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Originally Posted by parsixfarms
It's not just the lack of marathons, but the entire shortening of the condition book in NY. In the winter, there is the abundance of races at a mile/mile and seventy yards instead of the 8.5F and 9F races that used to be a staple on the inner dirt; races at those distances are now scarcely run in overnight races.
At Belmont, it's not just the turf sprints but the awkardly positioned 9F on the inner turf instead of the "old" 10F and 11F races that we used to frequently see. And I bet you can count on one hand the number of main track, overnight races carded at a distance over a mile on the main track.
The lack of variety and shortening of distance has been in evidence the first week of the Saratoga race. Taking out 2YO races and off the turfers, the racing office has carded 10 races at 6F, none at 6.5F, and only 3 at 7F.
NYRA can talk about the "distance" purse supplements as evidence of its "commitment" to promoting distance racing (post-Eight Belles). But if this is a good idea, why do it only at Saratoga? Why not do it year-round? In reality, NYRA's racing program, to the frustration of many horsemen (and in the name of the almighty field size), caters to speed, speed and more speed.
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All of this may be true but NYRA still runs more distance races than anywhere else. Some people want to call a mile a sprint when talking about year end awards yet very few tracks write ANY races longer than 1 1/16th on a regular basis. How can you consider a mile a sprint (which it most certainly isnt) when the most typical distance race is 1 1/16th or 1 mile 70yards?
The CDI tracks (CD, FG, AP, Crc) almost never write longer races. While people often complain about this, the tracks claim they cant fill them. But if they dont write them, why would they expect owners to buy or breed such horses? It is the chicken and the egg quandry. If they write enough of them and they are weak races, eventually the horseman will figure out that they are weak and look to acquire better horses to try to win the easier races.