adirondack

[cubfan0316]

pletcher 9-1 with a 2yr. old? too easy

[richiebee]

Breen\'s second place finisher True Addiction was wide wider widest the turn.

In the ninth, John Velazquez jumps off Leo O\'Brien\'s runner and gets on Leo\'s brother Colum\'s horse Kiss the Dice.

The O\'Brien clan (Leo, Colum, Leo\'s son Keith) has won maybe 6 races between them all year. I think son in law, nephew in law, brother in law Johnnie V has ridden all of these O\'Brien winners.

[Michael D.]

tell me about it.

i had the jump start filly as my key. scratched.

the fav had a killer # first out. had to be used, but not keyed on at very low odds. huge figs for real young fillies are dangerous.

the pletcher winner had the nice \'9\', had nice timing, and looked like a very nice one paced filly that needed more ground. key at 9-1.

the other pletcher and asmussen fillies had solid \'9\' runs, but low odds.

the dutrow quarter horse had one big slop fig. she\'s a mt liver stretching out on dry ground. toss.

the 2 (breen) had the very sneaky \'11\', making her a must use at the huge odds. a very good TG use there to hit a big tri.\\

.........

btw, campo and nyra are not doing a very good job here. racing should not be this poor at the spa. friday\'s card is junk, the worst friday card i have ever seen.

[richiebee]

Michael:

Have not seen Friday\'s card, but I think last Thursday\'s Saratoga card may have been one of the worst I\'ve ever seen. A nine race card kicked off by a Steeplechase stake won by an odds on favorite. There were four maiden races, including 3 consecutive maiden races. We\'re talking inner dirt here. The card was so bereft of wagering opportunities I must admit to diving into the early double at the quaint and picaresque Saratoga Raceway.

Disagree with your take on Campo. He seems to be writing the races which will fill, which is what you would want if you were a NYRA shareholder (if there was such a thing). He has used all distances and courses available to him, and the optional claimers and state bred claiming races he has utilized were long overdue. Ditto maiden claimers on the grass.

If anything, he seems to rely too much on grass racing. Its almost like handicapping a decent allowance race on the main track is something we never get to do any more.

Despite the occasional poor card, still a good product IMO. The dilution of the quality of racing has a lot to do with the extension of the meet to 36 days.

Question for California folk: TVG keeps showing the wonderful surf shots of the ocean next to Del Mar -- how come I never see anybody swimming?

Thursday\'s BIG event: Tiger v Phil, mano a mano at Medinah.

[curly]

Do you guys agree that the quality of races has gone down because they are giving the top horses or horses with big figures more rest that they deserve after huge efforts? By doing this arent more lower quality horses racing more often? Maybe its just me but other than 2 year old horses it seems that the trainers have that bounce theory in their heads and are playing it a little conservative... (unless your bob baffert)....

[basket777]

From having only a few horses in my life. i think that a race in which my horse was going to bouce was waisted. i didn\'t like paying for a horse to rest. but the results sure were good. so was the lower vet bills. So to answer your question nope rest to a horse is a beautiful thing.

[Michael D.]

curly,

there is no doubt that the game has suffered because top horses run less often than they used to. part of the problem is that most of today\'s top trainers now subscribe to the four to five week rest theory (i do as well, can\'t blame them). part of the problem is that today\'s horses are likely more fragile than they used to be. finally, part of the problem is that middle east money has bought a large percentage of top young colts over the past few years, and they just aren\'t running them very often here in the US (although many seem to be stabled here).


Richie,

i can\'t blame nyra for the top horses not running, but i have never seen so many low quality fields at the spa. saratoga is about top quality thoroughbreds, not fields of twelve 56 beyer horses that give people good action. you are right though, it\'s still a good product. i expect a decent card on saturday, and every top horseman will want his top runners going here over the following two weekends, so i do expect much better things.

[Barry Irwin]

Campo has been told by NYRA to create large field.

He is doing this, but quality has suffered.

I blame Thorograph and Ragozin for ruining the quality of racing by educating horsemen and owners about bouncing.

Only the drug cheats have had a more negative impact on the quality of our game than Brown and Ragozin.

I am surprised, frankly, that neither of these two guys has been the focus of a \"hit.\"

[Michael D.]

Barry,

hope early vintage is ok.

i had a zillion 5/ 3,2 / 3,2  tri\'s ready to be punched in.


what happened to unbridled belle last ?  surface the problem ?

how\'s she coming into the alabama?

[RICH]

yeah that 9th, I was all over bachalornumberone at 9-1, if you get a chance look at the sheet a definite play at 9-1. He was getting 1 to 1 1/2 pts in weight with a good number and great pattern. i wasn,t worried about anything in that race. Then the 1st time turfer up the rail beats me. I still can\'t believe it. Cost me about 4k. By the way, I visited saratoga last Thursday, yeah, that card was the worst I ever seen up there. Happened to meet Bill Spillane and Mr. Weinberg? at The Caralina Barbeque, real good guys. And of course, Steve of Caralina is a great dude. What a place.

[hooper]

Michael D,Early Vintage has a wrenched ankle,might be ready for a 7F allowance race at the end of the meet.
Unbridled Belle hated the wet in last,Gomez going to try and get position before the first turn on Sat.
Hooper