trouble in paradise

[richiebee]

  I see there were some problems at the
opening of the Gulfstream Mall today
(see DRF online)
 
  If I was religious, I would right now
be praying that Mr. Stronach will never
be given the opportunity to lay ruin
to Saratoga.

  As for Wednesday, back to the inner
tube, an impossible card and a 48k p6
carryover.

   Happy Wagering to all 2005

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

I knew the old strip at Hallandale but I did not like it. At first blush i\'m very pleased with the way the new surface behaved today and if it can be consistent i think its gonna be a great track. Now if they only had flamingos and a few other landmarks and memories they can never build or buy. I know there were problems but the Jockeys loved the track and thats the important thing.  Did you notice in the feature how many horses were right there for second. They got to put their runs in. You gotta like that. I love Arlington and Saratoga due mainly to their size. Hialeah was the same way. Hollywood would be a good track but for the concrete they maintain there. GP is really positioned now with this surface and the extended meet to be the proving ground for the spring classics. I\'ll give Stronach credit for recognizing that real horseracing is fair horseracing. If he realizes that major stakes and handicaps should be 10 marks and up and makes the Gulfstream Park Handicap a 1 million 12 mark race, I\'ll back him for President. I\'m not sure you can run 12 marks there though.

[Silver Charm]

I am going down to Hallendale on Saturday hoping for the best and expecting the worst. Hammerin Hank was hysterical on the radio yesterday blasting Stronach and Co. I have held back because people are trying to sell product and would be better served if this transition was as painless as possible.

The newspapers down here in So Fla were so full of puff on Sunday with their, It will be a unique experience stories\".

Also after reading Stronachs story in the DRF about how he designed the barns, stalls, mucked hay, etc I wondered if he cleaned up the Manure. Then it dawned on me that he probably ate it. Just like he does three meals a day.

[Michael D.]

CtC,
after reading all of the comments from the horsemen (zito, pletcher, tagg, frankel and others) it is obvious that stronach has created something special with the new courses. the jocks were also raving about the courses yesterday (the turf race was prob timed wrong). when this place is completed, it looks as though south florida will be the center of racing in this country (maybe the world). as for the mistakes yesterday, well they opened on a monday with a bunch of claimers for a reason: to get the bugs out. i hope everybody who has it in their minds that stronach has ruined racing will just stay away from GP this year. they don\'t want too many people there until things are built, leave the space to the people who appreciate world class race courses and world class racing.

[Silver Charm]

>i hope everybody who has it in their minds that stronach has ruined racing will just stay away from GP this year.

No one said he has ruined racing, at least I haven\'t. He has made a lot of promises and he has delivered on how many in the last five years???

Also if they want people to stay away then open up Calder, Pompano and Hollywood dogs for that matter so people can go to a comfortable place and wager. Wonder why the resident \"Visionary\" didn\'t think of that.

See you at Palm Beach Kennel Michael D.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

If Stronach really did design the facility maybe that explains why the Jockeys Room is a marathon from the Paddock. What was he thinking?...lol

Other than that I agree with Michael D. They\'ll work the bugs out.

I knew the corners and crevasses of Gulfstream. But it was an \"efficient\" structure and lacked romance. We\'ll see what they build. I still haven\'t seen a plan. The New York Tracks are a vastly different story. You don\'t do serious tinkering with Saratoga and Belmont.

[Michael D.]

SC,
it\'s the original post and the \"ruin\" comment i was referring to. post when you are heading to the PBKC. i will be there at least a few times in feb and march, let\'s meet up.

[Michael D.]

CtC,
i never liked the old GP. i first went there about twenty years ago, and i remember being very disappointed when i first walked in. i was expecting some sort of tropical paradise, and found a track that looked like most other old tracks in the country. the surface got bad reviews from many of the trainers (zito and shug included), and the foreigners hated it. with the nice winter climate, and great t\'bred interest in south florida, i could never understand why something different, something better wasn\'t built there. maybe that is why i am so glad that something is being done (maybe a bit too hopeful)... take a look at the GP web site for the future design.

[richiebee]

Michael D said it looks like South Florida
will be the center of racing for the country and the world? I thought we have done just
fine with quality racing being held in 4
venues-- NY, KY, Fla and Cal over the past few years.

The majority of the year round equine population in Fla is still Calder claimers
and Florida bred maidens. There are enough
of these horses to fill a lot of large
fields which makes for good wagering. On
most weekdays even during the middle of
winter, we are seeing \"Calder at Gulfstream\".
Agreed, the weekend product is nearly equal
to Sara and Keeneland.

I read somewhere that Magna has already
mentioned that they want fall dates. This
sets up a potentially epic (sorry Tom
Durkin)battle between Magna and CD. Can they
co- exist better than the Donns and the
Brunettis?

With regards to the Spa, NYRA needs to go back to four or five weeks. I know the
ego driven Stronach would try to run a three
month carnival up there. My favorite year at
Saratoga was 1982. There had been weather
related cancellations during the winter and they ran 28 straight days, no dark days. That
year three classic winners-Gato, Aloma, and
Conquistador C- all met in the Travers. And the winner was-- Runaway Groom.

[Michael D.]

richie,
after all of the problems with the GP surface in the early and mid 90\'s, i though GP racing wasn\'t as good as it should be. fair enough though, we just disagree. we certainly agree on our love for the spa though. i will be the first to take on frank if he ever tries to change that place.

I go to Saratoga every year. I think it\'s a tad \'too\' popular now. I\'m not a big fan of the large weekend crowds and there no doubt in my mind that the quality of the racing  has been watered down a bit as they\'ve expanded the meet. I\'ll still go again this year, but not with as much enthusiasm as I did 10 or more years ago.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

richiebee wrote:

> The majority of the year round equine population in Fla is
> still Calder claimers
> and Florida bred maidens. There are enough
> of these horses to fill a lot of large
> fields which makes for good wagering. On
> most weekdays even during the middle of
> winter, we are seeing \"Calder at Gulfstream\".
> Agreed, the weekend product is nearly equal
> to Sara and Keeneland.

Calder at Gulfstream is not all bad. I really can\'t even begin to recite the number of big tickets I\'ve cashed on big name Northern horses going down on Calder or Gulfstream during the winter. Especially Calder. They call the Spa \"The graveyard of favorites\", they must have never have covered the \"big\" races on Calder\'s main during the winter.

lol

CtC

[NoCarolinaTony]

I\'ve been going to the SPA every year as well, especially enjoy the last weekend (Labor Day). Get away weekend  is more laid back, usually has many good prices and overlays, as well as reasonable crowd size to deal with, after the Travers euphoria is over. IMO its easier to concentrate and handicap that week with horses showing form, trainers trying to get out and  certain handicappers trying to get their money back. I have to say that this year using TG I had a remarkable last Sunday this year including Samyn in the 11th!!

Keeneland is AWSOME as well.

Yep. I\'ve also been going during the last weekend for the last several years now. It is a little better.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

Michael D. wrote:

> CtC,
> i never liked the old GP.  with the nice
> winter climate, and great t\'bred interest in south florida, i
> could never understand why something different, something
> better wasn\'t built there.

I think the history of racing in Florida is why. At the time GP was first built the preeminent track was Hialeah. Nothing was going to dislodge Hialeah\'s hold on the quality racing season. So they built \"cheap\" like Calder and Tropical Park. Then, Hialeah and Miami kind of deteriorated and folks with money migrated a little further North. Not all, but a good many of them. Hialeah became in the words of the \"assign the dates folks\" \"hard to get to\". I think the folks at GP did a better job lobbying the state government for the cream winter dates. Ostensibly, the state people looked at handle generated but quite quickly in the process of awarding the dates Hialeah wasn\'t given a chance for the cream dates again. (How do you demonstrate handle without a chance at the handle dates?...lol) Brunetti exacerbated things by butting heads with the state officials, going head to head on dates and increasing takeout.

Of course in this era, most handle is generated off track, so the old arguements don\'t hold water any longer, but Brunetti kind of burned his bridges is my take on it. Its too bad, other than Saratoga nothing compared and NO surface was Hialeah\'s equal. (You know they grew beans on the main it in the off season and tilled them into the track. At least thats what I was told). It\'s not like Calder and GP are in the BEST neighborhoods. They most certainly are NOT.

CtC