3 consistent things from Saratoga meet

[ZippyChippy423]

1. The earlier races tended to be the chaulkiest. (same every year)

2. Julian Leparoux rides poorly and wins like 3 races. (same every year)

3. Water and soda remain an eye popping $6 which happens to be higher then at Yankee Stadium. (same every year)

[jimmyb]

1. Rain

2. Rain

3. More rain

[ZippyChippy423]

It may have seemed that way but the rainfall amounts were average in Saratoga the last 6 weeks. No racing dates were cancelled as well.

[the little guy]

It may have seemed that way but the rainfall amounts were average in Saratoga the last 6 weeks. No racing dates were cancelled as well.

10 inches over a four week period is not normal. Not even close.

[dilanesp]

10 inches over a four week period is not normal. Not even close.

Yep. Saratoga averages 4.21 inches for the month of August, which is a reasonable proxy for the Saratoga meeting.

[Robert Fischer]

Rain. Some bad, some good (occasional value in off-turf).
Extremely high quality presentation, high quality horses and jockeys, competitive races with occasional value to be found.
Too many 5 and 6 horse carded races. Some of these short fields even had uncoupled entries from the same/related connections. These short fields shouldn't be a 'consistency', and they drive Pick-3 bettors into the Pick-5 pools and reward important connecitions with a 'participation' trophy purse.

[jimmyb]

50 races were taken off the turf, nearly double the number of 2017 and almost as many as the prior two years combined. A total of 27 races were taken off the turf in 2017 and 25 in 2016.

[Tom]

One more inch of rain and NYRA was going to build an Ark.
The Ortiz brothers would have gotten on as a pair.

[JustRalph]

One more inch of rain and NYRA was going to build an Ark.
The Ortiz brothers would have gotten on as a pair.

Oh man......:lol:

[cj]

One more inch of rain and NYRA was going to build an Ark.
The Ortiz brothers would have gotten on as a pair.

And Chad would have been telling everyone how to get on.

[sonnyp]

too much rain

too much Ortiz brothers

too much chad brown

too many feature races run after 6 pm


overall, underwhelming

[classhandicapper]

If you don't like that much turf racing or the complications of off the turf races, there's always Del Mar.

[linrom1]

If you don't like that much turf racing or the complications of off the turf races, there's always Del Mar.


The most notable thing to take away from Saratoga 2018 meet is that in 5-6 horse fields, Chad Brown has 5 jockeys riding for him.

[pandy]

For me, the rain definitely took a lot of the enjoyment out of the Saratoga meet. First of all, it results in a lot of off the turf races and scratches, and as a handicapper, when I know it may rain, I have to handicap all of the turf races twice, one for each surface, so it takes longer. But not only that, with all of the rain, it causes more day to day changes in the way the track plays.

[ZippyChippy423]

Most of the heavy rain happened overnight but i understand this still effects the turf races and dirt track as well. Every year its
something ....either too much rain or too hot to race. Im still waiting on a accetable answer as to why Julian Leparoux keeps coming back. His trek back
to Saratoga every year is the definition of insanity.

[lamboguy]

For me, the rain definitely took a lot of the enjoyment out of the Saratoga meet. First of all, it results in a lot of off the turf races and scratches, and as a handicapper, when I know it may rain, I have to handicap all of the turf races twice, one for each surface, so it takes longer. But not only that, with all of the rain, it causes more day to day changes in the way the track plays.
to each his own! off the turf are my very favorite races to play. i win with them year in and year out my whole stupid life. its the only races i win other than first time starters and layoff horses.

[classhandicapper]

The most notable thing to take away from Saratoga 2018 meet is that in 5-6 horse fields, Chad Brown has 5 jockeys riding for him.

I go to Saratoga a few times every year and usually spend at least one long weekend there. I'll continue doing so because I love the track and town. However, I didn't find the gambling particularly attractive this year.

The rain and off tracks were a problem (which incidentally will make gambling at Belmont less appealing to some people because so many turf horses ran on dirt last out and muddied their current form).

The dominance of Chad Brown made it tougher for me to find plays (don't want to take a short price on the assumption his horses will move forward, but they do it too often to play against them with confidence when they get bet so heavily).

I made a few of the biggest race days biased tracks. I usually don't mind that sort of thing. In fact, I think it's an area I can exploit, especially in Saratoga where there's so much casual money. I just think the maintenance crew was really struggling to keep that track consistent from day to day and even race to race. It wasn't like I could go into a card prepared for the possibility of an "X" bias. It was more like Russian roulette. I never had any idea what to expect and at times I was sure the track changed mid card because they weren't watering consistently trying to get the track right.

All that said, I'll be back. It's too beautiful to stay away and generally NYRA did a great job in every way. They can't control the weather or Chad Brown.

(to the OP, the $3 hot dogs are a decent value)

[HalvOnHorseracing]

1. The earlier races tended to be the chaulkiest. (same every year)

2. Julian Leparoux rides poorly and wins like 3 races. (same every year)

3. Water and soda remain an eye popping $6 which happens to be higher then at Yankee Stadium. (same every year)

I believe Leparoux actually won 4 races, but the point is well taken.

I thought the stewards had a particularly inconsistent year. Of course, 95.3% of the reason why I think that is because they knocked down Final Frontier (25-1) in the 8th race on 9/1, costing me my collection of the season.

However, on the good side, I sat in "The Stretch" one day and thought adding it was a good move by the track. Comfortable seating, good look at the horses coming out of the far turn, and not a long line of people when you want to make a bet. For sure the food was better than the Carousel.

I would also suggest that they sign a 99 lease with Hattie's. A fried chicken sandwich is $12, worth every penny.

[CheckMark]

1) rain was a bad thing on some days

2) Leparoux was a low % for wins. And knew it at the start.

3) The earlier the races, the better the chalk horses.

Basically everyone took my answers, just like in school.

[Brass Hat]

We made it every weekend except for the third week of August and closing weekend, because of illness. It was a great meet socially, as we saw a lot of our race track friends, but missed our usual final night at Sperry's where we toast departed friends who were horseplayers.

Two horses I will never forget, Sea Foam and Realm. Neglecting to include Sea Foam, on a day where the track was favorable to speed, cost me a nice pick-5. Worse was Realm. I was third in the low roller going into the final race, the Albany, a six horse field I think. The track had been playing favorably toward outside, off-the pace horses, like Fleet Irish, who had won earlier. I wanted an off-the pace horse who looked reasonable but was not chalk, and settled on Patch, about 5-1 or 9-2, a horse I didn't play in the Derby, but to me looked like he would be sitting off horses going to the lead, like Kurilov, Timeline, a Pletcher horse I can't remember and Realm. Wanted to play Realm, as he was the only price horse in the race, but looking at his PPs could only figure on him being part of the pace, and I could not make a case for him sitting off it, so settled on Patch. Realm broke on top, but Alvarado gave the horse a canny ride, letting the others, except Patch, go, and got the first run on the horses on the lead. The players smart enough to play Realm zoomed by me and the two people that were above me.

I don't call these bad beats I call them stupid beats, but aside from these nagging mistakes the meet was OK wagering otherwise.

[MadVindication]

Shitty gambling. Too much Chad Brown yes.:D Otherwise enjoyed the races. And enjoyed Maggie Wolfendale's commentary.

[Afleet]

Shitty gambling. Too much Chad Brown yes.:D Otherwise enjoyed the races. And enjoyed Maggie Wolfendale's commentary.

you didn't like the turf stakes where Brown had half the field:sleeping:

[MadVindication]

you didn't like the turf stakes where Brown had half the field:sleeping:

Not a fan of the Brownfecta, nope.

[1GCFAN]

Enjoyed seeing Santana, Junior, and Cohen win their fair share. Visited the second weekend during the height of the chalkfest. I will be back next year!