Venue 5/14 Belmont Park

[Real Quiet]

RYonker and I have decided to ship to Belmont Park on Saturday. The card features 4 stakes races among the 11. It is still being discussed whether Ruffian will be barred from race 7 as she may be privy to inside information (grin). Bring on that Grand Slam JB....I am sharpening pencils as we speak.

[JolyB]

Oh boy - I think BEL will be offering an all graded stakes Grand Slam. You talked me into it, RQ.

Fortunately there are no offspring of either Storm Cat or Kitten's Joy in Race 7 - that would give one of our players too much of a swami edge.

[RUFFIAN]

MEOWZA!

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUERY
ON AN ISSUE I PERSONALLY FIND SENSELESS (AND WRONG!)

WHY WOULD THEY NAME A RACE FOR RUFFIAN
WHO TRAGICALLY DIED AS A 3 YEAR OLD FILLY
AND MAKE THE HONORARY RACE FOR F/M 4 YR +

SHE STILL REMAINS IN MEMORY
AS ONE OF THE ALL TIME BEST FILLYS ....

SO WHY NOT CREATE A RACE FOR 3 YR FILLYS? DUH

[swedejxn]

Probably just because no one really ever thought about it !!!! And that in itself is the real shame .... IMO... But it's nice to be remembered annually, though

[swedejxn]

BE CAUTIOUS When 'capping Saturday!!!! slight chance of rain early but likely by 3pm... Race 5 or 6 could start to be a factor for sure...

[RUFFIAN]

TIZ A BIT DISHEARTENING & SAD TO SEE SMALLER
FIELDS IN MAJOR STAKES AT BELMONT

ONLY 6 IN THE RUFFIAN S -- 8 IN OTHER ONE

YET I SEE FIELDS OF 12-14 -- PLUS AE AT OTHER
TRACKS ON WEEKDAYS!
NON-STAKES / LESS PURSE $$ / LARGE ENTRY

ANYONE HAVE A CLUE WHY BIG STAKES & PURSES
WOULD NOT DRAW MORE ENTRIES

YET NON-STAKES GET BIG FIELDS ON WEEKDAYS
AT OTHER TRACKS

INQUIRING MIND WANTS TO KNOW!

[JolyB]

I don't imagine that the Racing Secretary at Belmont likes it any better than you do, but what you describe has been going on for a very long time, especially in non-turf stakes races for older horses. Fortunately, the Saratoga season tends to be an exception to this trend and many owners and trainers point toward this meeting.

I suspect it is primarily a question of supply and demand - if a race is carded for maiden claimer, there are lots of horses on the grounds who can enter and try for a piece of the purse. There simply aren't as many stakes quality horses to fill all of the races from which they have to choose, not just at BEL, but at any of the other tracks to which they could ship. Quality horses aren't kept in training as long as they used to; the really good ones are retired to the breeding shed if they have enough black type to command stud fees; the mares are bred for the value of their offspring. Add to that the recognition that many owners of stakes horses just don't want to enter them in races where they are likely to get beaten - that will diminish the future value of their breeding rights. Better to win a couple of races against weak competition than run against all comers and lose.

You could then ask why owners of weaker horses who don't belong in the stakes races don't just take a flyer and enter with the hope of getting very lucky. A possible answer is that it costs a good deal to enter a stakes race. If you look at tomorrow's Ruffian, the nomination fee is $250, entry fee is $1,250 and starting fee is another $1,250. If you wait until very late to enter, it could cost you an additional $2,500. That's to enter a race where you might have little chance of winning, but could clunk up for a small piece in a small field. But, even though the winner's share is generous, 4th place would only pay $12,500 and 5th $7,500. It could be much more lucrative to enter an allowance horse in an allowance race with no entry fees and try to get a larger piece of a still generous purse. The purses for such races are often in the $60,000 range.

Not a complete answer to your question, but might help provoke discussion.