Japan catches Dominguez' fancy
Horseracing Betting Lines
12/09/2011 - Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't his first time in the Land of the Rising Sun and it probably won't be the last time jockey Ramon Dominguez makes the trek across the Pacific. Dominguez and fellow rider John Velazquez are both back in America after participating in the World Super Jockeys Series last Saturday and Sunday at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan.
"I had a great time. Unfortunately, my horses didn't perform that well, but I'm always impressed with the way races are run (in Japan)," said Dominguez. "Everything is very meticulously done. I'm impressed with the whole culture. It's very clean on the streets. It's different in so many ways. You leave very impressed with how everything is so well laid out."
Dominguez, whose mounts in the World Super Jockeys Series races finished ninth, seventh, ninth, and fourth, ended in eighth-place in the 15 jockey competition. Velazquez finished fourth behind winning rider John Murtagh.
"For me, it was a totally different experience," noted Dominguez. "For one thing, they run (clockwise at Hanshin Racecourse). The horses don't have ponies or anybody to handle them in the starting gate. It's a very long post parade. You go through a gazebo or a type of run-in shed. You walk for a good five minutes or more before you go in the starting gate. (Velazquez) was very pleased, too. He liked it. It wasn't his first trip either, but it just was a very good experience."
Dominguez, last year's Eclipse Award winning jockey, had previously ridden Better Talk Now to a 12th-place finish in the Japan Cup. He apparently acquired a taste for Japanese food during that first trip.
"(The Japan Racing Association) had a big spread for us a couple of nights before the races," said Dominguez. "You can try something authentic that (natives) love, but it may not be appealing to you. It's just a different taste, but I'm always game to try different things. I really liked that. They had a ceviche-type dish. It's usually from Peru, but they had their own version and it was very, very good."
This year the veteran reinsman has won 327 times in 1,348 mounts for a leading $19,443,008. He rode Hansen to victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last month and is the regular jockey for leading female Havre de Grace.
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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
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