Chalkdust Torture

I'm not sure how many horseplayers are Phish fans like me, but after Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby, it's clearer to me what singer/guitarist Trey Anastasio and co-writer Tom Marshall meant when they penned "the torture of chalkdust collects on my tongue" in 1991.

Verrazano made winning that Grade II event look like a stroll in the park and is clearly the early Kentucky Derby favorite, but as a handicapper focused on the contest circuit, I stuck with my strategy of backing a horse I considered a plausible contender at a square price.  The 4-to-5 morning line put Verrazano clearly head and shoulders above all other entrants in Saturday's nine-horse field, but I landed on Java's War.

My Thinking

This race has seen its share of upsets, and Verrazano trainer Todd Pletcher has sent other well-intended big chalk (something like 1-for-his-last-10) to Oldsmar, FL and come away empty.

By some odd chance, maybe Verrazano would not like the sandy Tampa track.

Maybe he would not take to a 2-turn race after blowing away only four rivals in a $75k optional claimer at one turn a month prior at Gulfstream Park.

Maybe, as some radio pundits I heard had put it, Verrazano already "ran his best race," earning a 104 Beyer figure for his prior win at a 1-turn mile.

Those, and Verrazano's 2-to-5 final odds, seemed like logical "plays against," and in keeping with my handicapping contest practice, through my new TVG account I plunked down $10 win-place (along with a few daily doubles) on the 32-to-1 Java's War. 

As I mostly commented on my Public Handicapper selections page, there were several angles that I posited gave Java's War a better puncher's chance than the other contenders:

• two wins as a 2-year-old, including a two-turn stakes win
• half the Tampa Derby field had never gone two turns before
• a close third in the Breeders Futurity at Keeneland last October
• a seasoned local jockey (Willie Martinez; wins 11% at Tampa) who knew the track well 
• not in love with the second-choice Dynamic Sky
• I was suspect of the jockey change to Joel Rosario from regular rider Luis Contrares, who rode Dynamic Sky to a win in the Pasco Stakes and a neck loss in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis (both at Tampa); I disagreed with this move by trainer Mark Casse. 

The bettors clearly did not agree, but I was willing to dismiss Java's War's last race -- the Kentucky Juvenile Cup in late November at Churchill, where the replays showed Java's War simply broke poorly from the rail and ran 4-6 horses wide thereafter but still finished a creditable 6th of 13 starters.  The works, too, suggested that trainer Ken McPeek had a fresh, live horse.

As the replay above will show, Java's War broke well beyond the pack but ultimately made a late run to finish a respectable second, paying $14.60 to place.

He was never going to pass Verrazano with that kind of sluggish start, even if they took another spin around the track, but the outcome did not disappoint.

The daily horseplayer might call me an idiot for not wheeling Verrazano and Java's War with a bunch of others to perhaps hit the trifecta or superfecta, but as I approach the Simulcast Series Challenge Invitational on April 20 at Monmouth Park, the last thing I want to do is get bogged down in pursuing ancillary scores when I need to focus strictly on handicapping contest strategy.

I think there's much merit in that concept, and am using my TVG account to create scenarios similar to an actual handicapping contest where I need to identify winners (and/or place and show runners).

Perhaps this is too niche a goal for readers, but to me it makes sense, and in the weeks ahead I'll use the Public Handicapper card to focus my wagers in preparation for the Invitational and SSC#3 at Monmouth on Saturday, March 30.

I met a similar, albeit crueler, fate in the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park this past Saturday.

The Razorback was headlined by graded stakes winner Alternation, a million-dollar earner who adores the Oaklawn surface (5 wins in 6 starts, $450,000 of earnings) but too short a price at a 2-to-1 morning line and first off a five-month break.  Stuck outside another front-running type San Pablo, I landed on Golden Ron, 20-to-1 morning line and merely an allowance winner at Mountaineer and Hoosier Park but who scored a 101 Beyer last out and was the clear early speed.

I had no qualms betting $10 win-place on Golden Ron at nearly 27-to-1.

The race went exactly as planned...until the last 50 yards, where Golden Ron could not hold off 7-to-1 Cyber Secret in the shadow of the wire.

Again, I get the merits of wheeling such a prohibitive longshot to cash some exotics wagers, but contests are all about picking winners, and I stuck to my guns.  Besides, the $20 wager yielded a still decent $107 payout, so I have some scratch to play with for next weekend's Public Handicapper card.

Sloppily, I failed to wager on my San Felipe Stakes selection, Hear the Ghost, but was having dinner guests and could not watch the race live and so passed on betting it.  Hypothetically speaking, however, had I gone $10 win-place on Hear the Ghost, I was a head away (Golden Ron) from turning $60 of wagers into a potentially massive score in a handicapping contest:

• $14.60 to place on Java's War x 5 = $73
• $21.40 to place on Golden Ron x 5 = $107
• at 26.9-to-1 final odds, a win would have added $55.80 x 5 = $279
• $18.40 combined win-place x 5 on Hear the Ghost = $92

Combined, that's $551 of potential contest bankroll, which at the least would give me a shot at making some noise and reaching that elusive National Handicapping Championship berth.  

Granted, my handicapping may well prove awful in either SSC#3 or the SSC Invitational, but the exercise here is to use weekday or weekend wagers as exercise in preparing for handicapping contests, much as you would train for, say, a 5-kilometer race or full-blown marathon run.  

It was clearly tough (not torturous) eating the chalk in the case of the Tampa Bay Derby in terms of missing out on a lucrative win payout on Java's War, but a worthwhile $10 investment as a confidence booster (i.e., ID-ing a playable longshot) approaching some key upcoming handicapping tournaments. 

Similar Horses, Far Better Outcome In SSC#2

Official contest standings show that I finished 17th of a record-high 287 players in Saturday's Simulcast Series Challenge #2 at Monmouth Park, earning 1 of 60 spots to the SSC Invitational on April 20, where the top two finishers will earn berths to the 2014 National Handicapping Championship (NHC XV). 

Of course it would have been nice to finish first and take down Saturday's top prize of $14,350 (plus bankroll winnings) as well, but a Top 20 result was my stated goal heading into this winter's SSC.  This is my first time in three years of attempting to qualify for the SSC Invitational, so needless to say I'm happy with the outcome, especially since I found Saturday's betting card ho-hum and got off to a wretched start.

Save The Date:
SSC Invitational, Sat. April 20

My $100 starting bankroll slid to $40 after an 0-for-6 start where my $10 win selections largely stumbled at the start.  Still, I could not get discouraged, since there were horses I liked later in the contest.  

Fortunes turned for the better on my seventh wager: 8-to-1 Perfect Tay in Gulfstream Race 6 at a mile on the grass.  

I did not know this tidbit beforehand, but this 4-year-old colt was among the last offspring of renowned turf sire Rahy and otherwise drew my attention for breaking his maiden last March on Gulfstream's turf and racing in 2012 at Woodbine against some tough stakes runners like River Rush and Miami Deco.

The four-month layoff and 15-to-1 morning line were not a huge concern, considering Edgar Prado had the mount (he rode Perfect Tay in his maiden, and lone, victory) and the 5-to-2 favorite in this $25,000 optional claimer, Lemon View, looked vulnerable in an 11-horse field at a mile.  

True to form, Perfect Tay got off to a slow start, but the early fractions were brisk, and Prado made an aggressive move from the rear heading into the final turn before passing 30-to-1 bomber Buzz the Deputy very late in the stretch to pay $19 to win.  The $95 total payout to me boosted my bankroll to $125, giving me some ammunition for later in the contest. 

Two wagers later -- my ninth of a requisite 10 to qualify for cash prizes and advancement to the SSC Invitational -- I was quite familiar with the field of horses racing in the $60,000 Challenger Stakes from Tampa Bay Downs (replay courtesy of Bloodhorse.com).  

Turning Fortune On Its Ear

Recall, if you will, my diatribe on the outcome of a race from Tampa Bay Downs during SSC#1.  No need to rehash that one, but half of the Challenger field was coming out of that Feb. 2 race, where I thought I got jobbed by a poor stewards' decision (only to find out the final chart did not make note of my jockey brushing another horse with his whip in the stretch -- a clear cause for disqualification).  

This Saturday's tote board showed that bettors were all over the entry of Nicklaus Way and Meowser, the first- and second-place winners of that common Tampa optional claimer on February 2, betting them down to 2-to-1 from the 9-to-2 morning line.  And they were not even the favorites; 9-to-5 morning-line choice Prospective, a 6-time stakes winner (including a Grade 2 and two Grade 3 events) went off at less than 6-to-5, leaving four other horses at juicy odds.  

I felt that the likes of Shellback and Thank U Philippe (runners on February 2) were tosses, as was 35-to-1 The Original Scotty.  That left 12-to-1 Argentine Tango, and my eventual selection.

"14-to-1 is egregious on the 5 horse."

Those were my exact words to fellow contestant Red Rock or Bust before making my way to the window for a $10 win wager on Flatter This, who at a 4-to-1 morning line was completely dismissed by the bettors, going off at nearly 15-to-1 and producing a $158 win for me, running my bankroll to $263.  

Antonio Gallardo gave Flatter This a perfect trip, settling toward the rear of the pack in the backstretch before pouncing on the leaders into the final turn and then running clear to a nearly 3-length victory. 

Handicappers missed key angles on this one, perhaps explaining the massive overlay.  

Flatter This lacked the kinds of graded stakes victories of Prospective (2012 Delta Mile, Grade 2 Tampa Derby, Grade 3 Ohio Derby among them), but was coming out of a $62,000 optional claimer on January 26 at Gulfstream won by 2012 Grade 1 Travers Stakes winner Golden Ticket.  Flatter This' December 29 try on turf was a toss, but the previous 2 efforts, including third in the Gulfstream Claiming Crown Jewel, signaled that prominent Tampa trainer Kathleen O'Connell could get this one to fire.  

Needless to say, it worked out.

By that time (around 4:40 p.m. ET), I needed to make one more wager to comply with contest rules...but knew that, unfortunately, I had to leave by 5:15-5:30 p.m. for, um, an engagement party.  (Thanks, Mrs. NJ Horseplayer!)

As much as I wanted to stick around until the bitter end, I could not, and so contemplated 1-2 more wagers in hopes, first, of a decent win to put me in the Top 10 (i.e. eligible for a cash prize) and, second, of keeping my bankroll above $200 and maybe hanging on for a Top 20 finish and SSC Invitational berth (the 20th-place finisher ultimate ended up at $185.50). 

I went $20 win-show on 23-to-1 Be Bullish in the Tom Fool Handicap at Aqueduct, but fell 3 lengths short of ultra-impressive Comma to the Top, whom I had dismissed in Friday's blog on account of short rest and cross-country travel but ran like a true champion.  I have no regrets about Be Bullish, who was very game late and galloped out well, but seemed never seemed comfortable along the rail under Mike Luzzi. 

Transparent ($10 win) was then no match for the impressive Vyjack in the Gotham, decreasing my bankroll to $213 and leaving me with a decision.

All In...Or Capital Preservation?

Had it been feasible for me to stick around for the 3-4 races remaining from Tampa and Gulfstream, who knows what could have happened; but before leaving Monmouth, I settled on one final $10 win wager on Tidal Slam in the Tampa finale.  I liked the horse, and figured, at worst, I'd break even for the day on my initial $200 investment and still have a shot at the Top 20.  A win could put me at $250-300.

Tidal Slam ultimately was bet down to less than half his 10-to-1 morning line and ran extremely flat, finishing fifth behind 33-to-1 bomber Countess Emma, which made me (and Red Rock) cringe.  

At that point, watching the race from home, I figured a dozen or so contestants with $10-$20 left in their bankrolls would have bet the longest shot on the board in hopes of a miracle and knocked me out of the Top 20, but ultimately that did not happen.  

I am left to only speculate what could have been (positive or negative) had I been able to stick around through the final race.  I had no strong feelings on races 9-11 that closed out the Gulfstream card, but on Friday night I handicapped Brainy as a worthwhile play in Race 10 from Tampa.  I'm not sure, however, I would have bet on a such a huge underlay (2.9-to-1 final odds of an 8-to-1 morning line).  

Either Way, Mission Accomplished

It's easy days after to contemplate different outcomes, but through SSC#1 and SSC#2, I find myself playing pretty well this Simulcast Series Challenge season.  

In both contests, I increased my $100 bankroll to at least $250 and put myself in position to make a big play late (SSC#1) and/or qualify for the Invitational (SSC#2). 

Ahead of SSC#3 on Saturday, I now have some room to be less conservative, considering I am now assured a spot in the SSC Invitational.  

I'm not sure I have the courage yet, say, to go "all in" with my full bankroll on a horse, but in my last three contests at Monmouth (dating back to last fall), I have made between $40 and $90 wagers on horses I've liked.  I did not hit on any of them, but (knock on wood) have generally been able to build profitable bankrolls with some well-intended long-shots to stick around late in contests -- all positive signs. 

Come the SSC Invitational in April, the key will become putting that amount (or more) on a winning selection like Flatter This to have a shot of rolling into Vegas for NHC XV next January.

TVG Now Live in New Jersey

OK, TVG, you can start advertising NJ Horseplayer as a new account holder!

(And "welcome home," former Monmouth Park handicapper Tom Cassidy!

It took two minutes to sign up for an active TVG account in the wee hours Friday -- a fresh break from the painstaking snail-mail process of registering for my short-lived 4NJBets.com account about a year ago that fell just shy of submitting to blood testing, fingerprinting and DNA testing.  (However, as a Board of Education member in my borough K-8 school district, I'm used to such treatment.)

OK, TVG...
you took Cassidy;
now leave us
Brad Thomas!

Setting up an account was simple, and TVG offers several deposit options (i.e. credit card, direct bank transfer, on-track, etc.).  I was able to enter a promotional code for a $125 New Account Signup Bonus, which would get me a $100 credit if I wager $200 within 30 days of signup, though I'm not sure I'll hit that watermark, considering I'm not a daily player; but, we'll see (maybe time to roll out some show bets). 

The conditions also make clear a key point that legacy 4NJBets account holders might find interesting: no fees until June 1, when I figure that account holders will thereafter be subject to either TVG's $19.99 per month subscriber fee, or the $0.25 per wager fee.  Stay tuned.

As minutes of Wednesday's meeting of the New Jersey Racing Commission are not yet available, I can only speculate that Darby Development LLC, the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority's off-balance sheet operator of Monmouth Park and supervisor of TVG, included this as part of the agreement.  Legacy 4NJBets account holders may not like this, but if the signup process is any indication, TVG is a marked upgrade in terms of technology and member benefits over NJ's old ADW operator, SportTech.

I'll likely dabble with TVG in the weeks ahead, but hope to cast my sports journalism hat aside and return to writing about thoroughbred handicapping contests.  Speaking of which...

Simulcast Series Challenge #2 Tomorrow, Monmouth Park

The card for tomorrow's SSC looks much more difficult than the February 2 affair, which was marked with some pretty short fields at the three contest tracks -- Aqueduct, Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs. 

After guiding my daughter's rec basketball team to a convincing 12-4 playoff victory last night, I settled down with my past performances and tackled Aqueduct first, where six of the first seven races are deep but unsavory, but gets interesting from races 7-11.  In all likelihood I'll pass on the Grade 2 Top Flight Handicap, which is the least-bit intriguing to me as a bettor, but am considering some prices in the Grade 3 Tom Fool (Race 9) and Grade 3 Gotham (Race 10).  

Contest details here

On Public Handicapper, I'm siding with 20-to-1 Be Bullish and 8-to-1 Transparent in those respective races.  I may change my view for the Monmouth Park contest (or have squandered my $100 bankroll by then), but can poke a lot of holes in the favorites for those races, namely the Tom Fool, where Comma to the Top (3-to-1) ships in from Santa Anita off 7 days rest and I expect will be pressed early.  I just think that's a lot to ask of a horse.  The second choice, 7-to-2 Smash, is another California shipper, but I'm speculating it may take a race or two for this one to acclimate to running under cold conditions on a hard dirt track for the first time.  

There's just better value elsewhere, and I think the line is WAY too high on Be Bullish, who is jumping up in stakes class but is 16-for-21 in the money on the Aqueduct inner dirt and, in my view, will have plenty of early pace to run into from Post 1.  In the Gotham, meanwhile, I see Transparen't respectable fourth-place showing to Orb and Revolutionary as a key race, with 8-to-1 too good to pass.

Surprisingly, I did not have nightmares in my sleep after getting 3-4 races into the Tampa card, but will finish handicapping those and Gulfstream sometime this evening.  The 13-horse Grade 3 Swale Stakes is the clear highlight, though, again, sticking around to that point (5:35 p.m. post) will be difficult in SSC#2.  

My goals, outside of winning, are to finish in the Top 20 to advance to the SSC Invitation in April, where 60 qualifiers will compete for 2 spots to the 2014 National Handicapping Championship (NHC XV). 

If you're at Monmouth Park tomorrow, stop by the first row of the dining terrace and say hello. I'll be there, playing alongside Red Rock or Bust, who had better do well after taking three weeks off to handicap tomorrow card. 

TVG Site Near Ready for NJ

I appreciate the tipster who informed me today that account holders for New Jersey's advanced deposit wagering (ADW) system, 4NJBets.com, received a letter indicating that TVG will take over the site's operations, effective Friday.

Out of curiosity I went to TVG on a quick break from work and tried to sign up for an account, which forwarded me to a TVG-branded page for NJ-based account holders.  It looked far more TVG than the archaic 4NJBets.com.  On a second try, however, the link was taken down, though I'm guessing it'll be up and running in two days, assuming the New Jersey Racing Commission approved the change at this afternoon's meeting.

On to more-pressing matters, Saturday is Simulcast Series Challenge #2 at Monmouth Park.  I'm hoping to attend for at least most of the earlier portion of the card, as I have a personal commitment in the evening.  I'll try to post some thoughts on that card by Friday night or Saturday morning.

State Approval of 4NJBets Takeover by TVG Imminent

The Office of the Attorney General yesterday issued a public notice to announce a meeting of the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) in Trenton on Wednesday, February 27, at 1 p.m. to discuss and likely award the turnover of business operations of the state's account wagering system (4NJBets.com) to TVG Network.

The announcement and related agenda posted to NJRC's website signal that the Commission will vote on Wednesday's conference call whether first to approve turning over New Jersey's platform wagering services (i.e. 4NJBets.com phone, internet horse betting) to Oregon-based ODS Technologies, L.P. (doing business as TVG Network) and, immediately thereafter, issue ODS a vendor license. Since 2010, the state's "ADW" has been operated by Sportech, LLC, a U.K.-based wagering concern.

Interested parties should contact NJRC at 609-292-0613 with further questions, though it seems that if anyone from the public would like to speak, they would have to do so from the NJRC's Trenton office.

As this is a relatively quiet time for me in the handicapping contest schedule, I will keep track as much as possible of further developments, but have discussed this topic more than I cared to the last week or so.

In short, I am looking forward to the tournament access that a TVG could provide, but would rather have the opportunity to pick an ADW on the open market, namely TwinSpires.com or DRFBets.com, which offer a lot more opportunities at qualifying for NHC XV in January 2014.

TVG Reportedly Taking Over 4NJBets.com

Harness Racing Update, published by racing extraordinaire Bill Finley and confirming recent speculation, reports that Television Games (TVG), operated by U.K. gambling concern Betfair, will officially take over online wagering in New Jersey as of March 1, pending regulatory approvals.

New Jersey horseplayers, by law, have been subjected to 4NJBets.com as their online wagering platform but will presumably migrate to TVG next month.

I am not a daily bettor but had dabbled with 4NJBets over a year ago just to kick the tires, and found the system antiquated in terms of signup (took nearly 2 weeks and involved mailing photocopies of several documents) and the lack of customer rewards and certain other services offered by other platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires.com and DRFBets.com that offer additional appeal.

In addition, there was no access to NHC Tour events -- my selfish interest and the reason I endorse Friday's announcement.

Granted, TVG does not seem to offer nearly as much NHC contest access as TwinSpires.com or DRFBets.com, but perhaps that will change.

Detractors to a 4NJBets takeover will point to monthly ($19.95) or per-use fees ($0.25 per wager, up to a $19.95 monthly cap) charged by TVG as a drawback to 4NJBets, which from what I recall does not charge these sorts of fees, but for me the trade-off is negligible, since I'm only an occasional bettor.

When I do make the random bet (i.e. Triple Crown races, Breeders Cup) outside of contests, at $3+ per gallon of gas I'm spending that much anyway to drive to Monmouth Park, so to me it's a wash.  Nothing is every free.

From a bigger-picture perspective, however, to me today's announcement goes far beyond horse racing.

Exchange Wagering 

Recall that Governor Christie in January 2011 signed a law clearing the way for so-called Exchange Wagering, a concept pioneered by Betfair.  TVG recently aired a show about this concept, which lacks appeal to me but seems closer to fruition with TVG's reported takeover of 4NJBets and that California (TVG's base) is moving in the same direction.  The synergies seem to make sense.


Sports Betting

I probably do not need to go into much detail about this angle for anyone who lives in New Jersey and has read numerous headlines about plans to legalize sports betting in the state, but Betfair's entry to online horse wagering (via 4NJBets) signals, in my opinion, that the state has already found its partner to roll out a sports-betting platform once the dust settles in its legal battle with pro sports leagues and the federal government.  U.K. wagering companies dominate the sports betting market and Betfair's entry to the New Jersey market puts the handwriting on the wall as to a potential future operator.

NJSEA's Exit - Perceived Political Benefits

First the turnover of 4NJBets management to Monmouth Park operator Darby Development, and now the introduction of TVG-Betfair as the operator of NJ's online horse wagering platform, satisfies another mandate of Governor Christie to extricate Trenton from the racing industry, as I see it.

Based on the discoveries I blogged in the wee hours of Thursday morning, NJSEA will strictly maintain oversight of the operations of Monmouth Park and 4NJBets, but Darby Development LLC (and now TVG) will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the state's thoroughbred racing program and online wagering platform, respectively.

Feel free to sarcastically comment below about NJSEA as a patronage pit, but on the surface the removal of Monmouth Park and 4NJBets employees, for instance, from NJSEA's rolls (albeit simply handed off to Darby and/or TVG-Betfair) is something that politicians can brag about to satisfy their constituents.

The question will become whether NJSEA or Darby or whomever worked out an agreement with Betfair that does not gouge longstanding 4NJBets customers and prospective TVG users in New Jersey.

Perhaps a lot to absorb, but selfishly speaking, I like the prospect of becoming a TVG customer, if for nothing else to participate in the random NHC-focused handicapping contest.  TwinSpires would be way better in that regard, but at first glance TVG looks like a big upgrade for contest-focused horseplayers in the Garden State.

State Racing Commission Minutes, Assembly Bill Signal Positive Change for NJ-Based NHC Tour Players

Based on my review of public documents, two recent developments at the state level signal that New Jersey residents who belong to the National Handicapping Championship (NHC) Tour will soon gain greater access to online qualifying tournaments run by an outside account wagering (ADW) platform.

There's no need to go into a long recap of my disdain for 4NJBets.com, which may work well for the average horseplayer but, since its creation in 2004, lacks any value for an NHC Tour player like me.

In short, I (and all NJ residents) am prohibited by law from playing in contests run by out-of-state ADW operators like TwinSpires.com and DRFBets.com that offer NHC berths.  I have long written for change.

NJ Horseplayer Reading
The Tea Leaves

The wheels appear to be in motion, however, for a seismic shift.

Starting from unsolicited and unfounded rumors from several friends in the blogosphere about U.K. Betfair-owned TVG taking the reins from 4NJBets.com, I did some digging and uncovered two pertinent documents.

The first is the minutes of the November 30, 2012 telephonic meeting (interesting choice of technology for a public meeting) of the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC).  Four references to TVG, which has its own ADW service and television network, pique my interest.

Try to Follow Along

Evidently, the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority's (NJSEA) turnover of the operations of Monmouth Park in 2012 to privately-held Darby Development LLC will now extend to the day-to-day management of 4NJBets and empower Darby to solicit bids from parties interested in operating NJ's ADW platform.

Two such parties named in the minutes were TVG and Sportech, the British gambling company that inherited the 4NJBets contract via its 2010 acquisition of Scientific Games.

Despite objections-turned-allegations by the attorney representing Sportech that Darby circumvented state laws governing public bids (starting at "Gil Brooks," pg. 10) , NJRC Executive Director Frank Zanzuckki confirmed the Commission's unanimous approval for the turnover of 4NJBets (and its employees) to Darby, with several seemingly easy-to-meet conditions.

Meanwhile, on February 4, 2013, New Jersey's Assembly voted unanimously on a measure (A-2914) to allow -- get this -- "state residents who are outside New Jersey to place wagers on horse races using the account wagering system."  

This approval came a week after Governor Christie signed a law letting bettors use their mobile devices to place wagers (but only at approved betting facilities).

On the surface, I failed to recognize the benefit of the mobile on-track betting law or A-2914 to either the horse's throughbred racing industry or horseplayers, but had an epiphany after reviewing them in the context of the NJRC meeting minutes: NJ residents may soon get to use an outside ADW, like a TVG.

This is merely speculative, but I am guessing that these measures, when taken together with the NJRC's decision, will clear the way for Darby to hire an outside operator like TVG or TwinSpires to either take over or entirely replace the 4NJBets architecture with its own proprietary wagering system.

In my view, this would mark significant progress for NHC Tour members living in New Jersey.  Current 4NJBets account holders may disagree, but that's not my concern.

Take an email this evening that I received from Michele Ravencraft, who oversees the NHC program for the NTRA, highlighting an event called the Keeneland Grade One Gamble. 

The Grade One Gamble, to be held during the spring meeting at Keeneland in April, is a big-money tournament limited to 55 entrants; 41 will pay $3,000 to enter, while the other 14 entrants will be reserved for TVG account holders through internal qualifying on TVG (see Rules).  The top five finishers at the Grade One Gamble will win spots to the 2014 NHC.

Normally, I would automatically trash such an email, since 4NJBets never offers that kind of NHC-based tournament access of other ADWs.  In light of recent developments in Trenton, however, I will save that one for future reference in the event that Darby picks TVG to offer wagering services.

I'll also keep my eye open for any new developments with NJRC or the NJ Legislature.

In the meantime, feel free to share any discoveries or observations in the comment field below.