Gulfstream or Santa Anita?

[mattcooke]

Hey everybody, starting to get ready for the new racing year and i can't decided to follow gulfstream or santa anita for my main track. i am very familiar with the So Cal racing circut, i know the trainers and jocks, but i haven't much knowledge of the florida circut. do any of you have thoughts on which meet will be better?

thanks matt

[Suff]

Gulfstream figures to be a good meet. I'm going down Jan 26, and again in March for the Florida Derby.


Gulfstream has slots this year. They figure to increase handle. Purses go up 20% from last year. 44 grand for maidens this winter.

I was reading a piece that said gulfstream, on 500 slots, did 33 million in total handle in just two weeks, and net'd 3.5 million. In two weeks!

They have 30 graded stakes, and a million bucks total increase in purses.

I was down at the Hard Rock/Seminole casino over the summer and you could'nt get in the door....total mad house.

Gulfstreams slots are two weeks old, and they supposed to add another 1000 machines soon. That's gotta help ...


Gulfstream hosted some boxing match's last week and that drew a decent crowd....so I think they're heading in the right direction.

Couple of side notes . Rene Douglas was at the Boxing matchs Thursday night....and little birdie says there were some shananigans going on....and this and that,....and the following day Calder ruled him.... off. ,

One more side on the side.. The promoter /organizer of the Boxing match's is the nephew of an employee of JJ Pletcher, Todd's father. I understand everyone did well.
fwiw, Pletchers got 18 nominated for the Florida Derby/

[dylbert]

Having played some of both tracks last winter -- they both offer excellent racing. I am big fan of SA hillside turf course. This year I would give GP a decided edge.

Slots will generate more $$$ which will further increase purses. Bigger purses yield bigger fields which yield better betting opportunities. SA will continue to have too many short fields -- 6 or less starters by my definition.

In my opinion, if California doesn't get handle on this problem soon -- SoCal racing will become as minor league as NoCal/fair racing there. Bay Meadows & Hollywood Park will both disappear as economic development overtakes horse racing industry. Who beliefs that bullring Los Alamitos will become next bastion of thoroughbred racing?

Also, if GP has more full fields and fills more MSW and allowance races, this may "push" some lower-level claimers and maiden claimers to Tampa Bay Downs, or other venues outside Florida. If you play GP, you may want to keep tabs on horses shipping out to Tam. Angle is -- these horses may become false favorites through "GP horse must be better than Tam horse" bias OR may be genuine value plays if handicapping indicates superior form in Tam company.

Good luck at the windows... and I will still play SA turf races.

[JimG]

Hey everybody, starting to get ready for the new racing year and i can't decided to follow gulfstream or santa anita for my main track. i am very familiar with the So Cal racing circut, i know the trainers and jocks, but i haven't much knowledge of the florida circut. do any of you have thoughts on which meet will be better?

thanks matt

Based on the info you provided, I would say SA.

[Tom]

No contest.....Tampa Bay.

[Figman]

Tom isn't kidding.....Tampa Bay!

[BetHorses!]

I think Gulfstream will be better but stick with what you know versus the Fla circuit which you admit to having not much knowledge about.

Good Luck at Santa Anita

[Show Me the Wire]

And the winner is ........Santa Anita by default. Florida is beginning to have lots of problems, potential break out of EHV-1 and potential scandal involving jockeys.

[linrom1]

This is supposed to be premier year at SA. I saw GP's condition book, and do not see any difference from last year; race cards filled with mostly claiming stock.

This is going to be SA year and that's where the best P4s are. Fields are now larger on the west coast.

[levinmpa]

Santa Anita had an excellent Winter/Spring meeting in 2006 for a number of reasons. First off, the management is committed to bringing people back to the track. Track president Ron Charles is an owner and a player and listens too and understands the concerns of both fans and horseman. Mike Wilman took over the publicity office and Santa Anita has been much more aggressive marketing itself. Rick Hamerle did an excellent job as racing secretary, putting together challenging cards. Weather is always a factor during the Winter/Spring meeting, and there were some issues with the track not being consistent all the way around. The stretch was sometimes deeper than the rest of the strip. Track maintenance did a good job correcting this problem, and the speed bias that was evident during these times disappeared after the maintenance.

Another reason to expect an outstanding meeting, at least in the early portion, is the momentum from the concluded Hollywood Park meeting. Hollywood enjoyed an outstanding meeting due to the success of Cushion Track. The fields were large, and many horses made 3 starts at the meet, unheard of in the past. This is due to horses recovering quickly from efforts over Cushion track. This should benefit Santa Anita immensely. Many stables will remain at Hollywood and train over Cushion Track. This should create a horse population more likely to be ready to race, creating larger fields. Santa Anita would be my choice if I had to choose between the two. Gulfstream is a strong meeting for 2 months, but when they get to mid-March, the meeting takes a drastic downturn in quality, with many of the better horses shipping North to Kentucky and New York. Santa Anita does not have this problem.

[kenwoodallpromos]

Check out the Sunshine Millions; just watch the track crews for "special treatment".

[rrbauer]

Santa Anita had an excellent Winter/Spring meeting in 2006 for a number of reasons. First off, the management is committed to bringing people back to the track....





Comment:

First off, THE WEATHER! They had their best winter weather in years. This year El Nino is supposed to be back. For Santa Anita, bad weather = bad meet....from all perspectives.

[freehouse2002]

Being that I frequent SA during their season, I can say that they have started catering to the fan a bit more. There are many marketing letters sent home with freebies and incentives for frequent patrons. The quality of racing at SA is usually top notch, and I expect no different this year.


As far as the original question, if you know the circuit, stick with it, especially if it's been profitable for you.


freehouse2002

[Dave Schwartz]

All I can think of is the old joke which ends in the punch line:

Let's walk and do them all.


Humorously yours,
Dave Schwartz

[1st time lasix]

My vote is for Gulfstream, Tampa and Oaklawn in the winter/Spring. Good pools and several bettable races per day. I enjoy those meets. I am not a fan of winter racing on the inner track in NY. For some reason I think it is a dreary meet. Living in the Eastern Time Zone I don't want to spend the late afternoon/evening watching a different circuit where the "inside" information, and the trainer "magic" appears to be so relevent.

[skate]

i d prefer SA with the bigger fields. i assume.

not saying that one is any better.

either way, take a look before you jump, that would be my thought.

[maxwell]

GP used to be nasty for low-priced faves that surfed the speed bias wave. I hope that is no longer true?

SA is a go-to track for me ... love the racing out there.

[Tom]

All I can think of is the old joke which ends in the punch line:

Let's walk and do them all.


Humorously yours,
Dave Schwartz

And the partner joke, with a PL of "Let's go home and slip into a nice warm Jersey! :eek::p

[Show Me the Wire]

Hey those cows are responsible for the gas house effect, maybe they should run and do only one each.