[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Here is a direct link to the uproarious chapter in Beyer's "My $50,000 Year at the Races", Barrington Fair: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Crime. (Perhaps the greatest chapter title in publishing history)..

http://books.google.com/books?id=3jX...0crime&f=false

While I am of the opinion that there were too many races run at Saratoga this year (but given the state's involvement, a very complex discussion), in leafing through the book excerpt to which you linked, Beyer contained discussions about Saratoga races that included a $10,000 maiden claiming steeplechase and a $45,000 maiden claiming race for 2YOs. With all the columns containing hand-wringing about the quality of the racing at Saratoga this year, one would have thought that those sort of races were never contested at Saratoga in "the good old days."