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#1
11-09-2009, 11:22 AM
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The Marathon should be toast in my opinion. Especially considering there will be little to no involvement from the Euros next year when it's run on dirt.
As far as the Juvenile Turf races, I'm inclined to give them a chance next year because dirt horses will run in dirt races and turf horses will run in turf races. The changes that were made two years ago and last year were ill-timed. The dirt mile doesn't really work unless you're running at a track that has a one-turn mile. Should it get a chance next year? I'd say yes, but I say that remembering the whole time that it is going to cannibalize the Classic in some way. The Filly and Mare Sprint is probably here to stay considering it's now a Grade I, it has drawn pretty solid fields in three runnings and next year it's being run at an eastern venue. I get the feeling that you have to give some of the new races one go at CD to see about future proclamations. If I had to vote right now I'd pitch the Marathon and JF Turf if you need $1.5 mil to save. However, I think getting the BC off of the two-day format is a near impossibility. NT 
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#2
11-09-2009, 11:38 AM
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Obviously the Marathon is meaningless, and to me, the F&M Sprint is ridiculous. Many of the best Sprints came with fillies and mares. The Turf Sprint should be thought through. The Dirt Mile will finally get on dirt and run at a mile, so I guess it should be given a test... But, I'd run this 10 race Breeders' Cup card. 5 on the main and 5 on the lawn: 1. Turf Sprint (P4) 2. Juvenile Fillies 3. Juvenile Turf 4. Juvenile (P4) 5. F&M Turf (P6) 6. Sprint (P5) 7. Mile (P4) 8. Distaff 9. Turf 10. Classic
__________________
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984.
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#3
11-09-2009, 01:13 PM
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Merge the two Juvy Turf races as you suggested, dump the Marathon. I hate turf sprints but there's so many of them now it really is a 'circuit' so keep that. Leaves 12 races, 4 Friday and 8 Saturday. Friday (hell, run it under the lights at CD): Juvenile Turf Turf Sprint F&M Sprint Dirt Mile Saturday: Juvenile Fillies F&M Turf Juvenile Mile Sprint Distaff Turf Classic
__________________
please use generalizations and non-truths when arguing your side, thank you
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#4
11-09-2009, 01:25 PM
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#5
11-09-2009, 02:31 PM
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Honestly, I'm torn on this whole two-day front. Here are a few random thoughts...
Two days makes it an event - a weekend - a reason for people to fly in one day early to be a part of it. For those who have attended, two days is oddly a bit more relaxing because on Friday you seem to say, "Well, there's always tomorrow." Also, the revenue generated on two days will never be achieved with just one day. Even if you shift races, horseplayers still come to the event/weekend with a finite amount of money to spend. If you eliminate BC races, the simulcast market is still going to spend whatever money they brought for the smaller BC Friday card but not spend it necessarily on the host track, but the entire market as a whole. That is a bad go for the BC because of their pricing in the simulcast market and what they can demand. Races like the dirt mile are a little goofy but it's a catch-all and thus far it has not ruined the Classic. Plus, it's definitely more "betable" than the Marathon and it's easier to form an opinion on than the Turf Sprint. So it's kind of needed to help keep things together and give the card some wagering structure. I think we all have a mental block over the "championship" title for these races. Truthfully, it's just window dressing. Calling the Marathon or JFT a championship is silly, and I'm sure most would agree, but to make the event make sense for fringe fans and general society you need something they can relate to. It's one of those things us horseplayers need to probably say, "Well, it's not, but who cares and oh well." The primary problem I think the BC needs to quickly address is field size. Simply put, field size drives handle. Seven horses in the Turf? That's horrendous. F&M Turf, too. Those two fields cannot be blamed on a watered-down BC product at all. The Sprint? Yeah, you could make a case... but for the amount of Sprint racing we have in America, filling that gate seems like it would be easy, no? The BC is putting-up way too much money for the sized fields they're getting of late. So that leads you to questions like is racing watering its product down too much leading into the event? Are there too many preps which "over-filter" the fields? But that's a different thread.
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#6
11-09-2009, 02:34 PM
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I'll also add that its tough to honestly measure the success of these two days because of the back-to-back synthetic issue. Quantifying that is probably impossible. If it were SA/CD or SA/BEL we could probably assess the pros/cons more accurately. Toss the economy on there and its a rough go.
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#7
11-09-2009, 07:10 PM
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Turfy Stallions...Did Ramsey buy one of these? Turfy stallions are excellent for foal share programs not making money... Steve Turfy stallions? WTF if El Prado didnt toss MDoro id would be 20k book opend and willing
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#8
11-09-2009, 07:17 PM
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freddy - yonkers was packed on sat , breeders cup day and then they had a big harness race at night.....slots were packed , live entertainment , the rooney family is rollin in the dough over at YR thx to SLOTS!
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#9
11-09-2009, 07:32 PM
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The surprising thing was, it wasnt your usual degenarates but people bringing thier families and lots of kids.
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#11
11-09-2009, 11:37 PM
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New article from Hegarty: http://www.drf.com/news/article/108837.html
__________________
please use generalizations and non-truths when arguing your side, thank you
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#12
11-10-2009, 06:01 AM
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From Hegarty's piece:
Kirchner also said Breeders' Cup lost a sizeable portion of the $2.2 million in bets that were refunded on Quality Road after the colt was scratched at the gate in the Classic. So... Let's review. In the past two Cups, Todd Pletcher has had an inexcusably sloppy medication DQ of Wait a While and a gate SCR of a notoriously edgy horse he failed to school while at Santa Anita... Plus, despite mandatory instruction that all BC horses were to wear name-specific saddlecloths while on track at SA, the Pletcher horses came out daily only with their T.A.P. saddle pads making it impossible for the general public to identify his string unless they were familiar with their markings... Then of course there's his warm, winning personality when dealing with the public, media and track personnel... He's a real asset to the game.
__________________
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984.
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#13
11-10-2009, 07:51 AM
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#14
11-10-2009, 09:19 AM
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Sorry Steve, you're being a bit unfair here.... Pletcher said that he schooled Quality Road in the gate several times, hoping that something like this would happen during those sessions so they could address the problem, but he schooled fine. You can prepare all you want, but a number of things can upset a horse...
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#15
11-10-2009, 09:25 AM
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I think Steve was commenting more on Pletcher's above it all attitutde.
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#16
11-10-2009, 09:57 AM
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#17
11-10-2009, 10:55 AM
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#18
11-10-2009, 11:43 AM
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__________________
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. ~ George Orwell, 1984.
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#19
11-10-2009, 01:45 PM
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#20
11-10-2009, 02:58 PM
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It was a seriously lucky thing no one was hurt.
__________________
"An Absolute Thriller!!" - Grassy wins a six-way photo finish, Saratoga 9th, 8-22-09
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