Eskendereya skipping FL Derby, prefering Wood

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by philcski

Graded stakes money? He's at $180k, but is that a lock to make the field? If he bombs on the poly (certainly a possibility), then what?

Street Sense was obviously the leading money earner going into that race so the money meant nothing.

$180k should be plenty. With situations like Lookin at Lucky, Nobles Promise and Dublin glomming the big gelt at Oaklawn, I don't get a sense there are going to be tons of leapfroggers.

$100,000 got you in last year.

[asudevil]

The schmucky decisions at Florida's premier track never cease to amaze us. Here's what ya get for moving it 6 weeks prior to Louisville.

"Where's ya head at....where's ya head at?"

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by asudevil

The schmucky decisions at Florida's premier track never cease to amaze us. Here's what ya get for moving it 6 weeks prior to Louisville.

"Where's ya head at....where's ya head at?"

It's not like Eskendereya's connections just found out about how many weeks there are between the Fla Derby and the Ky Derby.

Gulfstream made the decision to move to March 20 from a business standpoint and what they were left with was a Saturday where they are absolutely the only act in town.

NT

[asudevil]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

It's not like Eskendereya's connections just found out about how many weeks there are between the Fla Derby and the Ky Derby.

Gulfstream made the decision to move to March 20 from a business standpoint and what they were left with was a Saturday where they are absolutely the only act in town.

NT

And they (GP) were also left without the Derby favorite who was in their own backyard. This scenario wasn't contemplated by management? I don't blame the connections at all. But hey, they will be the only act in town this Sat.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by asudevil

And they (GP) were also left without the Derby favorite who was in their own backyard. This scenario wasn't contemplated by management? I don't blame the connections at all. But hey, they will be the only act in town this Sat.

So they should have said, well, hmm, maybe the likely Derby favorite will be committed to our race then 24 hours before the draw he'll be removed from consideration and pointed to another race? There are a ton of feasible scenarios that may play out with regards to the race but the fact of the matter is they were pretty damn close to having the best 3YO on their side of the country until a quirky owner decided that the timing was not right.

When it comes to racetrack management you have to be concerned with the racetrack. Are fewer fans going to show up because Eskendereya is not going? Doubtful. Are fewer people going to wager on the card because Eskendereya is not running? Doubtful. Would they have handled as much if their card was on the same day as Fair Grounds and Turfway's biggest cards? Doubful.

It's easy to try and point the finger for why Eskendereya is not running the Florida Derby and blame the management at GP. However, there was no way for them to plan on an owner deciding on Tuesday of the week before the race that the timing was bad.

NT

[asudevil]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

So they should have said, well, hmm, maybe the likely Derby favorite will be committed to our race then 24 hours before the draw he'll be removed from consideration and pointed to another race? There are a ton of feasible scenarios that may play out with regards to the race but the fact of the matter is they were pretty damn close to having the best 3YO on their side of the country until a quirky owner decided that the timing was not right.

When it comes to racetrack management you have to be concerned with the racetrack. Are fewer fans going to show up because Eskendereya is not going? Doubtful. Are fewer people going to wager on the card because Eskendereya is not running? Doubtful. Would they have handled as much if their card was on the same day as Fair Grounds and Turfway's biggest cards? Doubful.

It's easy to try and point the finger for why Eskendereya is not running the Florida Derby and blame the management at GP. However, there was no way for them to plan on an owner deciding on Tuesday of the week before the race that the timing was bad.

NT

Oh, now it's the quirky owner. I understand.

That track has been a model for how to do everything wrong. The seating, the concessions, the parking, the paddock location, the morning line odds for goodness sake!! Now the brain trust decides that 6 weeks is the right play? That's a recipe for another Bluegrass.

Ahmed had alot to do with all of this.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by asudevil

Oh, now it's the quirky owner. I understand.

That track has been a model for how to do everything wrong. The seating, the concessions, the parking, the paddock location, the morning line odds for goodness sake!! Now the brain trust decides that 6 weeks is the right play? That's a recipe for another Bluegrass.

Ahmed had alot to do with all of this.

There's a new management team in place this year and considering how quickly most of them were installed prior to the start of the meet, they've done a pretty good job. Handle has been solid despite a rainier January and February than normal in South Florida, the all-turf Pick 4s on Sundays have handled extremely well and the racing has been very typical of GP.

It doesn't seem at all surprising to you that four days before the race Zayat came to the realization that six weeks was too much to the Derby? Pletcher had said for weeks that the Fla Derby was a logical spot, he said that considering how well Eskendereya ran off of 6 weeks' rest in the FOY that it made sense to bring him to Louisville off a 6 week break. Now that a change in plans has been made by the owner, the reasoning is the time between the Fla Derby and Ky Derby.

From a business standpoint this decision was a no-brainer. If you want to say it was a mistake because an owner decided at the 11th hour that the spacing to the Ky Derby was too excessive then that's fine. However, his timing was awfully odd.

NT

[philcski]

Originally Posted by asudevil

The schmucky decisions at Florida's premier track never cease to amaze us. Here's what ya get for moving it 6 weeks prior to Louisville.

"Where's ya head at....where's ya head at?"

I actually think it was the right move- gives trainers the option of going to the Derby off a 6 week layoff or running in the Blue Grass or Arkansas Derby 3 weeks out if necessary. With 5 weeks out and today's training schedules, you are stuck going straight to the Derby (which has obviously worked out alright.)

[philcski]

Originally Posted by Kasept

$180k should be plenty. With situations like Lookin at Lucky, Nobles Promise and Dublin glomming the big gelt at Oaklawn, I don't get a sense there are going to be tons of leapfroggers.

$100,000 got you in last year.

Good point.
And 2nds at Sunland and FG are worth $160k and $150k respectively, so those finishers would need more. For some reason I was thinking $200k was last year's hurdle.