MTH: Track-Muddy, Turf-Good
 

SCR/CHG up shortly at MTH website soon if not now..

#4 Forefathers a scratch from the Dirt Mile; Will go in SPR Saturday...

Look for Sloppy/Soft by first BC race- Rain expected by 4 PM

Track is listed as muddy at the moment, the turf good.

The above is the only change in the BC races thus far.

http://www.monmouthpark.com/raceday.aspx?displayType=S

Turf has changed to yielding in the last half an hour or so. Has there been more rain?

Misty turning steady with increasing intensity..

it didnt look too soft in the last race..

No, i have to agree with that. We will have to see what it's like now it's been opened up a bit. That was fresh ground as far as i am aware.

It's raining now (or so they said on TV) so it's only going to get softer. Annie Skates does have fairly decent form on soft even though she's a Mr Greeley, so it's hard to say as far as her performance is concerned.

Not looking good for the turf tomorrow......

******************

Rains wreaks havoc on Monmouth track, turf course


by Tom De Martini

Persistent rain throughout Friday’s Breeders’ Cup World Championship card forced Monmouth Park track superintendent Robert Juliano to seal the sloppy main track and downgrade the turf course to yielding.

Conditions are expected to continue to deteriorate Friday night with heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast through early Saturday afternoon.

Heavy rain is expected overnight and is forecast to continue through early Saturday afternoon. Clearing skies and gusty northwest winds are forecast from approximately 2 p.m. EDT Saturday through the scheduled 5:35 p.m. post time for the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1).

Juliano said a sloppy racetrack is likely for the Classic.

“If we get real lucky and the rain moves out real fast Saturday, we may get it to muddy or good, using the steel plates to seal the track, followed by the rakes,” Juliano said.

Juliano said horses in the first five races on Friday’ s Breeders’ Cup card were driving through the main track’s base and down to the cushion, which is 85% sand and a 15% mixture of silt and clay.

“This is the worst kind of rain, because it’s aggravating the track and the moisture just lays there. If the rain came down heavily, it could run off quicker,” Juliano said.

Juliano will continue to consult with Breeders’ Cup racing officials on the condition of the turf course and whether any Saturday races may come off of the turf.

“The Breeders’ Cup will do everything to keep the races on the turf,” said Jim Gluckson, spokesman for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

Juliano said the inside of the turf course has not been used since August 5 and only Queen’s Plate shoes are permitted.

The rail for Friday’s Breeders’ Cup turf races was set at 24 feet.

Does anyone actually think they will take the races off the Turf?

BC Turf on the dirt - brilliant..

I didn't think they would even consider taking the races off the turf, but if they do get the amount of rain they are expecting over night, they might have no choice in doing so.

Very depressing if it happens.

Simple solution: HUGE tarpolin!

Run 1 1/2 on dirt in the Breeders' Cup? I think someone would have an aneurysm. It's like the Loch Ness monster... sure maybe it's out there but nobody has been able to see it nor are they likely to.

The big cheese said they have to run it on turf so they'll run it on turf. I wish the rain would stop where I'm at (nowhere near Jersey). I know we need it but 3 days straight? I wanna go outside without getting drenched. I was hoping to watch racing in a more normal circumstance, not in the swamp, so I'm scared for the horses' and jockeys' safety as well as everyone who's talented maybe not getting a chance to show their best. I'd hate if a horse who's about to retire gets burned by a few raindrops. It could color how they're remembered.

Have they taken taken races from the turf in the Breeder's Cup history?

It looks like it's going to be very soft tomorrow.

I don't believe they've ever pulled it--I mean it ceases to be the BC Turf so you might as well not run it. These horses qualified or were invited due to grass performance, this wasn't just an entry situation. They're more likely to just postpone it although given the expenditure that would be kinda insane too. If they can get through the race without it being too dangerous they'll go however crappy the experience and I'm sure the jockeys will say if they don't wanna do it. Think about it, they don't wanna put their lives at risk past a point and if they're willing to come and say 'it's too bad, we can't do it' for the Breeders' Cup, it must be pretty catastrophic.

Wouldn't it be ironic if after all this nobody comes away with so much as a scratch or a bump on what is arguably one of if not the worst course situation in BC history? I don't think the overall condition of each has been this bad but I could be wrong.

If only Coolmore could transfer Soldier of Fortune in for Dylan.. Hed probably win by 20 lengths..

i am dying laughing right now, I am going to start using brillant in my vocab

It is Monmouth, so the probably would go 1 1/2 and 70 yards on the dirt...

My guess is that if it does get very bad like they're predicting they will take every race apart from the BC Turf off the turf and then just 'play it by ear' and hope it drains enough before the actual turf race, if it doesn't, who knows what they will do.

It was bad enough at Belmont on 2005, and this is already ten times worse than it was there.

Lets just pray that the rain blows over, that does seem impossible though.

i dont know what to say, maybe double up and start using grand too..

Brillant....

Will Red Rocks like it soft?

he put a good performance last year on soft over 10f and galileos usually go through it. all my loving will be interesting as well now with the ground..

it aint gonna matter

All My Loving should love the state of the turf (if they actually race on it) but she has had a very hard season. She only ran five or six days ago, and that was an average listed race.

She got soft ground at Ascot and was beaten by Brisk Breeze. I'm stunned that she has even gone there. Would love for her to win, but thruth is that she's only a maiden winner. I would be shocked if she could win.

You have shut your mouth completely for the last two weeks and you just have to ruin it a day before the race

just doing what I do best...

You're so right.

Firm course of soft course, your boy is still a rock-solid single in the 4th spot on all superfecta tickets.

Pretty depressing looking at how sunny and dry it's going to be Sunday on.

Really does put a damper on the day.

It really sucks! Could be the worst B.C. all time, it's too bad...won't get to see the true champions on a fair surface.

It would be brilliant to hear Scavs use grand in a sentence.

I know it will come as a shock, but it is raining here (hotel 13 miles from MTH).

I once saw Scav use the phrase, "For all intensive purposes."

Probably the phrase that is screwed up the most in the US.

Still raining here.

Are you at Monmouth?

Don't know about him but just called up the radar...looks pretty ugly.

13 miles from MTH in a Holiday Inn wondering how the turf is holding up and if my shoes have dried from yesterday yet.

Shame. My only hope now is that the turf drains very quickly. I know they said the drainage is very good, but is it good enough to take away what could be 3-4 inches in less than 24 hours.

Even though most of our horses (apart from Dylan) won't mind it, it doesn't make for good viewing.

How bad does it have to get before they take the racing off the turf? Is it close to getting that bad?

Okay, thanks.

Try and stay as dry as you can if you're heading to the track today. Nothing worse than going racing when it does nothing but rain.

jock who rode nownownow yesterday said that the turf wasn't bad at all.

Winning jocks will always say the ground is good.

Even the euro jocks said it was riding soft, which says quite a bit in my opinion. On our racing channel this morning, they spoke to Adrian Beaumont (from the IRB). He was at the track and he said there was standing water on the turf track after racing had finished yesterday, it had rained most of the night and was still raining there this morning.