Richie:
Agree with you .. this one hurts deeply and I didn\'t see it coming as well... Bill was a wealth of knowledge... I really enjoyed the conversations with him at the FOY (specifically the next day over breakfast when he asked me \"who is the sire responsible for the breeding success of Japan.  I replied Sunday Silence of course!).. that resulted in a 90 minute conversation regarding breeding, \'turf foot\' (flat obviously like pie plates!,, etc ..

He will be missed ..

John (Trackjohn)

Interesting Richie..after living down here for the past 3 years this doesn\'t surprise me .. clearly a move to appease the builders around Oldsmar... Is one of the few locations where there is a decent amount of under developed...

John

One potential answer to FL could very well be Tampa Bay Downs...NYRA could very well provide a solution... Tampa Bay Downs currently has a relationship with NYRABets...The current plant is small (kinda similar to Monmouth Park( but can be updated...they have plenty of space to expand (Oldsmar)... The main problem is that it\'s about 25 miles north of Tampa (not exactly Gulfstream which is situated in the middle of everything)... BUT with minimal expansion (particularly the barn area) it could provide a solution at a fraction of the cost of building a new track at Palm Meadows... IF  NYRA is smart... Oh... Sorry... That\'s an oxymoron...

John

Couldn\'t agree more Richie... IMO .. if you fast forward the clock 5 years this is what we will see:

A \'new Belmont\' (only if they get their casino license..

Saratoga will still be there...it might be a water downed version if they continue to expand the dates

FL racing GONE...the only hope is if they build up Palm Meadows which I don\'t think they will...there is another answer to this, remind me when we are at the FOY..

CD will be THE major player (obviously important to the breeders)

CA - GONE

Fairgrounds - will be on life support

Oaklawn might be a significant player but the weather in Arkansas will be a huge negative particularly between January - late February... This is why FL racing is important particularly through the run-up for 3 yo racing

Most of the smaller tracks will be gone (only those associated with the casino Will survive)

I don\'t see how ANY of the sport will survive without the major players (CD. NYRA, major breeding operations) formulating a plan to save it... Unfortunately I don\'t see that happening (unless their survival instincts kick in.

Let\'s try to enjoy it while we can...

Comments?

John (Track John)

A terrific tribute Richie...

John

Fellow Staten Islander (back in the day)... Was always a delight speaking with him ... Various FOY trips... He will be missed...

John

Terrific encapsulation Richie! Was great seeing you again (albeit a shortened visit)... Looking forward to the FOY weekend!

John

Same here...

Richie:

Very much appreciate the kind words... Was great seeing you again!

John

Apparently Saratoga received A LOT of rain last evening... Everything is off the turf...Race #2 is at 10f, Races #8 and #11 are being run at  
1 mi distance...not a great start...

Agree with the point that almost EVERY sporting and concert venue has gone \'cashless\'... BUT... This is a racetrack... Millions in cash will be exchanged at the betting windows over the 4 day meet... It\'s absolutely insane that you can\'t buy a drink at the Jim Dandy bar with cash...

Only one run?

Now THAT\'s one of the funniest things I\'ve read on this board!
Hazel Dukes... should be a mandatory case study for Harvard Business School on how to NOT run a business...

Agree 100%... I was speaking with a fellow TG gentleman this afternoon...my comment was \'he\'ll either bury this field or he won\'t hit the board..I\'m leaning to him burying the field but
ALOT can happen in the next few weeks (including the pp!!)


John

When Always Dreaming won the Florida Derby in the post parade he looked absolutely stunning on the track. I was standing outside on the rail outside the Ten Palms before the race...TP was walking to his seat...we made eye contact and I said \"if he runs to his looks he\'ll blow this away\"... After the race he passed me looks at me smiles and I said \"there\'s your Kentucky Derby winner\"...he nodded and says \"if he runs like that he will\"... Then he went down to the winner Smurf circle with a huge smile on his face.

I haven\'t seen fierceness run in person so I can\'t comment on how he looked but Fairmont is 100% correct TP\'s Derby results over the years is poor  his results with double digit odds is horrendous
.lclearly there\'s a lot of analysis to be done before the first Saturday in May