Del Mar Cuts Summer Meet Purses.

[BlueShoe]

Del Mar has anounched that it is sharply reducing purses for its stakes program during the upcoming meeting. More bad news for Californias declining horse racing industry. Would perhaps also see a few good stakes performers skip Del Mar and ship to Saratoga.
www.cbs2.com/wireapsportsca/del.mar.cuts.2.1653380.html (http://www.cbs2.com/wireapsportsca/del.mar.cuts.2.1653380.html)

[InsideThePylons-MW]

Maybe this meet they will add Betfair's handle to the Foreign Non-Commingled Estimated Handle category, which they actually add to total handle numbers, so it won't look so bad.

[slew101]

Be interested to see where the top jockeys land in the summer. Solis hinted he'll be at Saratoga since he's moving his business to Churchill Downs. Gomez just won the riding title at Keeneland, so he should have a ton of big business at Saratoga. Anyone know Nakatani's plans?

[DJofSD]

Will an increase in the price of parking, admission and food/drink be not too far behind?

[Grits]

Be interested to see where the top jockeys land in the summer. Solis hinted he'll be at Saratoga since he's moving his business to Churchill Downs. Gomez just won the riding title at Keeneland, so he should have a ton of big business at Saratoga. Anyone know Nakatani's plans?

Noted from DRF last week:

http://www.drf.com/news/article/112433.html

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Three of the most dominant jockeys on the rugged Southern California circuit in the last two decades not only are riding at Churchill Downs through Kentucky Derby week but also will be here for varying lengths of a spring meet that runs through July 4.

Garrett Gomez, Corey Nakatani, and Alex Solis all will hold over as part of a Churchill jockey colony that already includes Kentucky regulars Robby Albarado, Calvin Borel, Shaun Bridgmohan, and Julien Leparoux.

Gomez will ride here for "a couple of weeks," according to agent Ron Anderson, before leaving in time for the May 22 start of the new boutique meet at Monmouth Park. The New Jersey track plans to average about $1 million in purses per day through Labor Day.

Nakatani, who recently moved to Kentucky with his family, is trying to decide whether to ride at Monmouth or Belmont Park this summer, although remaining through the end of the Churchill meet "is one of the options he's definitely considering," said agent Bob Frieze. "He's going to make a decision here in the very near future."

Solis "is definitely staying to the end of Churchill," said agent Brian Beach.

http://www.drf.com/news/article/112433.html has more.

[Thomas Roulston]

In addition to cuts in purses, one should also pay attention to whether the minimum claiming price is also being reduced, as it has at the NYRA tracks more than once over the last decade or so (it was not that long ago when $14,000 was the cheapest open claimer, and $35,000 the cheapest maiden claimer, run at NYRA, Belmont anyway).