\"Elite\" Racing at the Jersey Shore?
Saturday\'s Card:
Race 1- 5K Claimers
Race 2- NJB MSW
Race 3- 7.5K Claimers NW2
Race 4- 5K Claimers
Race 5- NJB MSW
Race 6- 20K Claimers
Race 7- 20K Claimers NW2
To be fair, both stakes races Saturday were competitive and produced 2 decently
priced winners who should have an impact later in the year. The stakes racing has
generally been pretty good, and the $.50 Pick 5 is an interesting wager. Also
appreciated is the \"rolling\" double available on each race. The size of the fields
has of course been enormous, which produces greater mutuels, but adds
an increased level of chaos (traffic, wide trips, bad posts) to the handicapping
mix.
As is always the case, Club Kulina has done well in drawing some of Racing\'s big
names to the Shore, as HOY Rachel Alexandra and Derby winner Super Saver are both
signed on for appearances this Summer.
On Sunday, on track attendance was 8735, resulting in an on track handle of
almost $676,000, which is rather low. Monmouth has always drawn a \"family\"
oriented crowd drawn by a liberal cooler policy; a large percentage of this crowd
is visiting the lavatories many more times than they are visiting the mutuel
windows.
As for the Elite Meet drawing high quality horseflesh from other parts of the
country, well, it sounded good on paper. The truth is that Robert Kulina could
not afford to open the stable area up to trainers from other regions at the
expense of trainers such as Frank Costa, Skip Einhorn, Manuel Berrios, Willard
Thompson,Joe Zoppi, Charlie Harvatt, etc. When it is back to business as usual in
2011, these small outfits will be essential to Monmouth racing and Kulina is too
bright to risk putting these fellows out of business.
So are we supposed to expect a track to offer only allowance or stakes races, day in and day out...or are we looking for large competitive fields where a bettor can get a decent payout?
Bad trips or bad jockeys I prefer betting at Monmouth, right now, to any other track in the country.
As for horses not shipping in, tell that to Dale Romans who scored with a European turf horse the other day in fast time...he gets the best part of a huge purse with a colt that might be destined for better things. And of course he beat my longer shot at the end. (Still I got 8.80 for place...try getting that at Hollywood or Saratoga and their 5 horse fields.)
I think you are both right. There are Bet-able full fields but there is not much sizzle to the entries to get excited about. The well meant young horses with the pedigrees and connections that get people excited are not there for the most part. And stakes races have been underwhelming both in quantity of entries and quality. I\'d say the meet is a success but beyond the full field wagering it feels like Monmouth on steriods as opposed to the specialness of Saratoga or Keeneland. Next year I think they should crank up the stakes purses to get more buzz horses in there and cater to those who love betting on the stakes races.
Agreed, but right now it\'s the best meeting going. Have you noticed that horses are \"dropping down\" from Mth for easier pickings at Bel.
alm Wrote:
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> So are we supposed to expect a track to offer only
> allowance or stakes races, day in and day out...or
> are we looking for large competitive fields where
> a bettor can get a decent payout?
>
> Bad trips or bad jockeys I prefer betting at
> Monmouth, right now, to any other track in the
> country.
>
> As for horses not shipping in, tell that to Dale
> Romans who scored with a European turf horse the
> other day in fast time...he gets the best part of
> a huge purse with a colt that might be destined
> for better things. And of course he beat my
> longer shot at the end. (Still I got 8.80 for
> place...try getting that at Hollywood or Saratoga
> and their 5 horse fields.)
Alm:
Its easy to kick NYRA when its down, and my toes are sorer than anybody elses.
Even more telling, whereas 80% of my rather insignificant action used to go
NYRA\'s way year round, I\'m probably down to about 30% going into NYRA races.
Always remember the words of Sebastian Dangerfield of The Ginger Man: \"Never hit
a man when he\'s down. Wait to see if he tries to get up and then
by God, let him have it.\"
NYRA could get up so easily. Goodbye New York Bred Breeding Enhancement Program.
Goodbye races restricted to NYBs at NYRA tracks (I would make Finger Lakes the
mecca of whatever NYSB racing remained). Replace restricted races with weight
and/or purse enhancements.
As I have stated numerous times, if restricted racing was eliminated, NYRA would
have a waiting list of trainers from all over the US and Canada waiting to stable
and race at the Spa; NYRA would have no trouble filling fields under this
scenario and could offer the best dirt/turf racing in NA for 6 weeks.
As Ed Fountaine mentioned in the Post, the 3 graded stakes run at NYRA over the
weekend were won by NYBs.
In my opinion, NY Bred racing in its current form at Saratoga (seems like no less
than 3 NYSB races per card) is hurting NYRA and those who would bet more heavily
if the Spa product was improved.
This aint rocket surgery...
Well the NY bred racing is not going anywhere soon. I am sure the owners of NY breds would be happy with your take on moving them to Finger Lakes.
Plus the Spa betting is not going to increase enough that they would just do away with NY bred races for the sake of a few extra stakes races. Just my opinion.
Themig Wrote:
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> Well the NY bred racing is not going anywhere
> soon.
As long as NY bred racing (and by that I mean racing restricted to NYBs)
\"is not going anywhere soon\", NY Racing will continue its downward spiral.
Even Steven Crist, who is so reluctant to criticize his pal Charles Hayward,
has lamented the embarrassing drop in the quality in NY Racing, especially
at the Spa and on the Inner Dirt course in the wintertime.
> I am sure the owners of NY breds would be
> happy with your take on moving them to Finger
> Lakes.
First of all I have no sympathy for owners of NY breds, who have ridden a gravy
train for quite a while now. They can run their NYBs at the NYRA ovals, just not
in restricted races. This problem might possibly solve itself; looking at the
first Saratoga condition book, it seems like an \"open\" MSW for 2YOs will have a
purse of $50K, while a similar race restricted to NYBs will have a purse of $40K.
> Plus the Spa betting is not going to increase
> enough that they would just do away with NY bred
> races for the sake of a few extra stakes races.
The idea is not really to run \"a few extra stakes races\". The idea is to replace
state bred allowance and claiming races with similar races without the
restriction.
Looking again at the first Saratoga condition book, which covers the period from
July 23 - August 9. There are a total of 222 races in the book (157 + 65
substitute races). Of these 222 races, 54 are restricted to NYBs-- slightly less
than 25%. This first condition book covers 16 racing days. Lets assume that there
will be an average of 10 races per card (160 races). Lets also assume that all of
the NYB races will fill. So it is possible that of the first 160 races run at the
Spa in 2010, more than 33% of them will be restricted to NYSBs.
If I am an owner/trainer in Kentucky or California or Maryland or Canada and I do
not have a string of NYBs, why would I possibly want to stable or race at
Saratoga,knowing that 33% of the races which are run will be restricted?
Saratoga is the only major racing venue racing during the summer months which
features dirt racing. Lots of lost opportunities involved in running these
restricted races, the primary opportunity being the chance to regain/reinforce
NY Racing\'s position in the hierarchy of Racing nationwide.
The NYSB program is politically driven. It seems like every time politicians get
involved, the quality of NY Racing gets diluted which I can say, without conceit,
affects the quality of Racing nationwide. Examples: The NYRA \"Racino\" fiasco and
the incomprehensible 30 year extension of NYRA\'s franchise.
Its just sad...
> Just my opinion.
I agree Richie and until JB runs for Governor the song will remain the same in NY.....any chance of you running for Gov JB??
These are all valid points....if it mattered.
The era during which NY racing was the be all and end all has passed.
It was changed by many things, the most significant of which IMHO was simulcasting. I don\'t have to take the IND to Aqueduct anymore if I want to see racing action. I can see a ton more through my internet connection and it\'s great.
I can see and bet the best horses running in the best races wherever they are. And I can get preferable betting action at a place like Monmouth in between the big races.
Things are different and likely won\'t revert to the past. Embrace it.
No, I take my socks off. (Those outside NY might not get that one).