Made the trip down to this beautiful track by the shore, but the racing is a different story...There\'s the bell..the gate opens , race over...if your not on the lead by the time the horses pass the first timer, forget it, dirt or turf. I was standing next to the Lawyer Ron connections during the race, they were dumbfounded that LR couldn\'t run him down. I passed the race, figuring JV would ride too confidently and the race would be crapshoot
Mth was the first Race Track I ever went to for Racing - it was an unforgettable experience and probably is my favorite track in the region - though I\'ve never been to Saratoga .
It sure is tough at Mth when they are more than 3 1/2 back coming into the top stretch - maybe better if 4 wide than 4 back . The surface looks to me like it favors late running styles a bit more when it\'s \"good\" or drying out .
And it\'s so humid , I\'ve seen more Horses Bleed right through they\'re Lasix or Bute at Mth than in NY . It\'s chalky alright but IMO - it\'s not a bad pattern or sheets track , but it really would be nice if they had wager taking vendors with portable bars coming right to your seat in the stands ...
I had a religious experience at MTH.
I rarely put my brains and my balls together at the same time in my many years of playing , but somehow, I managed that feat many years ago at MTH. Late 70\'s early 80s, I forget now.
I\'d rented a basment apt in town to play the meet that year.
Just came to me the night before that it was a two horse race in the 10th , and I had a horse or two for a suck up third in mind.
10th race.
Played a few exactas, did a 1/2/all 2/1/all and for some reason bought one triple combo an extra 10 times. Really out of character , don\'t know what possessed me. And the 3 slot was a 35-1. Invested 120 or so , which was a decent bet in for me in those days.
The keys ran 1 /2 with lots of daylight, and the 35-1 gets up for 3rd by a nose.
All me. Payed something like 2300 even with my 11 tickets which I held on to for a while and eventually got a check for.
Yeah, MTH is a nice track.
Racing at Mth (not Math)
There was an old trainer, who most of you guys never heard of or wouldn\'t remember, so I won\'t even mention his name, who said; \"Saratoga is for people who don\'t know about Monmouth Park\".
While I am certain California beaches and New Jersey beaches are not comparable
(Robert Duvall had something to say about this in Apocalypse Now), if you
continue driving about 10 minutes past Mth on Rte 36, you will come to the
Atlantic Ocean and a fairly clean beach at Seven Presidents Park. Not quite as
captivating a surf and turf scenario as is found at DelMar or Frankstream Park,
but I guess about the best we have here in the Northeast.
In the early 1980s, the ocean could be seen from the third floor of the
grandstand. Alas a quarter of century of tree growth and you can no longer see
the surf from your grandstand seat.
Also in the early 80s, Tuesday racing was an event at MTH as it was a dark day
at NYRA and many NY horseplayers made the trip south. A lot of stake races,
like the Salvator Mile, were carded on Tuesdays. Two of the top MTH trainers at
the time were Harry Wells (Colonial Farm) and Tony Bardaro (Bright View Farm).
In 1985, I was a low percentage low volume trainer who had a decent run of luck
at Keystone Park over the winter/ spring. (I had a \"good\" vet who was later
indicted). I put in for 5 stalls at Mth and was shocked when I was granted
them. It turns out that Robert Kulina employed me as a buffer of sorts-- my
stalls separated two trainers, Bill Cunningham and the late Virgil \"Buddy\"
Raines, who couldn\'t stand the sight of each other yet insisted on being
stabled in the same barn each summer.
\"Buddy\" (we called him \"Pop\" around the barn) was a little tough on me. He was
in his late 70s at the time. I would guess he was at work each morning by about
4:30 AM. When I would amble in, usually between 5:30 and 6:00, he would always
make a point of looking at his watch and shaking his head in disgust.
Tricky Rickey, Pletcher and Levine taking all the cash back to NY with their second and third stringers being just too much for the usual Jersey garbage pails.
Mike
Why do you suppose your boys aren\'t taking the cash at Delaware, where the purses are generally larger?
Alm,
If you are suggesting that drugs are being used at Monmouth and not at Delaware, it\'s more the opposite. The ship is much easier to NJ also, and all 3 trainers have stables there,I believe.It mainly goes to the inferior horses that normally run in NJ vs NY on the whole.
Mike
Pletcher did just fine last year at Delaware, 25% or 30% winners. This year he applied for stalls and they \"never got back to him\". He was quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer that he was mystified why they weren\'t interested in giving him stalls.
marcus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And it\'s so humid , I\'ve seen more Horses Bleed
> right through they\'re Lasix or Bute at Mth than in
> NY .
Bute, like aspirin and other NSAIDS is a blood thinner and, if anything, actually CAUSES bleeding. As for Lasix, studies have shown it is of dubious value in preventing bleeding and its performance enhancing effects are likely due to its ability to mask other drugs.
You might however have a point about the effect of high humidity on bleeding, Marcus, though I haven\'t seen any data on this one way or the other. It would make for an interesting study. I know there is some correlation with bleeding and air pollution.
Bob
Bob - Good to see your health is back on track , perhaps with no world cup matches this year , the NCAA CWS might be worth taking in to augment your convalescence !
With Bute actually increasing chances for bleeding or hemorrhage , and I\'m not a Vet , how prudent can be the use of both Lasix and Bute at the same time .
Also , imo - the 1st time Lasix angle isn\'t as viable at Mth as it is at other tracks - I\'ve always considered the close proximity to the ocean as a contributing factor for the very humid conditions , I\'d be curious if DMR has similar trends or nuances . A study would be great ...
Marcus, thank you my friend, I greatly appreciate your concern for me health-wise and I\'m always glad when my health permits me to contribute to the discussions here. As far as the related issue of the horses\'s health, it is indeed a shame how Bute and Lasix work at cross purposes and and can think of no better argument for restricting horses to oats, hay and water.
Bob
Fellas, I\'ve been on Bute and Lasix for 25 years...............
So it\'s working out for you spa - maybe it could be stepped up with some of Dr Jameson\'s instant breakfast drink . The one time I did mix whiskey and coffee before going to the track for a contest , a horse winked at me in the post parade and then won paying $18.00 - but unfortunately I didn\'t bet him ...
I\'ve always had the impression that a race horse under a Doctors care should be a positive sign for everyone concerned , I guess my view is somewhere between spa and Bob\'s .
Many on this board have much more practical sense and experience than I on the medication issues . Richiebee for one trained horses at Mth - and no one here is checking to see when he gets in - but maybe when he does , \"bee might have have some observations about the humid conditions at Mth ...
Hot and humid conditions do affect chronic bleeders.
I don\'t necessarily agree with that - not that your asking me too , but as a handicapper , I believe that excessive humidity and heat conditions do put additional stress on cardiovascular systems and subsequently the horses are under duress .
Marcus:
Racing in general and the administration of Lasix in specific have changed
quite radically since I held a trainer\'s license in the mid 80s.
Back then, your animal had to show visible signs of bleeding before they were
eligible for the Lasix program; now it seems that almost all runners are
treated with Lasix as a matter of course.
I have seen some quirky anti- bleeding remedies in my travels; one Louisiana
trainer used to twist thick rubber bands tightly around the base of his runners\'
tails to prevent bleeding; another threw pennies at the bottom of his runners\'
drinking water, believing that the copper content would prevent bleeding.
In terms of humidity, Ellis Park, Churchill in late Spring and Saratoga all are
at least as uncomfortable as the Jersey shore.
Personally, I found that the Meadowlands was one of the worst venues for
bleeding and bleeders;I have always believed that this was a matter of the poor
air quality in the region (and of course poor air quality is always exacerbated
by humid conditions).
I know that some have profited from the First Time Lasix play in the past. With
almost all runners beginning their careers on Lasix this angle has all but
disappeared.
Right on.
He \'did just fine\' and they don\'t want that business in their jurisdiction anymore.
Not the case at Monmouth.
And for what it\'s worth, Allday is overseeing his Monmouth stock. Surprise, surprise.
Intelligent post.
For those who don\'t know what lasix does, except for its ability to mask some other drugs, it makes a horse pee. That\'s it.
The reason it is a \'bleeder\' medication is due to the fact a horse\'s bladder sits over its lungs, causing pressure on them. If the bladder is full of liquid it compromises the animal\'s breathing. If it is empty, there is less pressure, hence more efficient oxygen exchange in the organ.
As for bute it is only one of many,many analgesics. Some jurisdictions permit the unlimited use of them; others limit a trainer to a handful. Some can be used for training; others for racing.
This mixed bag makes ordinary handicapping quite difficult as the bettor has little or no information to go by, other than the bute designation.
It\'s easier to try to find out which vets are servicing which barns...bet the vet!
The drug use that got TAP set down last year was a forbidden pain killer...it\'s a drug for human consumption; not to be used for racing. I think he is claiming he trained on it, but that he raced his horses after it should have cleared their bodies.
Skating on the edge.
Alm -
I can\'t speak to the effectiveness of Lasix in controlling bleeding, but I think the theory is that a diuretic, by causing water to be drained from your body into your bladder (making you pee), reduces blood pressure (diuretics are used to treat hypertension in humans) and hence the tendency to bleed.
Just thought I would chime in and add to the discussion on lasix and how it works in horses. Alm pointed out that the bladder is so close to the horse\'s lungs that the extra pressure of a full bladder causes problems on the lungs. I am not sure this is the EXACT reason why a horse bleeds.
For a horse to get administered Lasix by a vet, it has to be diagnosed with EIPH, which stands for Excercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage. During strenuous activity, internal fluids inside the horse place extreme pressure on the lungs, forcing the capillaries to burst, and therefore bleed. The blood is obviously visible as it comes up through the lungs and is often exhaled out of the nose. The point of Lasix is to curb the capillary bleeding in a horse\'s lungs. This is done by reducing the amount of water/fluid found mostly in the veins and arteries. creating less stress on the capillaries and making them less likely to break.
Furosemide (the clinical name for Lasix) is considered a \"Loop Diuretic\". It works by forcing the kidneys to remove water from the blood and put it into the urine. This basically increases the amount of urine, hence the extra \"peeing\" of the horse.
Hope this helps.
-Bull
Bull:
Excellent description. Even though vet\'s STILL DO NOT completely understand the exact mechanisms of how furosimide reduces equine pulmonary bleeding the current \'working model\' is the following: It is suspected that pulmonary \'bleeding\' is caused by the increase in pulmonary capillary \'wedge\' pressures. It is thought that lasix reduces this pressure by decreasing the total fluid volume in the blood that is being pumped through the animal\'s lungs during exertion (by eliminating excess water through the kidneys), thereby \'potentially reducing\' the pressures in the capillaries (small vessals) in the lungs.
Trackjohn
Thanks richiebee for connecting the dots - you\'re practically giving away the store ... So that \"everyone\" is running on lasix and the 1st Lasix play might be similar in some respects to the 02X or DD in terms of it overuse , one does has to watch it a bit from going overboard . I definitely agree with what you saying , Lasix doesn\'t necessarily have to mean anything these days . Once in a great while I\'ll see a very Pattern Specific / Lasix Angle or the \"right kind\" of 02X play , but then finding a big-time \"sheets \" edge or \"value\" is something else too . Pretty funny Stuff - Tying the Tail , Pennies are idea\'s - I probably would have tried Reggie or Kit Kat Bars ...