I will venture to the Spa this weekend, though I must admit that it pains me to
attend the races at Saratoga in any month other than August.
Frank D., a great source of local knowledge and history, assures me that the
Labor Day weekend is peaceful and laid back. (I think it was great that Frank
revealed the truth behind his fascination with the weather in a recent post; will
enjoy comparing notes on who the best off track QBs and running backs were
throughout history).
I am hoping that closing weekend is kind of like the popular restaurant Yogi
Berra once described by saying: \"Nobody goes there anymore. Its too crowded.\"
Looks like a 30% chance of showers Saturday and Sunday, though I will defer to
Frank for a more accurate report. Hard to imagine any scenario where races come
off the turf on the last weekend of the meet, but nothing NYRA does anymore would
surprise me.
Looking forward to renewing old acquaintances (I think my favorite Jesuit
handicapper, NC Tony will be in attendance). Jimbo: making an encore appearance?
Counting on Michael D. for a couple of live bombs, and after a match of driver\'s
licenses to ascertain age, I am hoping to buy Dr. Billy M a few drinks (or
allowing him to help empty my cooler).
I have found Labor Day weekend to be the best one, hands down. Late post Friday, lots of surprisingly good music on the street, easy to get in to eat anywhere. Going up Thursday night, I\'ll do seminars Sat and Sun, don\'t know about Monday yet.
TGJB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have found Labor Day weekend to be the best one,
> hands down. Late post Friday, lots of surprisingly
> good music on the street, easy to get in to eat
> anywhere.
Ditto to that. Was always my favorite Spa weekend, but life with a teenager has a way of disrupting priorities, so it\'s not currently an option. It\'s a relatively tranquil weekend in the world\'s most \"civilized\" town. Good luck to all who attend.
Sir Richard!!
Yes I am on way up there tomorrow around 3pm! Am bringing my sticks as well. Just finished third in our club championship golf tournament with a back to back 76\'s from the BACK TEE\"S, not bad for an old man.....
Anyway, am on my way there and looking forward to handicappin and anyone who seeks a golf game.
Can\'t wait to be there!!
NC Tony
NoCarolinaTony Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sir Richard!!
>
> Yes I am on way up there tomorrow around 3pm! Am
> bringing my sticks as well. Just finished third in
> our club championship golf tournament with a back
> to back 76\'s from the BACK TEE\"S, not bad for an
> old man.....
>
> Anyway, am on my way there and looking forward to
> handicappin and anyone who seeks a golf game.
>
> Can\'t wait to be there!!
>
> NC Tony
Hey, NCT - there you are! I referenced you the other day - just hd back surgery three wks back and know you went through some back pain a while back...wish I could join the group, but going to STL to bail out the Cards and get that bandwagon back on track (or else to celebrate our 28th anniversary with friends depending on your point of view)...see you at Keeneland?
Right now KEE is in the plans opening weekend and the last two weekends of their meet as of right now. If I could get there more, I will.
There\'s a lot of catching up to do. Been playing a lot of golf this year, and the work is paying off...in more ways than one... just play better when it counts and its for money...I focus more...
Not doing the Handicapping tour circuit much any more...just not enough hours in the day to do that the right way, and play golf, and to be honest, I soured on much of that tour crowd. A lot of great people mixed in with a bunch of other insignificant people who thought there were more relevant.... (let me choose my words wisely).
Anyway, lets get together for sure this time!!
NC Tony
Don Antonio:
If you are pairing 76s from the tips,its more likely that I will be looking for a
lesson than for a game. I think even board golf purist Flighted Iron will agree that
is quite an accomplishment for an old man with a bad back.
(Speaking of which, it seems as if Freddie Couples went to Germany for some blood
doping to fix his ailing spine before winning the Senior Players Championship a
couple of weeks ago.)
Have a safe trip up and I\'ll be looking for you at the seminar on Saturday.
Richie,
It\'s looking like a full complement of degenerates for the weekend which should be interesting ? Friday\'s twilight card and Saturday look great weather wise Sunday and Monday not so much at this point.
I\'m ending my semi boycott of the sub quality NYRA product for the final week simply due to withdraw from gambling for the past 5 days !!! The calendar is clear and I\'m hoping to go 6 for 6 in the final week in live attendance.
Travel wise you guy\'s coming from the south are fine once you get past exits 15 & 16 on I-87. Not the case at all moving about the capital region with many roads closed and bridges out. Several areas are still without power and we ran into I-90 being closed from exits 34A-25A on Monday coming back from Michigan. After 9 hours in the car the last hour and half of the trip took 5 hours on Route 5 and back mountain roads.
Good luck,
Frank D.
FrankD. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Richie,
>
> It\'s looking like a full complement of degenerates
> for the weekend which should be interesting ?
> Friday\'s twilight card and Saturday look great
> weather wise Sunday and Monday not so much at this
> point.
>
> I\'m ending my semi boycott of the sub quality NYRA
> product for the final week simply due to withdraw
> from gambling for the past 5 days !!! The calendar
> is clear and I\'m hoping to go 6 for 6 in the final
> week in live attendance.
>
> Travel wise you guy\'s coming from the south are
> fine once you get past exits 15 & 16 on I-87. Not
> the case at all moving about the capital region
> with many roads closed and bridges out. Several
> areas are still without power and we ran into I-90
> being closed from exits 34A-25A on Monday coming
> back from Michigan. After 9 hours in the car the
> last hour and half of the trip took 5 hours on
> Route 5 and back mountain roads.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Frank D.
Sounds like I\'ll be lucky, coming from my direction . . . Northway good? Any problems within SS, per se?
Topcat,
No problems in town at all or on the northway.
Fast & Good today both rails at 0 feet, look for the good inside trips on the fresh part of the turf courses. Heavily used from the 4 path out may not hold up well at all and some rain coming tomorrow.
Good luck,
Frank D.
\"Alot of great people mixed in with a bunch of other insignificant people who thought there were more relevant.... (let me choose my words wisely)\".
Hi Tony,
Several friends that follow the tour expressed the same sentiment re the contest. Good to hear all is well.
Mike
Richiebee,
Only if one loves the game would they never get tired of the following.
Ben Hogan interview 1989 via youtube.com
mjs
Mike,
Are you coming up this weekend?
Thanks for asking ... Spent a few hours at the great race place yesterday. Went 2 for 4 and broke even....(except for the beers..thought I bought a case and got a 16 oz beer...lol)
Tony,
In the spirit of being fan friendly NYRA has lowered beer prices at selected bars.
A 16 oz Coors light can is $ 6.00 but a 16 oz. Coors light draft is $3.00. Also right by the Carolina BBQ in front of the Carousel they have a stand for Heineken & Heineken light 12 oz. drafts are $ 4.00 as opposed to the 12 oz. can at $ 7.25.
The Jim Dandy bar or what was the Jim Dandy bar in the clubhouse has the same.
I hope this helps your beer budget !
Good luck,
Frank D.
Frank:
I\'m stopping by the beer distributor on the way up...Should I bring Schlitz,
Piels, Rheingold or Ballantine?
NYRA funked up the Saturday card, in my opinion, putting all the turf races
in the front of the card, and leaving a late P4 which has two nice betting
races -- The Forego and The Woodward-- and finishes the card with 15K
claimers and a NYB maiden 2YO race.
Tony,
Did my stint earlier in the meet. Contrary to most, I find the last week too quiet, kinda no buzz.For those of us who have been going to the Spa \"forever\" I find it just a little sad(still love it though). The former greatest race meet at the greatest summer venue has been raped and marginalized somewhat by the Clueless Clowns.Food and lodging in town has also become somewhat ridiculous for the average person.
They still call it Saratoga but it\'s quality has been severely diminished by too many cheap races in a meet that is now too long.Many racing outfits that run non stakes complaining about modest purses.Aqueduct slots will have to be the salvation for SPA and NY racing, it may overcome the ineptitude of the Clueless Clowns.
Good luck to all going,kill them!
Mike
Richie,
Some choices are better left in the hands of experts ! I\'ll defer the beer menu to you and I\'ll get to work on the pick 4 tonight. It\'s a good weekend for at least a meet changing score if not a life changing moment. We should invoke the Andy Beyer rule of allowing one to make a spectacle of themselves only if the winnings are at least 10 % of their annual income.
Chance of showers or scattered T-storms today after 3:00.
Friday & Saturday mid 80\'s, a bit humid.
Sunday and Monday aren\'t looking great, maybe not a wash out on Sunday but Monday will be toast for turf racing for sure.
Good luck,
Frank D.
Mike:
I respect your opinions on the inner workings of NYRA and have two questions:
1)Once the slots money starts pouring in, will Resorts World have enough
influence to look at NYRA and make the necessary changes, ie make changes in
upper level management and modify the NY Bred program, which to me, more than
anything, has severely diluted the quality of NY racing?
2) Aqueduct is getting a major facelift; as was proved this Summer, the Spa
will always be popular no matter how diluted the racing is. Seems like Belmont
might be further neglected, which is a shame, just as it is a shame that the
Belmont facility has turf courses which allow 10 and 11 furlong races to be
run around 2, not 3 turns, yet the Clueless Clowns continue to write turf
races at 6 and 7 furlongs.
Bee,
Resorts World could care less about racing and will not have any say in the racing side, that belongs strictly to NYRA.As stated before, a fairly serious look into revoking the current NYRA Franchise is underway, a long shot and what would replace it, more political stooges?
Resorts World \"bought\" entree into one of the most potential lucrative gambling markets in the world, New York.It is a matter of time before Resorts gets more than slots(table games, poker, roulette)which is in their big plan.Expect lawsuits if they open upstate to full blown Indian Casinos upstate which will dramatically reduce volume at Yonkers, Aqueduct.
Politicians are desperate for money,Cuomo seems on board and the time is ripe for Casinos in NY State.Genting/Resorts World) sitting in the drivers seat, so to speak, which is what they invested in,not racing.
Bee, you could write to smug NYRA re turf racing or anything else and get nowhere. NY Bred slow rat breeding program will suffer awhile with smaller foal crops but anticipated ballooning purses at NYRA sure to revive interest in slow rat breeding.
The NYRA attitude is that they are \"all knowing\" re NY racing in spite of it\'s demise under their stewardship.A small,literally,group have voice there and champion only their own personal agendas.
Maybe Bill Nader will leave Hongkong soon and get a shot at the top job at NYRA, it would be a huge improvement.His name has been advanced.
Agree SPA still incomparable for any racing degenerate like me,hope something saves it.
Mike
Mike-- okay, I\'ll bite, I\'ve been meaning to ask you this for a while. Is ANYTHING, anywhere, better (or even as good) as it used to be?
JB,
Don Pepe\'s on Lefferts Blvd(1/2 mile from Aqueduct)still after 25 years one of the best pure Italian joints in NY.Surely you\'ve been there, if not, I\'ll take you.
On racing, JB,NYRA knowingly diluted the quality of the SPA meet to squeeze the lemon as dry as possible.Trying to kill the goose that laid the golden egg,BRILLIANT!!
Also,since you asked, I still your prefer the hand written chicken scratch figures of old,although the current ancillary TG info is incomparable to anything out there.
Mike
FrankD. Wrote: (on Thursday)
-------------------------------------------------------
> Richie,
>
Chance of showers or scattered T-storms today
> after 3:00.
> Friday & Saturday mid 80\'s, a bit humid.
> Sunday and Monday aren\'t looking great, maybe not
> a wash out on Sunday but Monday will be toast for
> turf racing for sure.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Frank D.
So I get a text message from Frank at about 3:25 PM. I\'m thinking that he
knocked over the early P4 or a super super.
No. Frank is texting me to tell me that it just started raining at the Spa,
that he nailed the forecast.
Frank: what is the difference between \"scattered thunderstorms\" (Sat forecast)
and \"isolated thunderstorms\" (Sun forecast)? And the words \"some storms may be
severe\" in Saturday\'s forecast...
No worries Frank. No negative vibes. I keep repeating the words \"Fast and firm
Saturday\"