cj
06-24-2004, 12:00 PM
Its for subscribers, but here are some excerpts...
I'm afraid the phrase turf to dirt will have to remain among those canards of racing - such concepts as "key race" or "good grass rider" - that just don't prove very helpful in the complicated, multi-variable world of Thoroughbred handicapping.
As a rule, you do not want to bet on a horse with good recent grass form when he switches to the dirt.
...you can certainly use ordinary, everyday logic and traditional handicapping tools to make a case for horses shifting from grass to dirt. And you can do it profitably without any magical incantations about that so-called turf-to-dirt angle we hear so much about.
Its a pretty good article if you have access to read the whole thing.
I'm afraid the phrase turf to dirt will have to remain among those canards of racing - such concepts as "key race" or "good grass rider" - that just don't prove very helpful in the complicated, multi-variable world of Thoroughbred handicapping.
As a rule, you do not want to bet on a horse with good recent grass form when he switches to the dirt.
...you can certainly use ordinary, everyday logic and traditional handicapping tools to make a case for horses shifting from grass to dirt. And you can do it profitably without any magical incantations about that so-called turf-to-dirt angle we hear so much about.
Its a pretty good article if you have access to read the whole thing.