Small Fields

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by eurobounce

Well this makes me think of two things:

1) The new medication rules doesnt allow for trainers to do a last minute adjustment. A trainer doesnt want to get fined or suspended if their horse runs in a race and has a positive test. Say you gave your horse some meds two weeks before the Tremont...well the Tremont comes up short and you would love to run your horse in the race. However, you know you are going to test positive because it has only been 14 days since the horse took the drug.

2) There are so many races for horses these days that the trainer can pick the sports for the horse. If you have a borderline Grade III/Allowace horse, you can ship that horse to Delaware or West Virginia and catch a weak field for a nice purse. There are too many options for the number of horses that are racing.

This is a total mess and there is no easy fix.

This reminds me of old Golden Man having a go at Sun King the day after running up at Monmouth last year.