Considering All Of The Usual Bitching

[Silver Charm]

NYRA and the Racing Secretary put together a pretty tasty card for Belmont Day.

Wood Day was filled with short Stakes fields but can\'t say that here as there are like 12,11,12 horses in the Acorn, Manhatten, Belmont sequence.

Even the short field Woody S has some intrigue with Dicreetly Mine dropping in from the Derby.

The people who said Belmont Day was down the tubes with no Triple Crown try at stake are eating those words today!

[covelj70]

Silver,

Totally agree.  The fields for this pick 4 are simply fantastic.  Congrats to NYRA

[richiebee]

Silver and Covel:

I feel that as the most outspoken usual bitcher on this board, I must respond.

I am not giving any kudos to Wayward & Campo for putting on a good Belmont Day
card. This is a task which performs itself; even our Federal government or the
New York State government, or even the two working in conjunction, could have
accomplished a task such as this.

What was done well was the selection of the Graded stakes with the 3 biggest
fields to join the big race in the $1M added pick 4. I do not always know if this
was the case and some have mentioned that they would have preferred to see two
grass races in the sequence.

Personally I think it is refreshing to see a P4 sequence which features three
races on good old fashioned dirt.

The fact is that in some ways, the horseplayer got a good break here in that
while Saturday\'s Belmont will produce a winner that will be remembered in 3 years
by only those who cashed on him, the race is a very open betting race.

I am glad I will only be concerned with the top spot (horizontal wagers) because
I would not want to be in the position of saying that any of these relatively
evenly matched (my opinion) 3YOs wont make the tri or super.

No, Belmont Day will be great for those who feel they have a better chance of
profiting when wagering on large fields of quality horses.It will be especially
great for me because I enjoy wagering on large fields of quality runners whether
I profit or not.

But NYRA and Racing in general could have used a TC chance this year. Its the
difference between 50K through the gate and no less than 90K through the gate; TC
possibility also brings in the national sports and mainstream media, which may or
may not be a good thing given the toxic stew swirling around NY racing.

Covel: I appreciate you taking the lead in initiating a lot of these Belmont
threads, but lets cut to the chase... who will your son be betting?

[Silver Charm]

Ritchie when I put this on the Tee for you I knew it had to look like:

1) 16 OZ prime Surf and Turf with good wine

2) Free Paid Carribean Vacation

3) Jenna Jamison in your bed curling an index finger for you to \"come here big boy\"  

4) All of the above.

Look the other 40K people who would have showed up would have just been in the way of the serious players. Longer lines, less beer and more traffic.

You should be counting your blessings unless you have already purchased your ticket at Living Room Downs.

[moosepalm]

Richie, that\'s another of your typically incisive and droll comments on the NY racing scene, but, I must offer a minor rebuttal about the ability of the NY State government to accomplish such a task.  I\'m sorry, but, this is the only way I see that scenario playing out:   following months of deliberation and legislative torpor, the race is run in September;  it will be part of a seventeen race card, fifteen of which will be either state bred NW2\'s or state bred maidens on the turf, and only by the barest of margins was the Belmont Stakes itself kept from being state bred only;  the first three races will be run at Finger Lakes;  and Sheldon Silver\'s nephew, twice-removed on his wife\'s side of the family will be the race caller.  Oh yes....I almost forgot:  take-out on all exotic plays will be forty-three percent.