Venue choices for Saturday

[JolyB]

Ruff, we will have to find a way to persuade you to travel East some July or August and spend a couple of days at Saratoga so that you can understand why so many of us look forward to its season and enjoy its racing so much. It doesn't have anything to do with the number of races or the number of stakes races, but with the ambience and the overall quality of the racing experience. As a handicapper, or a gambler or just as a fan of horseracing you can't help but get caught up in the atmosphere that permeates the town. I think that many of us who select Saratoga as a venue are secretly wishing that we could be playing the races live at the track rather than at home on our computers or watching on TV.

There's nothing wrong with Monmouth racing or the Jersey shore. Heck, I grew up there and placed my first bet at Monmouth many years before I reached the legal age to do so. Saturday's card looks just fine for Monmouth's signature day of the year. But on my opinion it just doesn't compare with the pleasure that one gets from digging into a Saratoga race card with purses for optional claiming races that exceed stakes purses elsewhere or trying to figure out how the shippers from other circuits stack up against the regulars from the NYRA circuit.

By the way, if you or anyone else likes the Monmouth card, don't forget to play the Haskell Challenge at haskellgame.com