to smack a jockey and get away with it. it's a good thing when they know if they hold your hoss, it could result in a beating, they let em run.

as far a Billy Patin, why didn't he just fall off the hoss and shove it in the dirt? ya made the score, take one for the team Billy, ya dope ya

Kev..

Happy belated birthday!

Definitely overdue for return to Tampa.. Will try to make that happen.

Curious so just pulled his plea agreement and now the rest of the story.

He is pleading guilty to a single count of fixing a sports contest. (He was only charged with 2 counts despite there being at least a dozen fixed games and a half dozen fixed races listed.) On each count he was facing 5 years and $250K in fines. (Had the government taken the time to file a count for each incident he would have faced a max of 90 years and $4.5 million fine)

He is also consolidating a second Federal case, namely 14-CR-20749 for food stamp fraud, where he was paying 70% for SNAP benefits in cash and then receiving 100% back from the government thereby netting a 30% profit. The SNAP recipient then undoubtedly used the cash received from Manni for non-SNAP purchases, namely liquor and drugs. On this charge he faced 20 years and a 250K fine.

The plea includes a worksheet that cites his past criminal record and low and behold Manni did 2 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine (2/1/91). He has a violation of the tobacco tax act (3/20/00), Attempt to possess a firearm by a felon (5/19/00) and felon in possession of a firearm (actually three guns). He has been in federal custody FCI Milan since 7/3/13 and is requesting time served be included in figuring out his plea bargain sentence.

What's disturbing is he reserves the right to withdraw his plea should the total sentence decided upon be greater than 70 months. :zz:

Unlike State prison where everyone most often ends up doing a little less than 50% of time sentenced in the Fed it's 80%. So if the judge went along with the suggested maximum Manni would face 56 months. With one year and 5 months already served he'll be out in 3 years and 3 months.

So much for getting tough on crime!

Please Mr. Prosecutor, for the sake of the broken down horseplayer, let's take this POS to trial, on separate charges, as a habitual offender!