HORSE RACING : At Best, Future Book a Chancy Bet

The most dicey betting proposition in racing is the Kentucky Derby future book, as two bettors from Los Angeles learned on a 525-mile round trip into Mexico this week.

With thousands of dollars in their pockets, these two hardy horseplayers drove to Mexicali to bet two Santa Anita-based 3-year-olds who are longshots to win the Kentucky Derby on May 5. When Caliente published its first list of future-book odds last weekend, these bettors were drooling when they saw Tsu’s Dawning listed at 50-1 and Stylish King not listed at all. A phone call to Mexico revealed that the odds on Tsu’s Dawning had jumped to 75-1, despite his win in the Bradbury Stakes. Tsu’s Dawning’s price at various Las Vegas future books has been considerably lower than that.

The bets couldn’t be made in Tijuana, about 130 miles away, because a labor dispute has shut down Caliente’s operations there for the last 3 1/2 months.

Arriving at the Mexicali race book, the two Angelenos were told that the odds on Tsu’s Dawning had dropped to 20-1 “because the owners of the horse have been betting a lot on him.” Eddie Gregson, who trains Tsu’s Dawning for David and Beth Whelan, got a kick out of hearing that, because he knows the colt’s owners seldom bet on their horses.

The price quoted on Stylish King was 60-1, because he had been placed in a mutuel field with many other horses. One of the Los Angeles men then said that he wanted to bet $2,000 to win, $600 to place and $400 to show on Stylish King.

That’s when the odds on Stylish King suddenly dropped to 30-1.

The bettor spent the next four hours trying to explain to race-book officials that the odds shouldn’t drop that dramatically on a horse before a sizable bet has been made. He was finally allowed to bet $400 to win and $100 to place on Stylish King at the original odds. The trip home from Mexicali seemed even longer.

“What happened was against our policy,” Bob Owens, a Caliente spokesman, said Thursday. “A minor employee made a major decision. It was a decision made by someone who is normally only used to dealing with (betting) lines on basketball games.”

Owens said the race book’s policy is to take any bet that doesn’t exceed “a $25,000 risk” --in other words, even at 30-1 a win bet of slightly more than $800 on Stylish King should have been accepted.

Owens said that because of the mix-up, the bettor could wire the rest of his bet to Mexico.

“I don’t think I’ll be doing that,” the bettor said. “It’s a no-win situation. If the horse doesn’t make the Derby, I’ve lost my bet, and even if he should win the race, I won’t be getting the odds that I figure I should have gotten.”

Future-book bettors in Las Vegas have met with similar frustrations when they try to place large bets. Most of the stories the public hears about future books are the killings that were made on the Derby:

--Trainer David Cross betting Sunny’s Halo at a big price.

--Trainer Jack Van Berg cleaning up on Alysheba.

--The Wayne Lukas barn getting Winning Colors at longshot odds.

But the reality of the future books is that they’re not a very sound bet. If the horse doesn’t run, there’s no refund, and the books take bets on hundreds of horses, most of whom will be on the sidelines by Derby day.

Another drawback to the future book is that when a leading contender runs a bad Derby prep, his odds don’t go up that much, if at all.

Corn Husker, $9.60.

Pretense, $5.40.

Ack Ack, $3.60.

Cougar II, $5.

Stardust Mel, $4.40.

Lord at War, $7.

Greinton, $8.

These were the win payoffs for the horses that Charlie Whittingham saddled for his first seven victories in the Santa Anita Handicap.

Their total is $43, which is less than Ruhlmann’s $47.80 payoff last Sunday when he gave Whittingham his eighth Big ‘Cap winner.

Horse Racing Notes

Rhythm, last year’s champion 2-year-old colt, underwent surgery Thursday for a flopped soft palate, which caused him to make a gurgling sound when he ran 10th in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The colt isn’t expected to miss much training, but at this time of the year, even a minor setback can prevent a horse from reaching the Kentucky Derby. . . . Although Slavic, the favorite in the Fountain Youth, ran sixth, his jockey, Jose Santos, said he’s disregarding the race. “We were on the rail all the way and had some problems,” Santos said. “He’ll run a lot better next time (in the Florida Derby on March 17). He’s still the best 3-year-old I’ve been on this year.” . . . Shot Gun Scott, who won the Fountain of Youth at 25-1, hadn’t been nominated to the Florida Derby. He is now eligible because of his victory but will leave Florida to run in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 14.

Brown Bess, who won the Eclipse Award as last year’s best filly or mare on grass, makes her first start this year Sunday in the $150,000 Santa Ana Handicap at 1 1/8 miles. The 8-year-old mare has been assigned 123 pounds, two more than Royal Touch and four more than Annoconnor. . . . Silver Circus, at 120 pounds, is the high weight in a 13-horse field of older horses who will run 1 1/2 miles on grass Saturday in the $75,000 San Marino Handicap. . . . Music Merci’s owners are switching trainers, from Craig Lewis to Ron McAnally.

Michelle Armstrong, 15, who won a trip to Louisville, Ky., in 1988 when she told the Make-a-Wish Foundation that she wanted to see the filly, Winning Colors, win the Kentucky Derby, died last Saturday in City of Hope Hospital in Duarte, where she had undergone a bone-marrow transplant earlier this year. Michelle, who lived in Klamath Falls, Ore., also saw Risen Star win the 1988 Belmont, and Louie Roussel, owner-trainer of the colt, brought her to Los Angeles last year to accept Risen Star’s statuette at the Eclipse Awards dinner.