Santa Anita Soak Cam
 

The horseman out there have to be ready to hang themselves. Ole Frank's luck has been horrible lately.

Huge Bucks In The Gulf Pools Today..:$:

Santa Anita decision between Noon-12:30p
 

Santa Anita decision will come between 12-12:30p EST.

Doesn't look too good right now. They are watching a band of storms that would deliver another 1-2 inches if it hits. If it should avoid Arcadia, there is a chance they will run...

This from Crist's recent article ...


I realize that 4 times in 74 years means that Santa Anita cancelled a card for rain once every 18.5 years ... but even that number is friggen absurdly high. I'd really like to know more about the circumstances surrounding those four cards.

Its cloudy and in the 60s right now here in Scottsdale, with chances of rain later in the day. Turf Paradise should be good today, tommorrow who knows.

Getting more rain...

The number that is being quoted 'pre-synthetic' era is actually inaccurate.

Santa Anita has had six cancelled cards since 1934: Jan. 16 & 18, 1952; Jan. 20-21, 1993; and Jan. 11-12, 1995. Additionally, 2 other cards cancelled after one race on 1/8/95 and 1/9/05.

Though I can't find the specifics, washouts or uneven surface/unsafe riding conditions appear to have been the causes.

I'm sure it was some heavy rainstorm ... they ran a claiming race on the turf on Jan 22nd 1993.

I'm 25 minutes from SA. It's absolutely pouring here...

^

Pac-10 linebacker mentality.

If they scheduled the major late Dec and early Jan Bowl games in real weather ... the Big-10 would still be mighty as ever.

So you're saying that because they used the the turf on the 22nd it precludes rain being responsible for the 20th-21st cancels?

Cancelled

Guess the Magna 5 is toast once again as well?:(

Yep....unbelievable. Just heard the Magna is cancelled as well.
This winter has been brutal on racing.

3 of the first 5 magna 5's cancelled this year. That's hard to believe.

No ... I'm saying that because a field of claimers ran over a turf course listed as "good" (not soft or yielding) on the 22nd ... it shows that the rain was hardly overwhelming. Nice try.

Wasn't that right around the time that future training sensation Gary Stevens had a fall or two and cried like a girl about how the track was the most unsafe in the country?

Could be. I'll keep looking through the articles where I found the dates to see if there's more detail on any of the cancellations.

call the 'hammer'

He was at Monmouth then... Not sure who was Rac. Secretary at SA during that era.

Rollo may know?

..

There you go! And the famed Pete Pederson the answer to the Racing Secretary question...

The Sham has been rescheduled for March 6.

Only a week away from the San Felipe -- might pick some horses pointed for that race (especially if Lookin at Lucky runs in the San Felipe). Early bird nominations to the Santa Anita Derby are eligible for the Sham Stakes.

Nextdoorneighbor should get a better post when they redraw.

Don't understand why the dirt-only race fans are interested in this. How many times do you have to be told that it's a drainage problem, and not a track surface problem? How many people from Cali are complaining when AQU closes due to being a snow magnet? Lately, it's been a chalk fest at Anita. Spent $24 on the late p3 there yesterday(bull single/all/ 3rd,4th,5th favs .) Had a chance to get the $129 payoff in the last(for the Sadler newcomer,) but the chalk held me off. So, it's not like I was desperate to try beating the chalk again today. If I have a complaint about these surfaces, it's that they(for us) don't create that many carryovers. If SOCAL loses it's reputation as the p6 carryover king, then it's big trouble. I know that changing back to dirt will hurt our main track field size, but it will create more random-type results. Scuds plan (to save the very lucrative p6 king reputation) would be to have dirt with reduced racing dates. If you try to return to 5 day a week racing on dirt out here, you will see huge field size problems (much worse than the present shortages.) You need a more forgiving dirt track than the ones we had. Horses need to be able to race more often than they were racing on those old dirt tracks we had.

Because they also bet?

People routinely bet races run on the synthetic, but they hate synthetic? There's no carry-over into today's card.

Tommorow is starting to look iffy

They hate it as fans of racing. Why should that stop them from betting on it?

Because they don't want to support the use of it? Isn't that what consumers are supposed to do (stop supporting it with money) if they don't like something?

I hate to be the one who has to break it to you .... but there are a lot of horsebettors who aren't fans of the sport ... and there are a lot of fans of the sport who aren't horsebettors.

That's a dog paddle.

Hopefully Stronach does the right thing and installs a dirt track. The sham of synthetic surfaces have been exposed.

Don't even try talking sense with him.

Break it down -

Numbers and odds players are not fans of the sport

vs

Cappers and the like who are fans of the sport

meaning -

Guys and gals who wait until a couple minutes to post and then play their numbers

versus

Cappers

no form versus a form in hand

I gotta believe the pool numbers would weigh heavily towards Cappers versus number and odds players

The funny flip side of my post is this - I am equally a fan of this sport as well as a bettor and I have found over the last couple of years I gamble a lot less when on track at a nice place like Churchill, Saratoga, Keeneland etc then I do when betting from an otb or dump like Beulah when I lived there.

Guess I am talking out of both sides of my mouth but I gotta believe the total numbers in the pool are heavily favored towards the Cappers, especially on weekends at the good meets versus the dumps and numbers players who fill the pools at tracks like Beulah and Mountaineer.

You get your rocks off by taking air out of another person's tires. That makes sense? Messing with stuff you don't own?

Roger Stein interviewed Frank this morning and I can tell you that Stonach doesnt know what to do, No kidding not a clue.

They'll race on Sunday at Anita. I'll make it 98%. Cap the main with confidence. They'll remain babies about the turf though.

Races 2,4,6 OFF Turf
8th Good

Is this not exactly as I predicted? It is not difficult to predict the thinking of these scared lil elves.

Oh that's great cause in the 10 day forecast....

Well let's just wait and see and hope that they're wrong.