Seminars, promotions spice up Derby week

If you’re not going to Churchill Downs for the May 1 Kentucky Derby, Las Vegas is the next-best place to see the race. Our race books will be rolling out the red carpet, including five free Derby handicapping seminars next week.

Two seminars will be Thursday at Wynn Las Vegas and Palace Station. The Wynn seminar, which begins at 4 p.m., will include trainer Craig Dollase, West Point Thoroughbreds executive Jeff Bloom, Ralph Siraco of Race Day Las Vegas, Jon Lindo of the Lindo Report and myself. At Palace Station at 6:30 p.m., Siraco, Richie Saber of Gaming Today and race book supervisor Vic Viveo will appear.

On April 30, there will be seminars at the Plaza and Sam’s Town, both at 6 p.m. At the Plaza, Lucky’s marketing director Dan Shapiro and Dave Tuley of viewfromvegas.com will appear. The Sam’s Town seminar will feature the Track Talk radio crew of Gordon Jones, John Kelly and Patrick McQuiggan along with Santa Anita publicity director Mike Willman.

On Derby day, Lindo and Siraco will appear at 10 a.m. in the Orleans Mardi Gras ballroom. The public is invited to free Kentucky Derby parties in the Orleans Mardi Gras ballroom and the South Point Sonoma ballroom.

More Derby day offerings include the Station Casinos $20,000 Twin Quinella with one race, of course, being the Derby. All Station and Fiesta casinos will give away a Derby hat for a $20 wager.

Also, this Saturday, Sunset Station is hosting a qualifier for the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship. The entry fee is $200, and two seats will be awarded to the NHC.

There are two other handicapping tournaments next week. Pick the Ponies at the Las Vegas Hilton is sold out, but it will host two more during the summer Del Mar/Saratoga meets and one during the week of the Breeders’ Cup.

The Stratosphere Derby Day Tournament sponsored by The Horseplayer Magazine will be open to all. Their live-bankroll concept is one I’ve liked for years. There is no entry fee. However, you put up $1,000 that you bet for real into the win, place, show, exacta and trifecta pools. Your final score is your ending bankroll total.

Finally, I attended my first horse race 37 years ago. It was the 1973 Derby won by Triple Crown winner Secretariat. The HRTV magazine show ”Inside Information” will feature this great champion on ”31 Lengths: The Lives of Secretariat, Penny Chenery.” Airtime is 6 p.m. Sunday.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.