Could poly bring back the 12 furlong "dirt" race?

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

I agree, I'm just saying to give a blanket statement like 'it aint happening' is tough to do when we don't know what the future holds. For all we know performance on the polytrack could prove to correlate to endurance in the sire and the demand for 12 furlong races to prove that endurance will increase.

So, they are going to dramatically alter the breed to suit this new surface?

Good luck.

I say they just paint it green and call it what it is.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

So, they are going to dramatically alter the breed to suit this new surface?

Good luck.

I say they just paint it green and call it what it is.

Who knows? I think Churchill kinda holds the cards on polytrack. If they opt to switch to polytrack it will absolutely change how breeders think.

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

Who knows? I think Churchill kinda holds the cards on polytrack. If they opt to switch to polytrack it will absolutely change how breeders think.

WHy does a track with one race thats great and a bunch noone cares about hold the cards?

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by oracle80

WHy does a track with one race thats great and a bunch noone cares about hold the cards?

Because that one race that is the single biggest factor in breeding. Combine that with the BC being run there every four or five years, plus all the Cali tracks going synthetic and there will be too much money for breeders to ignore. All I do know for sure is it is going to be a strange year when they finally run the BC on a track with a synthetic surface.

[sumitas]

who knows ? sure, i'd watch a 12f race on poly. there are a few distance specialists out there right now. i believe Navesink River is one. and what does he get for his troubles ? they send him to Saudi Arabia last new years eve. Belmont and A once in a great while card dirt races just short of 12f.

and just a couple of years ago NYRA cut the CCA Oaks back to 10f from 12f...it seems like the tail is wagging the dog...the commercial breeders must be dictating the length, or lack thereof, of the races

[SentToStud]

They ran a 16f dirt race at Calder a couple months ago. The Umphrey Stakes. The purse was $200k.

It was on that "Extreme" Racing Day and it was supposed to be 2 miles turf, going the wrong way.

It wound up in the slop going the right way. I was there and it was fairly awful seeing what wound up as a 6 horse field of mostly $25,000 optional claimers running for a fifth of a million dollars.

It was more interesting watching the jockeys race 1/16 of a mile on foot. Always bet on Freddie Camacho going .5f in the slop. He won by 20 feet, running barefoot.

[Swap Fliparoo]

Originally Posted by SentToStud

They ran a 16f dirt race at Calder a couple months ago. The Umphrey Stakes. The purse was $200k.

It was on that "Extreme" Racing Day and it was supposed to be 2 miles turf, going the wrong way.

It wound up in the slop going the right way. I was there and it was fairly awful seeing what wound up as a 6 horse field of mostly $25,000 optional claimers running for a fifth of a million dollars.

It was more interesting watching the jockeys race 1/16 of a mile on foot. Always bet on Freddie Camacho going .5f in the slop. He won by 20 feet, running barefoot.

Actually the "wrong way stakes" and long distance race were two different ones, i'm pretty sure. Since there was a deluge, everything came off the turf... and the whole point of a Euro style "wrong way" race was defeated if not on grass.

But it was really weird watching them race 2 mi on dirt!

[blackthroatedwind]

If they switch to polytrack I will be stunned but I can't disagree with you in that they can't do it without the blessing of the breeders.

On a mildly related note, did you see the exemption Churchill got on smoking. Really hilarious.