Is The 7/8th Mile Experiment at Wood Over?

[Sea Biscuit]

It seems like that. Not a single race carded for this odd distance on Monday Jan 5.

I had given them 2 weeks before they back track, but it lasted for 4 weeks.

I do hope they don't have any more such experiments up their sleeve.

Sea Biscuit.

[LottaKash]

I second that... All in favor say aye, opposed ?......

best,

[wilderness]

Dec 22nd was last day:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/news/12-23-08/big-woodbine-handle-monday-martin-on-seven-eighths-trial.html

[Sea Biscuit]

Dec 22nd was last day:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/news/12-23-08/big-woodbine-handle-monday-martin-on-seven-eighths-trial.html

It was actually Dec 29

SB

[whyhorseofcourse]

I really liked the 7/8th races.
It made it tougher to find a horse and it gave shippers a better chance of winning.

[The Bit]

I thought it was an Ok idea, but it didn't improve the racing in my opinion. They followed each other around the track like usual. No one wanted to be first over and everyone is content to follow the even money choice and than sprint home and perhaps get a check.

[LottaKash]

I thought it was an Ok idea, but it didn't improve the racing in my opinion. They followed each other around the track like usual. No one wanted to be first over and everyone is content to follow the even money choice and than sprint home and perhaps get a check.

You are right bit, I thought it was boring and it confused the fans as well......Glad that is done with...They have a quality product and should leave it that way.....

best,

[wilderness]

Any good that might have been accomplished by their survey, all goes down the s-h-i-t-t-e-r with the current round of negotiations with the Ontario Harness Horseman's Association (i. e., today we're racing, tomorrow we're not racing, next day, yea, we're racing--all the while stirring the pot behind the scenes).

Today's most current WEG PR (http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/content/1-8-09/weg-calls-off-negotiations-with-ohha.html):

[The Bit]

LK,

The qualifty of the Woodbine/Mohawk overnight product is questionable in my opinion. To many merry go round races with either a 4/5 or 1/1 horse and/or Jody J. leading the parade. No one wants to brush. No one wants to be first to pull. And everyone gets a seat after leaving. What you are left with is boring, follow the leader racing.

[LottaKash]

LK,

The qualifty of the Woodbine/Mohawk overnight product is questionable in my opinion. To many merry go round races with either a 4/5 or 1/1 horse and/or Jody J. leading the parade. No one wants to brush. No one wants to be first to pull. And everyone gets a seat after leaving. What you are left with is boring, follow the leader racing.

Hey Bit, I agree with you for the most part, but compared to the harness racing that is going on around the country these days, it still is a good venue for quality racing......Trouble is, this time of the year there are a great many tired and stale and lame horses that are just in it to get checks until they go to rest.....This doesn't leave much in the way of competitive contenders, and the crowd, I think, is fairly sophisticated, at least compared to other tracks, and they know a goodie when the see one, thus the abundance of chalk.....I for one do not play much, as I am only looking for spots to attack, but that is generally my style pretty much anywhere else as well, so I am ok with what is happening there, chalk.......

Soon fresher horses will be coming on the scene and things should pick up, at least to the point of having more than only 1 or 2 logical contenders in a race......

The same is going on at M1 as well, lots of cheap lame and out of form horses are making the scene as of late,,but that will change soon, and with each passing week things will heat up, and if anyone knows a thing or two, he can score nicely at that place......I didn't even bother to enter the M1 contest, for the reasons stated above, anyone doing well in that contest as of now, is either a lucky so and so, or a darned good handicapper with some keen insights........I am doing ok on my 1 or 2 races a night, but mostly, the other races are real headscratchers for me.......

best,