Saratoga Hype

[turfbar]

Enuff of the SARATOGA hype todays race card is absolutely TERRIBLE

Newbies save your money. Who thinks up these cards . Luckily they have steeplechases to save their ass.

1st 2 races steeplechase
next 3 races 2yo's
6th race 5 scratches makes this a 6horse field
7th race 3 scrathes makes this a 5 horse field
8th filliess and mares mdn
9th 35K claimers and the final race
10th mdn 3yo's in the turf sprint

again

Turfbar

[OTM Al]

Yeah I remember the day when they used to run 10 Grade ones on an 8 race card. Full fields, sometimes 2 or 3 horses coming out of every gate. Things were tough back then, everyone always coming down with the croup and all, but it was bettah....

Seriuosly, do you complain when it's 79 degrees instead of 78?

Looked at Del Mar's card today?

Or maybe Hoosier. Now that place is hoppin! I live for Indiana bred races!

[JustRalph]

I just finished looking at the card.......... I have to go into work.......and I don't mind at all..........for once

I don't play SoCal anymore. But it couldn't be any worse than the Toga card today ? Could it ?

[Rapid Grey]

Be sarcastic if you want but the OP is right, this is an atrocious card for Saratoga. Easily the worst card I've ever looked at there, and that's going back 20 years. Probably be apropo that a big storm rumble through around the 5th race and completely gut it.

The racing secretary, who has done a good job up until now this meet, should be embarassed. Only thing you can hope is that it's not a sign of things to come for the rest of the meet.

[JBmadera]

It's not the best card, by a long shot, but it is one of the best cards we have today.

[PhantomOnTour]

All hyperbole in either direction aside, this card isn't that good.
It has nothing to do with the card at some other track.
For Saratoga, this card is unattractive.
I'm a bit miffed because I have a rare weekday off and really wanted to get down today..oh well...they run 6 days a week so a top notch card cannot be expected every day.

On these days I do horse homework with the TV tuned to racing. Sure i will get a few bets in but nothing serious...R8 and R10 look playable.

[pondman]

To each his own...

For a price Gudahi in the 10th should zip...

[Dave Schwartz]

I've gotta go with Al on this one.

Considering what the average card at the average track is on a Thursday, I would say that the card "isn't that bad."

While there have certainly been better cards, I happen to like the hurdles and 2yr olds at Saratoga.

Not crazy about the 5-6 horse fields, though. Reminiscent of California on a Saturday. :bang:

Just my opinion.

Regards,
Dave Schwartz

[toussaud]

funny i was going to make a similar post but about the entire day. look around the country, todays racing sucks big time. woodbine and arlington aren't running any allowance races at all. woodbine ought to be ashamed of themselves for trotting that card out today.

yes saratogas card dudes suck.

[lamboguy]

what a great race the first one was. BRIAN CROWLEY rode a great tactiful race to ace DECOY DADDY at the wire. i have no idea how you could find a better race than this one anywhere this week.

[JBmadera]

what a great race the first one was. BRIAN CROWLEY rode a great tactiful race to ace DECOY DADDY at the wire. i have no idea how you could find a better race than this one anywhere this week.

as a race fan, super race, very exciting, as a bettor no, mainly due to the fact that there isn't enough info (at least for me) to form an opinion.

that said, todays racing menu trumps the financial markets hands down... :ThmbUp:

[PhantomOnTour]

what a great race the first one was. BRIAN CROWLEY rode a great tactiful race to ace DECOY DADDY at the wire. i have no idea how you could find a better race than this one anywhere this week.
I messed around and nailed that race.
Check the 2nd off the layoff angle for the winner. If you count the race run before opening day on 17Jly at Sar this was his lay2 effort and the 3rd time in a row he's won with that angle. :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp:

[sonnyp]

maybe saratoga should have carded a "battle of the exes" with a 15 minute press conference to spice up today's card.

[turninforhome10]

Just spent 4 hours looking at the cards for today and feel like a day trader trying to find value in the today's market. Terrible

[lamboguy]

as a race fan, super race, very exciting, as a bettor no, mainly due to the fact that there isn't enough info (at least for me) to form an opinion.

that said, todays racing menu trumps the financial markets hands down... :ThmbUp:
i didn't bet it either, but i certainly enjoyed watching it. there was over $70k in the win pool

[JBmadera]

i didn't bet it either, but i certainly enjoyed watching it. there was over $70k in the win pool


I wonder how much the owners bet into the pools, seems like the folks that own the jumpers are flush.

going to watch race two as well but no bet

[sonnyp]

jimmy duggan, "the jumper expert" at TVG had nailed the $45 exacta box (1-2)in the 1st. in the 2nd, he claims 7 is not a class better than these but in a class by himself compared to the rest. off a multiple year layoff, but much better than these.

[PhantomOnTour]

Fresh off a lucky score in R1 and feeling all "steeplechasey" I will try with the #6 in R2...why not?
Runs well first off the layoff....

[Rapid Grey]

Gotta go with the 10 here, according to the DRF this gelding won his last race by 82 lengths :eek:

[PhantomOnTour]

Gotta go with the 10 here, according to the DRF this gelding won his last race by 82 lengths :eek:
Think my 6 was beaten about 82 lengths :D

[wisconsin]

The racing secretary, who has done a good job up until now this meet, should be embarassed. Only thing you can hope is that it's not a sign of things to come for the rest of the meet.


Racing secrataries don't write races to please the fans. They write conditions for horses on the ground, and sometimes, you get a card like this.

Now, I have not looked at the conditon book, but some of these could be extras that were listed on the overnight just a few days ago becuase the scheduled races did not fill.

[Rapid Grey]

Racing secrataries don't write races to please the fans. They write conditions for horses on the ground, and sometimes, you get a card like this.

Now, I have not looked at the conditon book, but some of these could be extras that were listed on the overnight just a few days ago becuase the scheduled races did not fill.

Then they set the condition book up to fail on this day. I understand that you have to write races for all types and many of those are going to be 2 y.o. maidens and NY breds, what you don't have to have is them all go on the same day.

At the very least , on this day, they should have set the extras up to be older maidens with races under their belts or another condition that would easily filll, cheap claimers or bad nw1x types would be better than what they gave us. As it stands now they are getting ready to run three straight maiden races of which excatly 21 of the 27 are first time starters.

[wisconsin]

Well, only one state bred maiden race was written for today. Three other races did not go, and only one of the four substitute races went, meaning two of the races were from the extras on the overnight. Saratoga seems to always have 6 or 7 extras, so you can't pin this one entirely the secretary. In fact, the two extras as well as the substitute race all have full fields, so he carded the right races for the horse available.

[Linny]

Too many races to maintain quality. Thus far I think they have run only 3 nice race cards. The rest are 10 or 11.

They used to have a $35k minimum tag on grass but that's gone. They used to not run condition claimers or state bred claiming, both are now everywhere.

The problem is that as the "quality" horses (stakes and even allowance level) are running fewer and fewer times with more and more between races, they just cannot fill those races. Used to be that a given condition run on Day 1 might come back on day 12 or 13 and many of the horses would run back. Now, they run back if they are NYB claimers but if it's an allowance, the runner up on Day 1 is pointing for Book 1 at Belmont even though there are 7 weeks in the meet up here.

[toussaud]

race 2: "pat myself on the back, hey look at me i'm racing at saratoga with a 2YO" 150k maiden claiming race. you have got to be kidding me

[Tom]

Wait until you see the stellar under card for Saturday. :rolleyes:

[Robert Fischer]

these posts are pretty much for attention
(although crowley/sheppard was nice, and the birdstone was surprisingly entertaining)


sure the tone on this board is a little bit hypertoga, but I personally love when a track or race gets excitement surrounding it.

we need a lot less races and tracks - so if excitement is going to be concentrated in 1 track - i love it!

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