They'll have a big advantage over us over the next few weeks

[spiketoo]

ARCADIA, Calif. - By late morning Friday, Santa Anita had sustained 7 1/2 inches of rain since last Sunday and track officials were assessing whether they would be able to race Saturday after a frustrating week in which the synthetic main track failed to drain sufficiently.

Prospects for racing were more optimistic for Sunday's nine-race program, which would allow for at least one day of racing on the weekend.

When racing does resume, some horsemen are unsure what to expect from their starters. Without full main-track training at Santa Anita since last Sunday, trainers are eager to get their stables back to a normal routine. Since Monday, training has largely been confined to an infield training track, which is more suitable to jogging a horse than a workout.

Meanwhile, across town at Hollywood Park, the Cushion Track synthetic surface there has drained sufficiently, with no major disruption to training. While the barn area there is less than half full, there is a belief that horses based at Hollywood Park may have an edge in upcoming races at Santa Anita.

"They'll have a big advantage over us over the next few weeks," said Jack Carava, whose stable is based at Santa Anita. :ThmbUp:

[Stillriledup]

I'm not going to worry too much about that as an angle. These horses are fit and ready, if they miss a couple days of jogging its not going to matter all that much. In fact, it might help horses become more sound by sitting in the barn for a few days and taking the wear and tear off their legs. This is a very tricky 'angle' to use successfully, i would really caution blindly betting on hollywood shippers. Use this as a supplelment to handicapping rather than an end all.