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Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis
Chuck - Since the original thread was about Aqueduct, and specifically the product they put on through the winter - I geared my response toward what seems to me to be the most glaring issue with winter racing there - their state bred racing program. 95% of the horses bred in the state have no business running for the purses they soon will see. More stallions are being placed in NY to accommodate the growing population of mares (almost all bad) that can drop a foal on the ground and be blessed NY registered. It is not unlike LA, only it's the tip of the iceberg. 10 years from now (assuming the relationship with Genting is intact) you'll have the same problems they have - except LA has 3 tracks to spread the "wealth" around to.
Finger Lakes can barely handle the population they have, and their adoption program is maxed out on day 1. And it goes without saying that the product there does not support itself.
A handful of Finger lakes trainers bring some of them here to Tampa, most are laid up for the winter, and few go elsewhere.
Encouraging the top outfits to keep stalls there for their higher end dirt horses / promising 2-3yos in the winter instead of shipping south would be a start. I don't know if that will happen, personally.
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Supply and demand will eventually max out the program. By limiting the amount of NY bred races you will force people to breed better horses. While there is no doubt that most NY breds will be running for a lot more than they should be there are ancillary benefits of bringing more money into the state via mares, stallions and foals. The breeders do have some political clout and as such are a player. If you simply write fewer, better races the issues will wind themselves down.
You will never get the top young horses staying North simply because of the weather and the effect of not being able to train regularly all the time. However it seems like some of the big outfits have left better horses and there are some new stables there.