A Saratoga wrap up, best and worst

Originally Posted by BellamyRd.

Hogwash! Travers day 40,000, Derby day 150,000, but I guess 40,000 includes "everybody"...there was not a single west coast trainer there, and why should there be when they can make money at Del Mar...you know a lot but you don't get it that the East Coast is not the end all be all, take John Q. Public in Mesa, Arizona who loves racing, maybe he gets to the Spa once in his entire lifetime...it's just too out of the way, even if you find a cheap flight to the city you're still 3.5 hours away, which is why they'll never have a BC there, but they will at Monmouth? Hmmm. I'm not trying to pick a fight, but the pecking order is 1) Derby, BC and then everything else is based on proximity.

Well lets see, I've been to all three, and to me its not close.
Hogwash is trying to use a derby day figure to compare to 36 days. Wanna go average for average daily attendance at a meet?
And most folks don't go to the track for racing alone, its also the atmosphere and things to do afterwards and before.
I've been to cups at CD, Bel, Gulf, Arlington and Lone Star. They are ok I guess, but its just another day at the track.Especially since you have to pay a fortune to get in the door. And I never saw anyplace like Siros afterwards at any of them.
Derbies are great, if you are lucky enough to have friends with a great box. But i dunno about paying 50 bucks to get in the joint to sit on a folding chair in the grandstand and buy a 6 dollar water. The AVERAGE GUY gets into Saratoga for 3 dollars and gets to see grade one races 13 times a meet.
And besides, those events are one day. You blow in and you blow out.
Saratoga is 6 weeks, and anyone whos ever been there will tell you that there isnt anything like it. Anybody else been to all three and have an opinion as to what they would attend if they only had a choice to go to one?

I'm a big fan of the racing at Saratoga and if I went I'm sure I'd love the atmosphere & and scenery
my point was that a derby or breeder's cup is going to get more of the top trainers and horses showing up from all over the country (and world), thus making it a more inclusive event(s)
as for a fan not close to the east coast, they would have a better chance of seeing a BC because they move it around, or going to a derby because it is more centralized
for a trainer/owner well they'd keep their horses out west until BC time
that's simply my point...I'm sure you could ask people which they'd like to be at and the majority probably would say Saratoga, but people can't just be beemed up there from all parts of the country...a better question would be how many derbys have you been to, how many BCs, and how many trips to the Spa? not so much which provided you with the best experience
as I'm sure Saratoga is a wonderful experience everyone should go at least once I would urge, myself included

Originally Posted by BellamyRd.

I'm a big fan of the racing at Saratoga and if I went I'm sure I'd love the atmosphere & and scenery
my point was that a derby or breeder's cup is going to get more of the top trainers and horses showing up from all over the country (and world), thus making it a more inclusive event(s)
as for a fan not close to the east coast, they would have a better chance of seeing a BC because they move it around, or going to a derby because it is more centralized
for a trainer/owner well they'd keep their horses out west until BC time
that's simply my point...I'm sure you could ask people which they'd like to be at and the majority probably would say Saratoga, but people can't just be beemed up there from all parts of the country...a better question would be how many derbys have you been to, how many BCs, and how many trips to the Spa? not so much which provided you with the best experience
as I'm sure Saratoga is a wonderful experience everyone should go at least once I would urge, myself included

I don't really see how where people are located matters to be honest. If I lived in Cali, I'd hitchhike across the country if I had to be here on opening Day.
As far as the BC goes? Last year it was 3 1/2 hours from my house and I didn't go. Lans was full up with all sorts of folks for First Sam's race at his table and I woulda had to sit upstairs. I just said screw it, I've been to Belmont many times, would have to travel and sit in a traffic jam, blah. So I stayed home and watched it on tv without having to stand on line to pee.
I'll go this year because I love kentucky and the friends I have there. But you won't see me at Monmouth Park the following year even though its real close.
Racing is best enjoyed while being comfortable. Saratoga is about the only place I know of where you can wear shorts and get in the joint for three bucks and watch racing of that quality while music plays in the background and people party at picnic tables and people are dressed up the old fashioned way in jackets in the clubhouse boxes.
Afterwards you can WALK to a variety of bars and restaurants for more merriment and oh yes, the DRF is sold on every streetcorner.
Its the atmosphere Mike. I went to a BC at a certain place and couldnt even get the next days DRF. They didnt even have it at most of the stores around there.
This whole place embraces racing(especially for that 6 weeks) and everywhere you go people are talking horses. You go out for a drink and you will always see some guy with a DRF and you say "who do you like?". Its like a continuous 6 week racing festival where its ok to walk around a be a horse fan with the DRF under your arm. Its just not like that anyplace else that I have ever been.
The whole town is about racing 24/7 during the meet.
And noplace else is there an atmosphere like the one in the mornings during workouts. Thats the prize in the crackerjack box. Warm sunny mornings where the horses prance onto the track in front of you as you sit in a clubhouse box that belongs to a zillionaire in the afternoon. Trainers walking by and saying hello and asking the clockers(real and fake) "what did you get him in?" Most places won't let spectators in to see works at all.
Like I said, its not the racing, thats just the icing on the cake. Head on down to Belmont on Friday and you could shoot a cannon through the place and not hit anyone. On Saturday even with the grade ones you are talking about 15 grand or fewer. And if you go out in NYC on Friday night with the DRF under your arm and ask someone who they like, they will say either the Mets, Giants, Jets, or Yankees.

[Scav]

Originally Posted by oracle80

get in the joint for three bucks

A man of your stature has to pay $3 to get in???

Originally Posted by Scav

A man of your stature has to pay $3 to get in???

Everyone pays these days Scav, last year even the jockey's wives had to pay. The audit of NYRA criticized letting anyone in free and gone were the days of owners leaving people passes every day.
Bailey threw a fit last year when his wife was asked to pay to get in.
They sold passes this year to make it easier for regulars. 35 bucks for the meet. 75 bucks for the meet for the clubhouse.
I hadn't payed to get in in 10 years before last year. Everyone pays now, unless you are press or have credentials as an employee or owner.

[Scav]

I would tell them GFY and I would also mention that I would put my action through Pinnacle, they would fork over $75 real quick.

NYRA: "$3 per day please"
Scav: "GFY, I will make sure Pinnacle sends you a thank you letter for my action"

Originally Posted by Scav

I would tell them GFY and I would also mention that I would put my action through Pinnacle, they would fork over $75 real quick.

NYRA: "$3 per day please"
Scav: "GFY, I will make sure Pinnacle sends you a thank you letter for my action"

NYRA: Thats very nice now please leave the grounds.
Scav: GFY
NYRA: Oh look there's Mr Cook, the head of security for us here who used to be the superintendant of the NYS Police force. Hes going to solve your problem for you!!

I'm planning to visit Saratoga for the first time next year. I'm already looking forward to a great week of racing.

[Revolution]

i have been to every large track in america and one in england and one in ireland. nothing compares to belmont park with a triple crown on the line. second is the kentucky derby. third is breeders cup day. fourth is breeders cup preview day at belmont park. saratoga does not have one day that can compare to any of the above four days. travers day is a distant fifth. saratoga is a great meet but it is primarily rich people from new york, new jersey, connecticut and the locals. the racing is great but the electricity there never approaches a derby or belmont day. never.

[Revolution]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

I'll give you this, Belmont Day with a triple crown on the line is the most exciting 2 days I have ever been to. Now, I have been to 2 Breeders Cups, and they didn't even compare. Preview Day is a joke, I'd rather watch it from my couch. Never been to the Derby, so I can't compare it, but being at the Travers is also a great experience. Usually one of, if not the best card of the meet, and the place is so much fun. I agree that it doesn't compare to a Belmont with a TC, but a Belmont without one is no match for Travers Day.

you can not even compare a derby with the travers. derby day is probably the best day all year. the entire week is great. there are 5 grade 1's on preview day at belmont and many europeans are there. the knock on the travers is that it often does not get a third of the good horses from the derby. it is like a derby for a few east coast horses. i have been to 4 of the last 5 travers and it is usually not even the best day of the meet. you can not be serious if you say breeders cups do not compare with the travers. i am guessing you went to belmont breeders cups that do not even fill up the grandstand and you like the crowds, because you can not compare an entire day of grade 1 races with a mid summer derby that often gets just 2 or 3 good horses.

Originally Posted by Revolution

you can not even compare a derby with the travers. derby day is probably the best day all year. the entire week is great. there are 5 grade 1's on preview day at belmont and many europeans are there. the knock on the travers is that it often does not get a third of the good horses from the derby. it is like a derby for a few east coast horses. i have been to 4 of the last 5 travers and it is usually not even the best day of the meet. you can not be serious if you say breeders cups do not compare with the travers. i am guessing you went to belmont breeders cups that do not even fill up the grandstand and you like the crowds, because you can not compare an entire day of grade 1 races with a mid summer derby that often gets just 2 or 3 good horses.

Noone is comparing either day with travers day, thats just you trying to use the strawman tactic to divert away from the original argument.
Derby day, and BC Day are obviously the two biggest days of the year. No question.
Oaks day at Cd is tremendous as well.
But saratoga is not about a day Mr Strawman, its about a meet. You walk through CD on Wednesday after the Derby, and there arent 5 thousand people at the place.
Umm, Revvy boy, would you care to tell us what meet has more grade ones AND grade twos than any meet in the country?
Umm, revvy boy, would you care to tell us what meet has the highest average attendance of any meet in the country?
And would you care to tell us what meet has the highest average handle of any meet in the country?
Now why do you think this is?

[Revolution]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

Well I said I have never been to the Derby, so I have no way of comparing. I've been to last years BC, and one at Gulfstream. Didn't think either held a candle to Travers Day. And the last two Travers didn't get many horses, but a few years back they were getting horses from California. To be honest I could take or leave crowds, I'm talking about the experience. The Saratoga experience is like no other in my opinion. And again the Travers cards usually have 2 grade I's, and at least one or two other graded stakes.

the travers experience is great, like no other, but all three of the big tracks, four if you include churchill offer something. the saratoga is better than anything else crowd gets old after awhile. the racing at the three big meets is comparable too. the ny bred races and all the two year old races are not for everyone. i personally do not like them.