Closed circuit of horses

[Monsoon]

Dear Forum

I am punter from the UK that relies heavily on ratings horses in the flesh.

I am very interested in coming to the US and doing the same but am lacking information.

Which state/area can I find a closed circuit of horses such that I could rate a horse one week and then see the thing run again without travelling huge distances?
Ideally with many weekly races and seeing as many runners as possible on the last occasion they ran.
Is racing a seasonal thing is some states?

All info greatly received.

Thanking you in advance

Monsoon

[midnight]

Most standardbred racing is that way, and many horses race every 7-10 days.

As far as thoroughbreds, when it's open, Portland Meadows is that way. Turf Paradise is that way from December until February. There aren't many shippers in or out.

[highnote]

Which state/area can I find a closed circuit of horses such that I could rate a horse one week and then see the thing run again without travelling huge distances?
Ideally with many weekly races and seeing as many runners as possible on the last occasion they ran.

I recommend New York City -- The Belmont/Aqueduct/Saratoga circuit -- known as NYRA - New York Racing Association.

My friend Nick Mordin (whom you might know given that you're from the UK) and I spent every Saturday (and many Sundays) at one of those 3 tracks for a year. Saturday was good for paddock handicapping because we were interested in the stakes horses. We got to know all the good horses by sight. It was quite useful to see their condition change over the course of several weeks or even years. Every once in awhile you had to deal with a horse that would ship in to race, but it wasn't a big deal. Once we got to know the form of 50 or 60 good horses, we had a big edge.

Only problem was ... it was a lot of work. And it meant being at the track every Saturday. It was easy to do before I had kids.

Also, Nick Mordin used to do the same thing in South Africa. I believe they have a closed population of horses.

Of course, the best place is Hong Kong.

[Snow Chief]

NYRA's classy but if you want to see some "horses" who run 48 of 48 career starts at the same track, try the Finger Lakes in upstate NY. Also Penn National in Grantville, Pennsylvanie runs 51 weeks a year and not much shipping. Same goes for Charlestown in West Virginia (more shipping in and out than the other two).

[highnote]

Calder might be good in southern Florida.