JOCKEYS GREENE & BLACK WIN 9 OF 15 RACES
AT SANDY DOWNS OPENING WEEKEND
Track attracts out of state fans via the Internet
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You could have thrown out all of your handicapping skills and still won 9 of the 15 races on opening weekend at Sandy Downs in Idaho Falls by just betting your favorite combination of colors and jockeys.  If green and black are among your favorite colors, Sandy Downs was the place for such hunch bets.  Jockeys Paul Greene scored in 5 races while red hot Nikeela Black hit the wire first in 4 races including three John Deere AQHA Qualifying Trials on Saturday.
Black’s victories on Saturday became increasingly impressive. She took the first trial (2-yr.-old quarter horses, 250 yards) with Jess Fly Rey by a half length after breaking second and quickly taking the lead.  She followed up by drawing away by 2 ½ lengths in the 4th race at 350 yards with Sw Count on Me.  Black concluded her triple in the sixth race at 350 yards with Illtacmanhattan by 2 ¼ lengths as the betting favorite.  She also won one race on Friday’s opening day card.
The 30-year-old native of Phoenix has now won 5 of 14 races this year and a whopping 79% of her mounts have finished in the money.  Last year, Black was third in the nation in win percentage among jockeys with at least 150 starts.  She won 28% of her mounts just behind the likes of Russell Baze and 13th in percentage of rides hitting the board (1st, 2nd or 3rd).  Among Greene’s five tallies was in Saturday’s $8000 Giltner Trucking AQHA Championship Stakes Series aboard Sheza Bad Habit covering the 400 yards in 19.473 seconds and returning $6.40 to win.
BUSINESS UP AS OUT OF STATE BETTORS TACKLE TRACK
Opening weekend saw a 10% increase in handle at Sandy Downs mostly due from out of state wagering via Idabet.com, the online betting service by Intermountain Racing and Entertainment (IRE) the operators of Sandy Downs.  Jim Bernard, president of IRE and IdaRacing was most gratified with the results, “We believe we have developed a unique concept for small tracks like Sandy Downs and smaller racing states like Idaho to be more competitive.  IdaBet.com contributed to most of the increase with 75% of the bets coming from players outside of Idaho.  In fact, in our Best Bettor contest on Saturday, the winner hailed from Florida.
Deriving revenue streams from online betting and our Turf Club at the Fort Hall Casino will allow racing to grow in Idaho.  This is a win-win for the state and our horsemen.â€Â  Several hundred fans were watching Sandy Downs from the Idabet.com website on Saturday evening which compares to the daily on track attendance of major racetracks these days.
Players from around the country could watch the Sandy Downs racing live on the internet from Idabet.com’s website while wagering from the comforts of home.  “There’s still nothing like the live action atmosphere of the track, but you could be sitting in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and betting Sandy Downs, all the while helping Idaho’s racing industry,†said Melissa Bernard, Director of Operations for the track.
RACING RESUMES FRIDAY
There will be only live race day this week at Sandy Downs on Friday with post time at 6:30pm MDT.  Once again, players across the country betting with IdaBet.com will receive a 10% cash bonus on all win, place and exotic bets.
Friday features an After Work Party encouraging fans to come from work to start the weekend.  There will be live music by Swing Shift.  From 5:30-6:30, all beer and drinks will be half price as well as hot dogs.  From 7:30-8:30, kids 10 and under will receive free hot dogs.  All evening Lucky’s Grill will serve up concessions for the family.  There will be a moon bounce for the kids and the Rigby High School Cheerleaders again will be offering face painting as a fundraiser.  After the races, a post racing party will include replays of the night’s action on the lawn.
Racing will resume next Friday and Saturday.
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