Saturday at Belmont

[FrankD.]

Muddy & Yielding
1,2,4 & 11 are off the turf.
2 Stakes on only
Someday Richiebee will learn not to argue with me about the weather !

[SoCalMan2]

Who on earth thought it was a good idea to put the Beldame in the middle of the Pick 4 and the Flower Bowl outside the interesting horizontal exotics?  Sheesh

In my view, if the Flower Bowl and the Beldame were flip flopped, the pick 4 would be an awesome sequence.  With the Beldame right in the middle, it stinks.  I see the problem of the Beldame for the horizontals being that HDG is extremely likely at low odds, and even if you want to throw her out, how can you not go to the heavy second choice.  That is going to wreck any meaningful way to play the Pick 4 (the Kelso only has 4 horses, but I like Uncle Mo least of the field, so it could help the Pick 4 some).  

If there were a big pick 6 carryover or Pick 6 guarantee, this idiotic decision would look even more stark.  Given the MTO\'s coming in the switched off the turf finale, the pick 6 is basically a pick 4 with HDG and the Schosberg MTO being singles.

Am I off in right field?  How on earth did they decide the sequence of races in this card.

[phil23]

Aruna out - goes in Spinster next weekend.

[SoCalMan2]

track is listed as Muddy and only changes shown on NYRA website are shoe changes.  In the feature, they have Mott\'s two horses going with Aluminum Pads On.  This strikes me as bizarre, no?  I can imagine mud caulks on, but shouldn\'t an aluminum pad be worse on an off track?  Anybody with shoe knowledge here care to comment?  Is Mott crafty like a fox?  Is he an idiot?  Did the NYRA site operator mix up the info (i.e. meant to say mud caulks not aluminum pads)?

[sixmoreouts]

The guys who thought it was a good idea to put the Beldame where it is on the card are NYRA and the ESPN Classic TV people.  They wanted Havre de Grace live on their national telecast.

[SoCalMan2]

Man!  I am used to TV wrecking the stadium football experience, but this is the first time I have ever considered TV wrecking the Living Room Downs experience. I find this somewhat depressing.

[richiebee]

FrankD. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Muddy & Yielding
> 1,2,4 & 11 are off the turf.
> 2 Stakes on only
> Someday Richiebee will learn not to argue with me
> about the weather !

Other than that inch or so of rain that fell between 9 and midnight,
I thought I pretty much nailed the forecast.

[covelj70]

Birdrun ran with Aluminum pads in the Brooklyn.  I cancelled my bet on him because he was wearing them.  I am not smart.

[miff]

\"Birdrun ran with Aluminum pads in the Brooklyn. I cancelled my bet on him because he was wearing them. I am not smart\"

Jim,

Many did the same,myself included. The right move sometimes does not work out but in the long run, first time pads, bars a losing proposition.

Mike

[phil23]

Not allowing TV is why it\'s only us degenerates who even know HdG is running today.  Racing completely screwed itself years ago not getting on the tv bandwagon.