Sorry, Prince Bishop and African Story were retired in April.  Story below is from The Bloodhorse...

Prince Bishop, African Story Retired
By Blood-Horse Staff
April 24, 2015 7:22 PM
56 Comments
Racing, International

Prince Bishop and African Story, the respective winners of the 2015 and 2014 Emirates Dubai World Cup (UAE-I), have both been retired, Godolphin announced.
The pair, both 8-year-old geldings, will spend their future days actively occupied in a Godolphin yard, albeit at a low-key level.


 \"They have both been remarkable racehorses over the years,\" said John Ferguson, bloodstock adviser to Sheikh Mohammed. \"Both are 8-year-olds, they have both run on Dubai World Cup night each of the past four years. They have both won the biggest prize in world racing.

 
\"They retire having given the Maktoum family many days of great pride and enjoyment. Sheikh Mohammed felt it was the right thing to retire them from the racetrack, but not to abruptly end their involvement in day-to-day activity in the stable, which they enjoy immensely.

 
\"I am not sure of the logistics as yet, but they will be in one of the Godolphin stables and in all probability will be ridden every day in the immediate future,\" Ferguson added.

 
Both runners started their racing days with champion French trainer Andre Fabre. Both joined Godolphin after several races for Sheikh Mohammed and they each won in excess of $7 million during extensive racing careers in Europe and the Middle East.

 
African Story, a son of Pivotal, won eight of his 21 starts. To underline his versatility, he won the 2013 Godolphin Mile (UAE-II) and 2014 Dubai World Cup, both on Tapeta at Meydan.

 
Prince Bishop, who is by Dubawi, went on to win 11 of his 28 starts. He ran in three Dubai World Cups at Meydan, winning the 2015 edition on dirt.

 
\"Both African Story and Prince Bishop showed great ability from their earliest days,\" Fabre said. \"I am pleased they both went on to realize the potential they displayed when with me.\"

 
Saeed bin Suroor trained both African Story and Prince Bishop for their respective Dubai World Cup victories.

 
\"They were very tough and reliable racehorses,\" he said. \"Both geldings, they could adapt quickly to their environment no matter where in the world they were taken to race.

 
\"The fact that they could each compete in top races on Dubai World Cup night four years on the trot says a lot for their class and durability.\"

They already have...applying for a 3 day weekly meet in November.  If they do it they want full fields which means less days - like the Monmouth meet 2 years ago.

Can\'t beat the weather.  If our horses go back east, you all should come out here for Del Mar, Part 2!

And just like Del Mar the summer before last, Gomez has produced some very good prices in races other than the feature.  With the small fields issue still evident in spite of the dirt track, I find that the only time I play that track anymore is when I can find Gomez in a race with a heavy favorite where he figures.  A few weeks ago, he paid $46 to win in the second race and $46 in the DD. It is not uncommon and I will miss him when he leaves for Keeneland, CD and New York.

Actually Zayat backed off from selling prior to Wood because he found out that the bank would take ALL the money!

Unfortunately, Setsuko is tied with 2 other horses at $180,000 in what amounts to 23rd/24th/25th on the Derby list.  One of those tied with him - Odysseus - is running back in the Blue Grass.  Mandella has said that he will go in the Derby if he gets in, but he\'s not running him again before that for more earnings.

For those of us who bet him at 65-1 in Pool 2, the encouragement of his SA Derby run and all the speed signed on for Kentucky makes this a bitter pill to swallow.

With O\'Brien 0 for 26 in North America for the past 2 1/2 years and his stable jockey 0 for 36 over here, I don\'t care whether the horse is 75% or 110%. On the other hand, if he went back to Mick Kinane or Kieran Fallon to ride any of his horses, I would bet it blind.

Funny, no one ever talks about when Aiden\'s cold streak over here started - but it\'s not hard to figure out.  Their current jock wins plenty in Europe, but why not do what Gosden does when he races here and use someone who knows how to win races in America?

from the Bloodhorse...

\"O'Brien said Rip Van Winkle and most of the other Breeders' Cup horses in his barn will not run on the anti-bleeder medication Salix because they have not shown any indication they need it. The only O'Brien runner entered to run on anti-bleeder medication is Man of Iron, who runs in the Marathon.

The trainer said not using Salix when his horses run in the U.S. is a departure from past practices. Race-day medications are prohibited in Europe but many overseas stables generally use allowable medications when their horses run in the U.S., especially in the Breeders' Cup.\"

\"Our attitude always was 'when in Rome do as the Romans do',\" he explained. \"Our Breeders' Cup horses did run on Lasix (the forerunner of Salix) before. He (Man of Iron) had a little bit of a cold during the season and the others didn't. We reckon if we can train them to perform near the ratings they ran at home, they all have big chances. There is a chance it (Salix) might flatten them. I would be for no medication. We don't use any medication at home. The theory is that our horses always have to be sold it they are not good enough to be stallions. So the belief is to have them in a way they can be sold so there is no artificial damage done to them. Who knows what is the right thing? We decided to leave them be natural and do what we've been doing all year.\"

After seeing that they had the fields up on Racing Post in England and through the Stewards Office in Australia - and still nothing here 5 hours after the draw -as soon as I received the BC email informing me of the \"posting\" of the fields and draw, I immediately wanted to share it with every other frustrated handicapper I knew...and posting it on TG was the best and easiest way to do so!

http://www.breederscup.com/content.aspx?id=43051

(from Breederscup.com)

from the Racing Post...

Rip Van Winkle team reveal fresh injury scare
 BY DAVID ASHFORTH7.17PM 3 NOV 2009
RIP VAN WINKLE, who has established himself as one of the season\'s stars despite recurring training problems, is having to deal with a fresh setback during the run up to the Breeders\' Cup Classic.
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Aidan O\'Brien, after a lengthy visit to his Cup runners in the quarantine barn at Santa Anita on Tuesday morning, said: \"This horse has had no clean run this year and he hasn\'t had one this time.\" The problem is again a foot problem but this time a different foot is affected.
Asked if the problem was serious enough to endanger Rip Van Winkle\'s appearance in the Classic on Saturday, for which he is 6-4 favourite with William Hill, O\'Brien replied: \"I hope not. He goes to the track on Wednesday and we will see. With Rip Van Winkle it\'s always been day by day. What he\'s done up to now I\'ve been amazed that he\'s been able to do.\"
Confirming that Mastercraftsman will run in the Dirt Mile, O\'Brien explained: \"His best form ever was in the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh last year over six furlongs on fast ground when they went all the way. There was a very impressive Coventry Stakes winner in the field (Art Connoisseur) and he totally blew him out. The reason Mastercraftsman was so impressive, we believe, is that he has so much speed and the pace was so strong. Which Breeders\' Cup race is he going to get the most pace? The Dirt Mile.\"
O\'Brien added: \"There is always a risk with three-year-olds at this time of year, and both horses have had a hard season, but we are happy with them.\"

Per Steve Haskin\'s article in the Bloodhorse, the 2nd qtr time is not correct...

\"There is one other note regarding Gulfstream. It is time to simply ignore the fractions in one-mile races run out of the chute. In order to give horses as much room as possible behind the gate for safety reasons, the gate is moved up, so instead of having a run-up before the teletimer is triggered, the timing starts as soon as the horses break. As a result, the opening quarter in the Fountain of Youth was a sluggish :23 4/5, while the  half was run in :45 2/5. That means the second quarter was run in :21 3/5 after a :23 4/5 first quarter. Sorry, but horses simply do not do that, so pay no attention to the fractions of this race.\"

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/49432/ky-derby-trail-road-to-the-roses

You are correct - below is the article that The Blookhorse had up on Wed night regarding the Tracknet Media extension for Las Vegas...
 

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TrackNet, Casinos Agree to Extension
by Ryan Conley
Date Posted: 1/7/2009 7:54:16 PM
Last Updated: 1/7/2009 8:53:53 PM

 
Photo: CDI
TrackNet Media Group has granted an extension of its racing signals to Nevada casinos following a meeting held in Las Vegas Jan. 7.

Scott Daruty, president and chief executive officer of TrackNet, said enough progress was made in meetings with the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association to warrant an extension until Jan. 25.

"We believe we made enough progress to keep the signals on while we finalize a deal that everyone will be happy with," Daruty said. "We made progress on both philosophical issues and economic issues. I think both sides have a better idea where the other is."

Daruty recently said TrackNet was considering cutting off its racing content to more than 80 casinos after months of negotiations failed to bring desired results. On the table from TrackNet were requests for higher fees from casinos, as well as other issues, including how handle is reported to the content company.

"We took it very seriously and they took it very seriously," Daruty said. "Both sides are willing to make a move. And we are optimistic something can be worked out."

Patty Jones, the executive director of the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association, said in an e-mail that both parties agreed to extend the current agreements in the interest of Nevada horseplayers.

"Both sides came away with a better understanding of the other side's position," she wrote. "We will continue negotiating over the next few weeks."

The extension will carry the signals through the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, which is scheduled to take place on Jan. 23-24 at Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas. Rumors were circulating that the 10th annual contest would be postponed or canceled, although National Thoroughbred Racing Association officials said it would have gone on regardless.

TrackNet is a joint content venture of Churchill Downs Inc. and Magna Entertainment Corp. Current signals that could potentially be pulled from Nevada include Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Park, which are owned by MEC, and Fair Grounds, which is owned by CDI.
 




Copyright © 2009 The Blood-Horse, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

I guess you haven\'t heard...the Cal Cup is October 5th!  And the 6 Grade I races including the Yellow Ribbon are September 27th.

I doubt that the track surface has anything to do with Mr. Jones decision not to race in California.  Just as I don\'t believe Pure Clan passed the Del Mar Oaks because she was too \"tired\" from her previous race.

That\'s great Jerry!  Will you be doing the race replays too?  I loved that show - stopped going out on Friday nights for fear of missing it when I lived in Florida!