Opening Day at GP
 

http://drf.com/entries/03/eGP03.html?rn=718428

The last race is a 10k claimer on the Turf. What's next? $5000 NW2 going 1 1/2 on the Grass?

there is some nice msw and alot o turf..

quarter horse races?

And four turf races in a row? Are they trying to fry the turf course by Mid January?

to expensive to stay down there with these low purses.

Trainers take a beating

Interesting to see Nick Petro Jr. riding for his Uncle...10# bug.

The Petro brothers were always good for a bomb or two each Gulf meet. You just had to sift through the garbage they threw out there the rest of the time.

yes biggs good call

They're running one on Friday also. Get Hacker Craft down here.

He hates turf except for dining

How could Hialejah not do better than GP ? Geesh.

So what warm winter track benefits from the most from this?

(ie, where to go for the better horses, trainers?)

It is not that anyone benefits but the reasoning of why it is done. To card races this cheap on the turf this early in the met is a bad sign. They are using these races to pad the numbers of starters per race and to capitalize on the popularity of Turf racing in a time when only a few tracks offer it and most importantly have to pay out a paltry purse as compared to a typical turf race. What is the downside? The fact that they are using the turf course heavily early in the meet to card such cheap races where they dont have to pay out much purse money means instead of splitting maidens or allowance races you will see them use a cheap claiming race as a turf race which is a troubling trend. Maybe some will like handicapping these types of races but you may wind up with a lot more of these and fewer better turf races.

101 horses pre-entered for 9 races (including Also Eligibles).


That comes out to 11.2 horses per race
for a mid-week opener and we're unhappy with that?

I'm unhappy with the lame smileys.

Let's see what it is in a month

Aha.

Grass does not grow well in the winter.
I knew it.

They may be smart.
Just tapping into what the
majority of customers want.

They all blame Mr. Stronach.

You mean OWNERS!! The trainers aren't paying the bills.

But I thought the Owners paid the Trainers.
The pure naked destitution of it all filters down, no?

Get used to them. Hopefully, T_K_S has learned his lesson about hotlinking his pictures from other sites.

I notice he hasn't posted on another forum since the host of his hotlinked photo substituted a photo of a partially transgendered individual and his/her friend enjoying some action for the pic he linked to.

It was sort of amusing, some people took screengrabs of his post.

The photo in this post is hotlinked from an Austrian website:

hahaahah

Chuck, any chance KNS could show up and race at the Gulf?

Hey! I'm eligible for that!

I have never heard any clamoring for 10k claimers on the turf before.

They ruined one of the great meets in racing and they lose money with slot machines. They are not smart.

it is possible I suppose

Owners pay a day rate. Trainers Lodging,food,gas etc isn't in that rate.

You may be right.
But the handle will tell the truth.

Handle as compared to what?

Here is the goal of the new GP racing Secretary who did such a fine job at Thistledown that he was brought in to bring some of the qualities of Ohio racing to Gulfstream Park. From the DRF...

New racing secretary Bill Couch and new director of racing Bernie Hettel take over from the departed Dave Bailey, who held both positions. They will be stressing quantity along with the usual quality at the 89-day meet.

"Maximizing field sizes is going to be our top priority this winter," said Couch, who is also the racing secretary at Thistledown in Ohio, which like Gulfstream is owned by Magna Entertainment Corp. Couch said he is trying to fulfill the wishes of Bill Murphy, who begins his second season as president and general manager of Gulfstream Park. "That's what Murph brought me down for."
Last year, Gulfstream averaged 8.6 horses per race, and Couch said he is hoping for 9.2 to 9.5 per race this meet.



I dont see any mention of quality there do you? So a 10k claimer on the turf is now going to take the place of an grass allowance race. I cant see how it is going to make the racing better. There is a limit to how much the turf course can be used.

he still thinks he has to card for Thistledowns....

That is not to say that field size does not have some importance but when a "premier" track brings in a cheap track guy and the cheap track races start showing up on Opening day, I would be worried that the overall quality of races is going to drop even further.

Lets find some investors and buy the track off Frankie and do our thing. I am in charge of entertainment.

It's not as if there aren't barns full of turf MSW horses at GP as well as Calder, Palm, Payson and Palm Beach. It's all BS, that "full-fields" excuse. I boycotted opening day in protest.

Director of racing Bernie Hettel...

:rolleyes:

I just downloaded Saturdays card. They should be ashamed.

As long as Tampa is running, Gulfstream won't see a dime of my money.

gfy,,lol

:eek:

I have never seen so many N2L carded at a "major" track...and on opening weekend

Hey when is the mall opening?