Columnist Ralph Siraco: Big winners over weekend in Las Vegas and Middle East

Ralph Siraco

Monday, March 29, 2004 | 9:25 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

There were two championship winners in racing over the weekend. Each a half world apart. One was for the performer. The other for the consumer. Both paid off big.

At Las Vegas, there was a three-day horse race handicapping tournament that pitted 801 players going for a total prize fund in excess of $410,000. In the Middle East, at Dubai, there was the richest day of racing in the world highlighted by the richest race in the world with a purse of $6,000,000.

And, although they were separated by politics, cultures and time zones as diverse as the participants, both had the passion, pageantry and competitive level that is the true essence of the sport of kings.

Each with their own amazing story to tell.

It started early Thursday morning here at The Orleans Hotel Casino. The Coast Casinos was hosting the richest horse race handicapping tournament in the world. As the players converged from all parts of the continent, the locals company was about to top itself. Before the start of the three-day competition, Coast Casinos President Harlan Braaten announced to the packed Mardi Gras Ballroom attendees that Coast Casinos will hold the first million-dollar horse handicapping tournament in the world. The inaugural "One Million Dollar Horseplayer World Series" will be at the Orleans Jan. 27-29. The winner will receive $500,000.

This, however, was not even known to three friends from Hershey, Pa., who ventured to Las Vegas over the weekend to watch and bet the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA basketball tournament. As told by one of the threesome, Robert Leo, they were in route when they heard about the horse handicapping tournament at The Orleans. Leo said that a guy sitting next to them on the flight to Las Vegas told them he was coming out to play in The Championship handicapping tournament.

After the Pennsylvania trio bedded down at the Treasure Island they headed over to the Orleans to sign up for the horse tournament. Leo, who owns several race horses that run at Penn National, said they thought it would be a great way to spend their trip. Watching and betting the games in the evening while betting the horses and playing in the tournament in the day.

The boys never dreamed they could beat the "pros." They just wanted to have fun and be good enough to get their entry fee back.

But, when jockey Victor Espinoza rolled into the winners circle on Sharpened Copy after the second race at Santa Anita on Thursday, the Hershey boys were off to the races. Sharpened Copy returned $35.40 to win.

The boys repeated with another big price winner on Friday, and, heading into Saturday they were in fifth place.

Meanwhile, at Nad Al Sheba race course in Dubai, trainer Richard Mandella was putting the finishing touches to Breeders' Cup Classic winner Pleasantly Perfect for this rematch with Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up Medaglia d'Oro. The pair of American runners topped an international field going for the winners share of the $6 million purse. Mandella, who had won a record four Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita last October, had built up Dubai World Cup frustrations. The Hall Of Fame trainer had finished second with Soul Of The Matter in the inaugural Dubai World Cup of 1996 to Cigar. He followed that runner-up effort with two more -- Siphon in 1997 and Malek in 1999. So, for Mandella the fourth time had to be the charm.

Early Saturday morning here in Las Vegas the nighttime World Cup racing card was under way. At approximately 9:42 a.m. Pacific time, Mandella had won the Dubai World Cup with Pleasantly Perfect, again beating Medaglia d'Oro in another stirring stretch duel, this time in the Dubai desert.

While Mandella and jockey Alex Solis were celebrating a second Breeders' Cup Classic-Dubai World Cup double -- Cigar becoming the first to turn that trick -- Leo and partners were preparing a full day of horses and hoops.

Halfway through the some 80-plus races on the final day of competition, Leo and the boys struck with Carrots Only in the ninth race at Gulfstream Park to the tune of a $40.20 mutuel. At that point they thought a top 10 finish was in the cards.

At the end, Robert Leo and his Hershey partners took all the candy. Beating out "that field of pros," the boys rolled into the Saturday night games with over $128,000 in first-place prize monies.

Three guys from Hershey, Pa., playing the biggest horse race handicapping tournament for the first time in Las Vegas took home the first prize while one Hall of Famer from Southern California finally took the richest horse race in the world on the fourth try in the Middle East.

Horse racing, what a game!