Venue for March 2

[JolyB]

The entries for Saturday's card at Gulfstream have just recently been posted, and it is a looong day of racing. The first race will be at 11:30 AM Eastern, and the 14th race (you read that correctly, the 14th race) won't go off until 6:06 PM. How many trips some players will need to make to the closest ATM is anyone's guess.

I don't think that any of us have the stamina for that type of marathon, nor should our scorers be faced with so daunting a task. I'd like to somewhat abbreviate our contest card.

The first of the graded stakes races is Race 4, the Grade 3 Palm Beach. Races 4 through 8 are all graded stakes. In the middle of the card are a straight maiden on the turf for 3 year old fillies, and then a straight maiden on the main track for 3 year old colts. The final 4 races are all graded stakes, including the Davona Dale and the Fountain of Youth.

My proposal is that we start with Race 4 at 1:00 PM Eastern and play the balance of the card from there. While that is an 11 race card, I just don't think we need to reduce it further, especially since each of the races provide what I think will be interest for handicappers. Even the two maiden races in this group have a number of entrants from very high profile trainers and I think are worthy of inclusion.

I'd welcome any comment or reaction, but that's my current preference.