Columnist Ralph Siraco: Revamped 'Super Series' has $5 million enticement

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday through Friday. Write to him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 800 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89107.

The racing season for the handicap runners kicked off over the weekend with a trio of important divisional races.

With a full month already in the record books for the new millennium, the weight-packers took to the track in quest of Eclipse Awards and cold hard cash. The NTRA Champions on Fox series provides the vehicle for both.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association's fledgling series for the handicap division officially moved into its second year on Saturday with its first of five "Super Series" races in the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Florida.

The Donn returned as the "opener" of the series, which has been revamped and fine-tuned for this year. The Champions on Fox series was devised by the industry's national marketing and advertising arm to enhance the older division of handicap horses and create an ongoing awareness of the sport's equine senior superstars after their "glamour" Triple Crown quest and year-end Breeders' Cup performances.

The partnership of the Fox television network and racing's premier handicap events shown to a wide television audience has gone a long way to ensure horse racing's future and bring the sport's big races back to the tube.

But finding the right formula to put all the moving pieces together -- especially the equine ones -- hasn't been easy.

Last year, in Round 1, the Champions on Fox races culminated with the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar in mid-August.

The seaside finale was the race where all the bonus monies -- accumulated by points while participating through the other series races -- were to be doled out. However, with the high attrition rate from injuries while competing in the seven-month series of races, many did not make the surfside show to cash in their chips. They played the game, but were no-shows for the rewards.

More disconcerting than the dropout rate was the lone surviving runner of the series passing on the Left Coast appearance and a chance at cashing in on his consistent performances.

The points leader didn't even show. Behrens had the potential of earning at least $600,000 worth of bonuses by showing up at Del Mar and winning the Pacific Classic. All of the preceding series races tied into the Pacific Classic for the points payoffs. Behrens was healthy and able, but trainer James Bond passed on the Pacific payday for a schedule that aimed instead for the year-end Breeders' Cup Classic. Bond reasoned that his handicap star would need some time off before the Breeders' Cup competition and made the decision to rest Behrens at that time. So when newcomer General Challenge won the Pacific Classic to bring down the curtain, the first Champions on Fox bombed at the beach.

By the time the Pacific Classic had come around, Donn Handicap winner Puerto Madero had retreated to the sidelines, as well as other series winners Free House and Victory Gallop.

The NTRA went back to the drawing boards.

This year the series will end at Saratoga in August with the Whitney Handicap. There are five "Super Series" events that will yield a $5 million bonus for the horse that sweeps all five Grade I races. Those events include the Donn, the Santa Anita Handicap on March 3, the Pimlico Special on May 13, the Hollywood Gold Cup on July 9 and the Whitney on Aug. 6. Any horse that can take down three of those five will receive a $1 million bonus.

The points system is still in place, although it also has been refined. Points can also be accumulated in a group of "other" handicap races run throughout the year.

Two on that list were also contested this weekend -- the Strub Stakes and San Antonio Handicap at Santa Anita.

The rest are: Gulfstream Park Handicap on Feb. 26; New Orleans Handicap at The Fair Grounds on March 5; Oaklawn Handicap on April 8; Texas Mile at Lone Star Park on April 22; Lone Star Park Handicap, Metropolitan Mile at Belmont Park both on May 29; MassCap at Suffolk Downs on June 3; Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park and the Californian Stakes at Holllywood Park on June 11; Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on June 17; Surburban Handicap at Belmont Park on July 4; Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows on July 5 and the Washington Park Handicap at Arlington International Race Course on July 22.

This year, as in last, the Donn Handicap drew a large field of runners for the first installment of the "new" series. Ten contested the 1 1/8 miles of the Gulfstream Park tan on Saturday, with Stephen Got Even attending the pace to win under Shane Sellers. Golden Missile, who finished third in the Breeders' Cup Classic over the same track last November, finished second while Behrens, seventh in the Breeders' Cup Classic, checked in third.

At Santa Anita on Saturday, the Strub Stakes was won by none other than Pacific Classic winner General Challenge with an awesome runaway performance.

On Sunday at Santa Anita, the San Antonio Handicap was won by Budroyale, who finished second in the Breeders' Cup Classic while turning the tables on Breeders' Cup Classic winner Cat Thief.

So, all the "biggies" showed up somewhere in Round 1 this weekend. It remains to be seen how many will be in attendance at Saratoga on Aug. 6. Right now the advantage is Stephen Got Even's with one down and four to go for $5 million.

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