Men Reportedly Planned To Use Geiger Counter to Beat Game!
Not racing related but another insight into the shady world of illegal gambling in Korea which is evidently flourishing. The Joongang Ilbo reports that police in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province (about 30km south of Seoul) have arrested two Vietnamese men after a raid on a farm thought to be used by an illegal gambling ring.
Nothing unusual about that, but the paper goes on to report that the men were found in posession of twelve small pieces of radioactive material. These pieces were to be slipped inside small gambling chips made of paper and used in a “Vietnamese Guessing Game” – the two sides are painted different colours and the men allegedly planned to use a geiger counter to correctly determine which side would be facing up.
The news comes a day after the same paper reported on another Vietnamese gambling ring, this time in North Gyeongsang province. This one was reportedly taking illegal bets on the Vietnamese National Lottery.
* While the only radioactive things at the racecourse this weekendwere Gyongmaman’s predictions, on the racing regulatory front, trials of the Electronic Card that the National Gaming Control Commission (NGCC) hopes to make compulsory for all legal gamblers, are underway. An interesting possibility was raised this weekend though in that in order to sweeten the deal for punters, the card would also act as a “mileage card” with bettors potentially getting a 1% rebate on all wagers. As of now, however, it’s pure speculation.
Ever since he left Korea at the very end of 2008, there have been constant whispers that he might return. First he was only going to be away until the end of Spring – “He’s gone to spend his money, but he’ll be back to get some more”, local jockeys muttered darkly in the Busan weighing room. Weeks turned into months and then a year. Still the speculation continued though and today Toshio Uchida “Mr Pink” – friend of the punters – made his return to Busan Race Park twenty-two months after he left.
No wins today but Mr Pink is back (Pic: KRA)
Veteran Japanese jockey Uchida arrived in Korea in May 2008. He quickly proved himself to be a class act in the saddle; able to judge the pace of a race far more effectively than the local riders – the legacy of nearly thirty years of experience in Japan. He quickly became something of a phenomenon at Busan. Throughout the rest of the year, headlines such as “Uchida Lands Five at Busan” and “Uchida Dominates Busan” became a regular Friday night ritual on this blog.
Despite giving his rivals a four-month head start, he raced away with the 2008 Jockey Title at Busan, scoring a total of 69 winners from 311 mounts. Such was his popularity that when he made his only appearance at Seoul Race Park on Minister’s Cup weekend that autumn, the capital’s punters chanted his name and thronged the paddock ten-deep to get a close up view of the man who had suddenly made them pay attention to the Busan simulcast.
Today Uchida had a quiet day. Debuting in race 4 on Joe Murphy’s Beautiful Bogo, he finished last of nine and didn’t get much closer despite a couple of reasonably well-fancied runners among his five rides; fourth place on Cheonman Yeongung being his only money finish.
Uchida is back in Korea on a short-term license. Punters will hope it’s for the long term. He joins a very strong Japanese contingent at the southern track in the shape of Yoshi Aoki and Hitomi Miyashita.
* In the feature race at Busan today, Winning Perfect was the shock 38/1 victor in the feature race. The three-year old colt held off favourite Triple Sinhwa in the ten-furlong handicap. Racing returns to Busan on Sunday when there are six races from 12:40 to 16:30. Uchida has two rides.
Subsidy, Grand Prix winner and Horse Of The Year in Korea in 2005 has been officially retired at the age of 10, his owners confirmed at the weekend. One of the final foals by the late Mr. Prospector, Subsidy [Mr. Prospector – Foreign Aid (Danzig)] was born on March 29, 2000, nine months after the death of his illustrious sire.
Subsidy (KRA)
Subsidy was a late arrival to Korea, not being imported until the age of four. These days, the only horses older than two who arrive here are for breeding purposes and it is almost unheard of for a new arrival to have racing experience. Subsidy, however, was a veteran of 14 races in the US.
He made his debut as a two-year old on November 11, 2002 over 6 furlongs at a sloppy Delaware Park, finishing an encouraging second. He made one more appearance as a two-year old at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York but was a disappointing eighth. Reappearing at Pimlico the following spring, he ran second again. After a couple more outings back at Delaware Park, he was taken to Monmouth, where he scored his first – and only – victory on US soil in a 6 furlong allowance race on July 12, 2003.
At the end of his three-year old season he was sold to Korea. His US racing record was 14 runs with 1 win, 4 seconds and 1 third. In total he won $51,000. Four months after his last US appearance – a claiming race at Philadelphia Park between Christmas and New Year – he debuted in Korea on April 3, 2004 winning at seven furlongs with ease. He did enough throughout the remainder of his four-year old campaign to merit an invite to the season ending Grand Prix in December. It didn’t quite go to plan as he finished sixth. However, he was not done with this race.
2005 was Subsidy’s year. He won the Owner’s Trophy in April and, despite suffering a surprise defeat to Value Play in the KRA Chairman’s Cup the following month, harvested big handicaps throughout the summer and autumn and headed into the Grand Prix as favourite. He didn’t disappoint. Hitting the front as the field turned for home, Subsidy stretched away for a three length win, taking Korean racing’s biggest prize as well as the Horse of the Year award.
By 2006, Bally Brae was on the scene. A year younger than Subsidy, the pair would spend the next three years battling it out in big handicaps. Their connections could have avoided each other in all but the very biggest races but they would regularly meet. In the Grand Prix of that year, neither would win as Flying Cat took the honours with Bally Brae in second and an out-of-sorts Subsidy back in fourth. Only running five times in 2006, Subsidy still picked up three wins. It was Bally Brae though who picked up Horse of the Year.
In early 2007, Subsidy and Bally Brae had their most memorable battle as, despite giving the rest of the field an almost ten-kilo weight advantage, they engaged in a private duel over the last four furlongs, battling each other right up until the line. Subsidy came out on top that day in a race that, given the fondness for both of these horses, will always be special for Korean racing lovers.
However, later that year, Bally Brae would get his own back as he dominated the Grand Prix, beating Subsidy into second by place by four lengths. That Grand Prix goes down as one of the great “what might have beens” for Korean racing. 2007 was the year of J.S. Hold, but the three-year-old Triple Crown winner had already run his last race by the time the Grand Prix came around. Likewise the “white light”, Baekgwang, another star domestic-bred horse was also injured. No-one will ever know if either could have beaten Bally Brae and Subsidy, the two dominant horses of their generation.
By 2008, it was clear that Subsidy’s star was waning. He still managed three wins but, faced with a restrictive weight to carry in the big handicaps, things were getting more difficult. Subsidy’s last win came on September 7, 2008. Second in that race was Dongbanui Gangja. The margin was a nose. By the time of the Grand Prix later that year, Dongbanui Gangja was established as top horse on the peninsula.
Subsidy continued to run sporadically – and finish in the money until what has now been confirmed as his last race, the 2009 Owner’s Trophy. Dongbanui Gangja won that day with Subsidy finishing sixth. Old rival Bally Brae wasn’t there – they had said their goodbyes the previous month as Bally Brae comfortably beat him in a Saturday handicap.
He wasn’t officially retired then. Always sensibly campaigned, his owners had said that so long as he could be competitive and safe, he would run again. In July 2010, he took part in a Friday morning race trial and won easily, re-qualifying him for the real thing. The real return never happened though. Subsidy will be retired to a private farm. One of those few horses in Korea known by name rather than number, the gelding who went from being a mid-week claimer at Philadelphia Park to winning a Grand Prix in front of 80,000 passionate punters and amassing over $1Million in prize money, has earned his retirement.
It’s been a long week. Time for some punting. Here is what Gyongmaman will be losing his money on at Seoul Race Park tomorrow:
Race 1: Domestic-bred Class 6 (D6) 1200M – Dreadful fare to begin with. Of these three-year old fillies, Geumbit (Number 1) has done the least wrong and is worth a bet. Lane Green (12) will be more fancied.
Race 2: D5 1200M – Gate Shine (10) will be odds-on. If you must take him on, do so with Yeast (2).
Let's hope for more of this
Race 3: D6 1000M – A host of unraced two-year olds here. Korean punters like experience and will probably make Nicole Windsor (3), who has underachieved in her four starts, favourite. Of the debut-makers, Huimangpyeongchang (6) and Palgigun (11) take the eye.
Race 4: D6 1000M – More two-year olds in this. Arieon (12) and Huimangdaero (3) have placed before but Misocheonguk (1) is where the value will be.
Race 5: D5 1300M – Sharp Concept (9) is one for one and should still provide plenty of place value as few expect him to handle to increase in trip and class. Should they be correct, Eunbit Cheonsa (7) is the one to win.
Race 6: Foreign-bred Class 4 (F4) 1000M – The highly anticpated debut of Mass Media (1). He has the same name as his sire (his original name was Mass Media’s Tea). Should he fail to live up to expectations, Imperial Girl (3) could be the one to capitalise.
Race 7: D4 1700M – Jeongsang Cheonha (1) should have too much for this field. Twenty-one race maiden Yongwangseong (8) could be value for a place.
Race 8: D4 1800M – Small field of just seven means there’s no place value. None of these inspire much confidence although Isang (7) is interesting and Mulmangcho (3) should have a chance at a decent price.
Race 9: D3 1700M – Very competitve. A winner at this class and distance but coming off a two month lay-off and with an unfashionable jockey on board, Power Of Money (3) will offer generous odds.
Race 10: D2 1200M – The Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup – It will be a big surprise if Magic Party (2) failed to land this championship race for two-year olds. You’ll not get rich betting on her though. Smyth (4) will be second favourite for good reason.
Race 11: D2 1900M – Dongbang Rose (5) skipped last week’s Minister’s Cup for this. She’d better win it.
Race 12: F3 1400M – If you’re still in the game by this time, it’s probably a good idea to put your money back in your pocket. Moonhaksan (7) should win this but he’ll be odds-on.
* Racing at Seoul gets underway at 11:20 with the last at 17:50. There is also racing at Jeju Island with nine races from 12:10 to 17:20. Two races from Jeju will be simulcasted to Seoul.
Busan Sweeps Placings In Final Leg of Triple Crown
Last week, Tough Win was crowned King of Seoul. Today, Dangdae Bulpae came up from Busan and put in a performance every bit as impressive to win the Minister’s Cup – the final leg of the 2010 Korean Triple Crown – and take his place as the year’s top Korean bred three-year old.
Dangdae Bulpae & Jo Sung Gon in the Mininter's Cup Winner's Circle
The similarities were striking. Completing the ten-furlongs just half a second slower than Tough Win did in the KRA Cup Classic, Dangdae Bulpae, like his US-bred counterpart last week, won the race with a quick burst of speed as the field entered the home straight, sewing things up with a furlong remaining. Indeed, so confortable was the win that jockey Jo Sung Gon spent the last 100 metres striking posing for the 60,000 racegoers in attendance.
And he had every right to do so. The horse who got closest to him was Cheonnyeon Daero. It was a valiant effort from the Derby winner but at no stage did he look like threatening the winner. Completing a Busan clean-sweep of the placings was Glory Yeonggwang, a further length and a half back in third.
Lost in the haze: Cheonnyeon Daero had to settle for second today
Indeed, Busan’s remaining entrant, Triple Sinhwa took fourth. It’s a remarkable achievement for the Gyeongnam track and one that should have Seoul’s trainers once again asking what they are doing wrong. In the event. Tamnaseontaek was the first of Seoul’s finishers – and in fifth, the only one to gain any prize money.
Those recriminations – and believe me, we’re going to have them here very soon – can wait. Today is about celebration and anticipation. Dangdae Bulpae, now a winner of eight races from eleven starts, has already beaten older horses in the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup and today he only needed to show a fraction of what he might be capable of. Race fans can only hope that his connections prove ambitious and want to test him against foreign horses.
The biggest event on the Korean racing calendar is the season-ending Grand Prix Stakes. It’s open to all and punters vote on horses to receive invitations. Now that Busan horses are also eligible, Dangdae Bulpae’s election should be a formality. Whether the invitation will be accepted or not is quite a different matter. Let’s hope it is as waiting for him back in Seoul in December will surely be none other than Tough Win.
Minister of FAFF Cup (KOR G.III) – Seoul Race Park – 2000M – October 10, 2010
1. Dangdae Bulpae (KOR) [Biwa Shinseiki – Indeed My Dear (Alydeed)] – Jo Sung Gon – 1.7, 1.1 2. Cheonnyeon Daero (KOR) [Creek Cat – Doneitmyway (Northern Flagship)] – Park Geum Man – 1.4 3. Glory Yeonggwang (KOR) [Didyme – Lady Sandido (Sandrigo)] – Mun Jung Won – 6.1
It could be. This Sunday sees the re-match between double Grand Prix champion Dongbanui Gangja and the young pretender to his crown as best horse in Korea, Tough Win as they both line up for the Group 3 KRA Cup Classic at Seoul Race Park. The pair met for the first time down at Busan in July and on that day it was the three-year old Tough Win who came out on top breaking Dongbanui Gangja’s run of twelve straight victories.
However, the pair never really faced off. The notoriously hard to control Dongbanui Gangja veered wildly off course on the final turn squandering any chance of victory. Tough Win took the victory, but it was a close-run thing with Vicar Love and Yeonseung Daero both getting very very close to him. Nevertheless, he won and good horses don’t need to win by much, they just need to win and Tough Win has a perfect eight for eight.
Choi Bum Hyun will return to partner Dongbanui Gangja. Choi missed the Busan Metropolitan due to injuryand it was Moon Se Young in the saddle when the five-year old went wide. However, in his previous run with Choi on board at Seoul in April, Dongbanui Gangja had done exactly the same thing. That day, he got away with it.
Even if Dongbanui Gangja does stay straight, he will still have to contend with a back-breaking 63 kilos to carry. The younger Tough Win carries more than 4 kilos less. They both have eleven other contenders to deal with too. Larrycat and Hwanggeumjandi are young up-and-comers while Angus Empire and Baekjeonmupae have been competing at the top level for nearly three years now. Owners’ Cup winner Serendipper is the only filly or mare in the race.
The KRA Cup Classic is race 9 of an 11 race card at Seoul Race Park on Sunday. Racing gets underway at 11:20am with the big one at 5pm. Here’s a full list of the runners, weights, race records and rider:
KRA Cup Classic (KOR.G.III) – Seoul Race Park – 2000M – October 3, 2010, 5pm
1. Hwanggeumjandi (USA) – 56kg – (11/5/0/2) – Kim Young Jin 2. Baekjeonmupae (NZ) – 57.5kg – (34/10/7/2) – Yoo Sang Wan 3. Emperor Cugat (AUS) – 53kg – (17/4/4/2) – Han Sung Youl 4. Kahnui Jeonseol (NZ) – 51kg – (24/2/5/5) – Jo In Kwen 5. Free Hugs (AUS) – 58kg – (34/5/9/4) – Shin Hyoung Chul 6. Indian Secret (USA) – 53kg – (21/4/1/2) – Won Jung Il 7. Park’s Pride (NZ) – 51kg – (12/3/4/1) – Lee Gi Hweoi 8. Dongbanui Gangja (USA) – 63kg – (25/17/4/2) – Choi Bum Hyun 9. Tough Win (USA) – 58.5kg – (8/8/0/0) – Cho Kyoung Ho 10. Angus Empire (USA) – 59kg – (38/11/8/4) – Moon Se Young 11. Larrycat (USA) – 55kg – 12/5/3/2 – Park Tae Jong 12. Serendipper (AUS) – 54kg – (30/4/7/3) – Lee Sang Hyeok 13. Cheonjidolpung (USA) – 52kg – (24/5/0/4) – Boo Min Ho
Dongbanui Gangja vs Tough Win Part 2 / Triple Crown Concludes
Enough talk of the NGCC and electronic ID cards. We’re back on the track and about to embark on two massive weekends of racing in Korea.
Part 2? Dongbanui Gangja (right) and Tough Win - Pic:KRA
Just a few hours from now, we’ll find out if Dongbanui Gangja and Tough Win will indeed face each other at Seoul Race Park this coming Sunday in the Group 3 KRA Cup Classic. Korea’s best two horses went head-to-head for the first time two months ago in the Busan Metropolitan with young upstart Tough Win taking the honours after double Grand Prix Champion Dongbanui Gangja veered suicidally wide on the final turn. What will happen at Seoul? Full preview to come over the next couple of days.
Regardless what happens there though, a week later we’re guaranteed another top class race the when the 2010 Triple Crown concludes with the Group 2 Minister’s Cup – formally, and wonderfully, known as the Minister for FAFF (Farming, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) also at Seoul Race Park. Derby Winner Cheonnyeon Daero heads north to the capital once more, however, the horse who was second that day, Money Car will not. Whether we will ever see the injured KRA Cup Mile winner back on the track is questionable. Nor will long-shot Oaks Winner Euro Fighter be present.
Cheonnyeon Daero beats Money Car in the Derby
However, that doesn’t mean this isn’t set to be an intriguing contest. Dangdae Bulpae was third in the Derby but is unbeaten since. Most recently, the son of Biwa Shinseiki dispatched an array of big-name older horses in dismissive fashion in the Gyeongnam Governor’s Cup. He is sure to give Cheonnyeon Daero a run for his money. Then there is Glory Yeonggwang. Sent off at 60/1 in the Gold Circle Trophy earlier this month, he upset the odds – and eleven rivals – to take the prize and earn a place at Seoul.
Best Holls - Ilgan Sports winner
Another improver is Best Holls. The surprise winner of the Ilgan Sports Cup will try his luck in what seems a very open field. In Euro Fighter’s absence, the hopes of the fillies look set to rest with Dongbang Rose. She was third in the Oaks but back on her home track could pull off a surprise. Here is the full list of the fourteen horses currently entered (race records/home track):
FAFF Minister’s Cup (KOR.G.II) – Seoul Race Park – October 10 – 2000M
1. Cheonnyeon Daero (13/4/5/2) Busan 2. Dangdae Bulpae (10/7/0/1) Busan 3. Triple Shinhwa (9/3/4/0) Busan 4. Glory Yeonggwang (14/4/2/3) Busan 5. Andy’s Runner (12/3/2/5) Seoul 6. Forest Wind (8/3/0/2) Seoul 7. Bonsol (14/4/0/3) Seoul 8. Dongbang Rose (8/4/1/2) Seoul (filly) 9. Medlin Speed (10/4/0/0) Seoul 10. Best Holls (10/5/1/2) Seoul 11. Gayabobae (11/4/2/0) Seoul 12. Gaecheok (8/1/1/3) Seoul 13. Hey Day (8/2/3/1) Seoul 14. Tracker (9/3/1/2) Seoul
* In Stud news, the KRA announced today that they have purchased the stallion Officer [Bertrando – St. Helens Shadow (Septieme Ciel)], who is currently standing for a $10,000 fee in Kentucky. Officer will be flown to the KRA’s stallion station on Jeju Island where the eleven year-old will be standing alongside the likes of Ecton Park, Volponi and Menifee as well as more established Korea-based sires Revere, Didyme and Psychobabble.
According to the National Gaming Control Commission (NGCC), 6.1% of Koreans are addicted to gambling. Also, the addiction rate among those who actually attend gambling establishments (i.e. the track and Gangwon Land Casino) is supposedly 61% (Gyongmaman is going to ask for a show of hands on the fourth floor next Saturday). Indeed, according to their criteria, your correspondent is among those in urgent need of help. It is on its way; in October, trials will begin of an Electronic ID card which the NGCC hope to make compulsory for all punters. The card will track every bet made by an individual.
Falling foul of not just the loan-sharks, but also the law that makes it illegal for a Korean citizen to gamble even while overseas, Shin can’t return to Korea for fear of being arrested. Shin claimed that in fact, he hadn’t been gambling but had instead contracted dengue fever and a picture purportedly showing him in hospital in the Phillippines was promptly uploaded to his website. However, KBS TV – until recently one of his employers – went to the hospital in question and found that he had been given a clean bill of health. Shin is now reportedly recovering from whatever ails him in Macau. He probably won’t catch Dengue fever there.
Of course, while it is insensitive in the extreme to compare the two cases, both have brought the spotlight back on the issue of gambling. Likewise, in neither of the two cases was the alleged gambling debt run up by legal means. However, it is the legal outlet of racing that is going to bear the brunt of regulation.
Initially the ID card trial is going to involve two sets of subjects. The first group are going to be anonymous – their personal details will not be known, the card will simply track their betting. The second set – and you can be sure that this is the one which will get the final go-ahead – will include punters’ personal information.
Will it have any effect? Perhaps, but while having to produce an ID card imay decrease the practice of “window-hopping” whereby to get round the maximum bet of 100,000 won, a bettor goes to several windows or machines before a race, placing the maximum bet each time, those kinds of punter are generally well aware of the various non-legal options open to them.
Gyongmaman was looking forward to getting his card, however, he remembered it probably won’t apply to him. For the Korean government has a very different approach to non-Koreans gambling as demonstrated by this wonderful quote about the use of credit cards in casinos, which is always worth another airing: “Currently foreign tourists are able to buy chips only with cash…Government officials said this has discouraged non-Koreans from gambling here adding if visitors were allowed to purchase chips with plastic, they would spend more money”.(Korea Times, September 2009)
2014 Opening at Yeongcheon to Have Big Impact on Seoul
The Korea Racing Authority (KRA) recently confirmed that the nation’s third thoroughbred race track is to be built outside the city of Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. Given ever-stronger anti-gambling sentiment in government, the opening of Yeongcheon could have major implications for the future of horse racing in Korea.
The site that will be a racecourse by 2014
It may sound counter-intuitive but it is precisely becase of ever increased government regulation that the track is being built. The puritans on the National Gaming Control Commission (NGCC), who last year ordered the KRA to close down its internet betting operations, has also ordered the KRA to decrease the amount of off-track betting activity. It has “recommended” that the ratio of off-course to on-course betting turnover be no greater than 50-50 by 2013. Currently approximately 70% of all wagering is done off-track at the “KRA Plaza” betting outlets located around the country. Privately many in the KRA believe that the NGCC will not stop until all (legal) off-track betting is ended.
A new racecourse therefore has become necessary. Ostensibly, Yeongcheon was chosen due to its location close to Daegu, Korea’s third-largest city, although many believed that a second track in the Seoul/Gyeonggi area, where 50% of the country’s population lives would have been a better option.
The opening of Yeongcheon Racecourse Park – as it will officially be called – could also see some fundamental changes made to the structure of Korean racing. Not only is the KRA required to minimise off-track operations, it is also required to minimise those on-track. The NGCC has long been pushing for a revenue cap on the KRA, that is, it would only be allowed to accept a certain value of bets within a one-year period. While the NGCC might be insane, the government, who have to rubber-stamp any proposal, enjoys the substantial tax revenues it receives from racing. Instead a compromise of a firm cap on the number of races that can be run looks inevitable. This means that Yeongcheon’s opening will dramatically reduce the number of races run at Seoul.
Currently, plans are for each of the three thoroughbred tracks – Seoul, Busan and Yeongcheon – to run 87 days of racing in a year. This is similar to what Seoul does now but instead of the current 11 or 12 races in a day, they will be limited to 8. This means that all three tracks will run 696 races per year for a total on the peninsula of 2392. Each track is also set to get a three or four month shutdown at some point during the year. Accordingly, a large number of trainers will need to be redistributed away from Seoul.
Seoul Race Park may lose its dominance
Plans for Yeongcheon include an official opening in 2014 with an international race to be run within the same year. This would perhaps be the same “international race” that the KRA has been planning to hold every year since 2004 as part of its “internationalization” plan. Overall, while it is bad news for Seoul based punters, perhaps anything that reduces that capital track’s stranglehold over Korean racing is a potential blessing. The vested interests and pre-historic Unions that essentially hold the power at Seoul have long meant that any positive developments in improving the quality of racing in Korea have been frustrated.
Despite their best efforts, particularly earlier this year, Union power at Busan has so far been limited since that track opened in 2005. With a third track to worry about and a smaller power base at Seoul to work from, it could be time for the KRA to wrest back control of Korean racing. If it really wants to.
* Meanwhile, the NGCC’s plans to equate legal gamblers with criminals continue. From next month, trials of Electronic ID cards, which the NGCC plans to make mandatory for any Korean citizen wishing to indulge in a legal wager, will begin. More on this soon.
New Korean racing movie Grand Prix, starring Kim Tae Hee and Yang Dong Geun and part funded by the Korea Racing Authority, will be released in cinemas across the country this Thursday, September 16. This is the trailer that has been playing in Korean movie theatres for the past couple of weeks:
* No Kim Tae Hees were harmed during the making of this movie
Horse Racing in Korea 