A two furlong race at Santa Anita?

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

I remember that well.

I had a good bet on McCann's Mohave ... I think someone forgot to tell Frank Alverado that the race had been shortened to just two furlongs .. he rode like the distance was still 1 1/4 miles. Very stupid passive ride!

I know Boboman seemed like an impossible longshot ... but do you remember the troubled trip he had leaving that gate in that years race? Hard to overcoming that going just 2fs.

I had the MM to boboman exacta. Dumb jocks. Pval would have won that race for sure.

[letswastemoney]

They've been running 2 furlong races since I was a kid.....so at least 10 years ago it had to be going on.

I agree that you might as well flip a coin when betting a 2 furlong race. The littlest problem...the slightest bump....the awkward stumble at the start.....and your chances are gone.

[MisterB]

At the carnival, it's called bumper cars. At the County fair, it's called demolition derby

[Phalaris1913]

They've been running 2 furlong races since I was a kid.....so at least 10 years ago it had to be going on.

Two- and three-furlong races for 2YOs were common fare at the major winter meets starting decades ago. One sees less of it - at least in January and February - from the 1960s into the early 1970s. Prior to that point, it would be very typical to have one 2YO race daily at major meets like Fair Grounds, Tropical Park (and then Hialeah when it opened) and Santa Anita starting the first few days of January. Usually, it was a weekday thing, and they'd run them at 2 to 3 furlongs depending on the track.

[onebadbeast]

YOU GOTTA LOVE THESE RACES, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GET A $51 winner on top like i had the other day

[Phalaris1913]

"I agree that you might as well flip a coin when betting a 2 furlong race."

Just to explore this, I did a quick survey of the 2YO races run at Santa Anita in January 1956, a randomly selected January during the 1950s. Granted, these are 3 furlong races rather than 2- that's what Santa Anita was carding.

Date - Time for 3fs - Odds for winner (*=favorite) - field size
Jan 4 - 33.1 - 3.45* - 14
Jan 5 - 33.1 -.90* - 14
Jan 6 - 33.2 - 19.35 (favorite third) - 14
Jan 10 - 33.3 - 6.15 (favorite second) - 14
Jan 11 - 33.4 - .85* - 14
Jan 12 - 33.2 - 2.05* - 14
Jan 13 - 33.2 - 2.05 (favored entry 4th and 7th) - 14
Jan 17 - 33.3 - 6.30 (favorite 6th) - 12
Jan 18 - 33.3 - 2.70 (favorite fourth) - 12
Jan 19 - 33.3 - 6.20 (favorite third) - 14
Jan 20 - 33.3 - .60* - 14
Jan 24 - 33.4 - 5.95 (favorite second) - 13
Jan 25 - 34.3 - 2.40* - 14
Jan 26 - 34 - 5.85 (favorite third) - 11
Jan 27 - 33.3 - 6.85 (favorite 8th) - 14

(Note 33.1=33 1/5, etc.)

15 races.
11 14-horse fields; only one less than 12 starters was on a muddy track with many scratches.
Six winning favorites (40%). 11 in-the-money favorites (73%). Only one race was won by a horse at double-digit odds.

This small sample at least features races that were actually extremely formful, despite the fact that they consistently drew large fields.