Balmoral & Maywood 50 cent Pick 5's

[Vinman]

Anyone been taking a shot at this newly repositioned wager? It's now carded as races 2 through 6 at both Balmoral and Maywood. Tonight's carryover at Maywood is just over $3,000. Balmoral's 50 cent Pick 5 will have a carryover of over $10,000 for Saturday, as no one hit it last night.

BTW, the Chicago Harness Pick 4's now have a "fan friendly" 15% takeout and will begin after the conclusion of the Meadowlands Pick 4.

The other "tidbit" off the Maywoodpark.com website is that their races now have a 175 foot "runup" with the idea of giving the outside horses a better chance to win.

Gotta give them credit for trying to level the post position playing field, always lop-sided at the half milers.

Vinman

[Ray2000]

Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware of this and may have to make adjustments.

An early look (25 starts) at the new starting point is here

http://www.maywoodpark.com/press/index.cfm?Press_ID=1389

[Pacingguy]

While I appreciate the fact Maywood now has the 175 foot run up. I do have some concerns. Basically what is happening is the race starts 175 feet earlier but the timer doesn't start unitl they reach the 'starting line'. The net result is race times will appear to be faster because horses will be going full speed when the timer is tripped. Granted, if a horse stays at Maywood, there is no foul, though it would be interesting to see what happens if a horse at Maywood sets a world record (would there be an asterisk). But does this mess up the handicapping when the horse ships to a track where they are released at the traditional starting point?

My suggestion is if this truly mixes things up, then move the starting/finish line up the stretch 175 feet and you will have the same results (though it would result in a shorter stretch).

[Vinman]

Ray,

From reading that article, it sounds like the "quickstart" is having a positive effect on the outside post horses finishing in the money. It remains to be seen from a larger sample of races, but my guess is that the positive effect won't be anywhere near as great in the win slot.

They hit the Pick 5 at Maywood last night. The 4-5-2-4-1 combo paid $1,198.90 on a 50 cent wager, with a pool of $8,761.

Another thing Maywood is doing is increasing the number of 9 horse fields.

[Vinman]

Pacinguy.....

If the 175 foot run up at Maywood has the desired effect, perhaps they will eventually move the finish line back and shorten the stretch.

For decades Yonkers had that short stretch until a few years ago when they moved the finish line almost to the first turn, significantly lengthening the stretch run. Having been to Yonkers recently, I believe the main reason they moved the finish line was so that the finish would be centered in front of the Empire Terrace dining room, ie the Clubhouse side, rather than where the now demolished pre-slots grandstand used to be. The new YR tote board was installed near the first turn as well.

Not surprisingly, if you check the Trackmaster pp stats, post 1 at YR has one of the strongest favorable biases of any half mile track, with the outside post figs among the weakest.

[LottaKash]

I somehow, felt compelled to comment on the current state of harness-racing in Chicagoland....

I had abandoned Maywood Park a good while ago....There were just too many "form" inconsistencies for my particular way of going....And, I just didn't get the right adjustments when horses were shipping back to Balmoral Park from Maywood, which further complicated my handicapping...

I have always loved and played the Balmoral Park's offerings in times past, but latlely I have relegated this track to "what to do when nothing else is going on....I used to do this at Cal-Expo as well, but now I don't even consider playing at that venue....I just do other things late nite....

I am sad to say that Balmoral has dipped (to me) into a low B or C track....The good horses are gone, the good drivers have left, and the training colony leaves a lot to be desired.....Some recent good-drivers, such as Brent Holland, Tyler Buter, and Brandon Simpson, have moved their digs to the east coast, which is, other than Canadian harness, the last bastion of quality harness racing, imo....

The purses have plummeted big-time, ie; $1,800 for a $4K-claimer now....How in the world can any horse owner, trainer, or driver stay the course without resorting to any other forms of "Creativity"....One can only guess what......I won't say it, but most of you know what I mean...

There is an endless procession of cheap claimers and near maiden races, coupled with formless and paceless horses at that....

So, Balmoral ain't makin it in my book these days, and I don't forsee any "magical" transormation anytime soon....

Too bad, and I will miss playing there.....Many memories and nice scores
playing that course....But, I quit....:(

best,

[Vinman]

Lotta Kash....

Very well said. Unless the IL tracks eventually get slots, things won't get any better for the Chicago Harness product.

Before he left for the oblivion of Cal-Expo, I always enjoyed Scott Ehrlich's Balmoral calls via Simo at the Meadowlands....."and here comes UNCLE JOHNEEE!!!!!"

[LottaKash]

Lotta Kash....

Very well said. Unless the IL tracks eventually get slots, things won't get any better for the Chicago Harness product.

Before he left for the oblivion of Cal-Expo, I always enjoyed Scott Ehrlich's Balmoral calls via Simo at the Meadowlands....."and here comes UNCLE JOHNEEE!!!!!"

I remember that Vinman....He definitely had a way of callin a race....good too !

best,

[pandy]

A couple of things here, this week one horse won from post 7 at Maywood, but it was from off the pace, so the starting point wasn't a factor. Overall I think it's a good idea but they should also purchase a slanted starting gate, then it would really make a difference. The final times will definitely be faster at Maywood now but I don't see that as a big deal. Chester and the Meadows both use the slanted gate which puts post nine 14 feet in front of post 1....Yonkers did not make the stretch longer so it would be in front of the restaurant. Early speed had become too dominant at Yonkers so they lengthened the stretch and it worked, closers do much better than they did. The only problem now is that the race starts right in front of the turn so post 8 still only wins 3%. For a few years then ran 1 1/16 races which were excellent in my opinion, outside posts won a lot more often, but some people didn't like it because there are always going to be purists who think that all races should be 1 mile. In my opinion, Yonkers should also have a run up and also get the slanted starting gate. With a runup similar to what Maywood is doing, the purists don't have to get confused about the added 1/16, there are only 4 fractions. All tracks should do whatever they can to avoid a 3% win percentage from post 8.

[melman]

I agree Pandy, I think the slanted starting gate has worked well at Chester and the Meadows. It gives the outside posts a better chance. Also some smaller sized tracks have moved the 8 post to the "trailer" position. I think that is a good idea also. What would you think of Yonkers having the 8 start behind the one? Anything to avoid a horse with almost no chance in a race.

[fmolf]

A couple of things here, this week one horse won from post 7 at Maywood, but it was from off the pace, so the starting point wasn't a factor. Overall I think it's a good idea but they should also purchase a slanted starting gate, then it would really make a difference. The final times will definitely be faster at Maywood now but I don't see that as a big deal. Chester and the Meadows both use the slanted gate which puts post nine 14 feet in front of post 1....Yonkers did not make the stretch longer so it would be in front of the restaurant. Early speed had become too dominant at Yonkers so they lengthened the stretch and it worked, closers do much better than they did. The only problem now is that the race starts right in front of the turn so post 8 still only wins 3%. For a few years then ran 1 1/16 races which were excellent in my opinion, outside posts won a lot more often, but some people didn't like it because there are always going to be purists who think that all races should be 1 mile. In my opinion, Yonkers should also have a run up and also get the slanted starting gate. With a runup similar to what Maywood is doing, the purists don't have to get confused about the added 1/16, there are only 4 fractions. All tracks should do whatever they can to avoid a 3% win percentage from post 8.
Whats the big deal!I am a long time t bred guy who just started to get interested in the trots via the Big M handicapping contest.We deal with distance changes and differing track to track speeds with shippers all the time.Handicappers will adapt.Harness tracks should do whatever it takes to make their races bias free so the abilities of the horses shine through.Chicago handicapping must be a problem with the three tracks each with a different configuration?I hope this conversation continues and also the feedback on big m contest thread as well.

[pandy]

8 behind the 1 would be better than what they have now.

[Pacingguy]

If they started reporting mile rates in the past performance program like they do kilometer rates in Europe, racing different distance races (longer) would not be a problem; there would be a way to compare different races. Also, in the programs we get for the V75, each they list kilometer rates for the fractionals which would also help compaing different distance races.

[Pacingguy]

Chi town racing is horrible. Yes, no slots hurt. However, race only half the year there to allow simulcast revenue to add up and the purses could almost double allowing quality racing while they do race.

They did not race most of January and they knocked down the purse account deficit by $800,000 by not racing.

This is a problem all tracks have. They race too much.

[Stick]

This is what I don't get.

Maywood Friday handle $1.1 mil
Balmoral Sat handle $1.1 mil
Woodbine Sat handle $1.2 mil

I keep hearing that the racing stinks in Illinois and nobody wants to bet it.
Big M handles way more than any other harness track and Illinois handles just below OJC.

Now lets look at what these guys are racing for. The purses in Illinios are a disgrace. If purses were on par with OJC than Tetrick, Miller and Morgan would still be driving here. Not to mention all the horses Rucker, Erv Miller, and Julie Miller have that could be racing here.

A horse like Distinct Color ( sat -race 12 at Big M) was racing in Illinois in open hcp for $11K and now races nw $11K last 6 at the Big M for $15K and the horse pays $8.6 Where would you race this horse if you were Dane?

[rowboat]

I CHECKED THE 2011 RESULTS AND THE INSIDE WON BIG TIME.HOW LONG HAVE I SAID MAKE THE GOOD HORSES MUST RACE OUTSIDE.YOU CANT HAVE A HORSE THAT GETS IN AS A ALSO ELIGIBLE BECAUSE HE IS A CLAIMER AND HAS WON AT THIS LEVEL BEFORE.THEY MANY TIMES DRAW INSIDE AND WIN.

[rowboat]

I CHECKED THE PP FOR 2 YEARS AND THE INSIDE STILL WON.TIME FOR ANOTHER WACKY IDEA