Where Have All The AQU Route Races Gone?

[Thomas Roulston]

Even 1 1/16 miles has become rare these days.

A sad development - I must say.

[Dahoss9698]

6 of 9 races this past Sunday were routes. 4 of 10 on Saturday. So half the races over the weekend were routes, but I hear ya. You have to run races for the horses that are on your grounds.

[v j stauffer]

6 of 9 races this past Sunday were routes. 4 of 10 on Saturday. So half the races over the weekend were routes, but I hear ya. You have to run races for the horses that are on your grounds.

You're trying too hard.

[cj]

2012 at Aqueduct:

> 1 mile, 41.4%

Everywhere else:

> 1 mile, 31.9%

Yes, most are 1m or 1m 70 yards, but still more than most tracks run.

[Thomas Roulston]

That was my point: There are a fair amount of 1m and 1m70y races, but virtually no races longer than that - not even 1 1/16m.

And what is going to happen when they get back on the outer dirt track at the end of March?

[cj]

That was my point: There are a fair amount of 1m and 1m70y races, but virtually no races longer than that - not even 1 1/16m.

And what is going to happen when they get back on the outer dirt track at the end of March?

Same thing that has been happening for a few years, they will run a handful of races at 1m 1/8 for the entire meet and the rest are around one turn.

[jdhanover]

Could this be a function of time of year? Not saying it is, just wondering.

[cj]

Could this be a function of time of year? Not saying it is, just wondering.

Not really. Last year at Aqueduct on the main track, they ran 14 races around two turns on dirt compared to 248 around one turn.

[pandy]

I don't have a problem with the mix, I love the inner track meet, but I do wonder why they run any races at a flat mile. With the race starting close to the first turn, it is not a good race and it makes a lot more sense to run either 1 and 70 yards or a mile and a sixteenth so all of the horses have a chance to leave.

[cj]

I don't have a problem with the mix, I love the inner track meet, but I do wonder why they run any races at a flat mile. With the race starting close to the first turn, it is not a good race and it makes a lot more sense to run either 1 and 70 yards or a mile and a sixteenth so all of the horses have a chance to leave.

With the quality of some of the races lately, like yesterday's third, I guess they have to be careful with time. These horses are so slow they might run out of sunlight before the 8th if the races are carded for too long a distance.

[Linny]

Looks like 1 1/16 is the new 1 1/8. They couldn't fill the 9f Stymie for Saturday but they did fill a 1 1/16m overnight stake. Are the horses so bad or the trainers so incompetent that they cannot muster up the additional 1/16 of a mile??

[Tom]

My criteria for a good trainer is one who can get the horse from the barn to the paddock without having to stop and rest along the way.

I don't think a lot of today's trainers could train the barn flies what to land on.

[cj]

Looks like 1 1/16 is the new 1 1/8. They couldn't fill the 9f Stymie for Saturday but they did fill a 1 1/16m overnight stake. Are the horses so bad or the trainers so incompetent that they cannot muster up the additional 1/16 of a mile??

Yes.

[cj]

Looks like 1 1/16 is the new 1 1/8. They couldn't fill the 9f Stymie for Saturday but they did fill a 1 1/16m overnight stake. Are the horses so bad or the trainers so incompetent that they cannot muster up the additional 1/16 of a mile??

Actually, it is 1/8 of a mile. The replacement race is at a mile.

[David-LV]

With the quality of some of the races lately, like yesterday's third, I guess they have to be careful with time. These horses are so slow they might run out of sunlight before the 8th if the races are carded for too long a distance.

I think your right, the other day a couple of horses in the first race were so slow they finished with the leaders of the second race.

The quality of racing at Aqueduct has been so bad lately, it's akin to being the fastest horse at the glue factory.

_________
David-LV

[Robert Goren]

I thought the increase in purses was suppose to bring faster horses.

[cj]

I thought the increase in purses was suppose to bring faster horses.
I think it might need more than a month, don't you?

[Robert Goren]

I think it might need more than a month, don't you? How long do they need? I want to re visit this then. I am really skeptical all claims that are being made about higher purses because it has so seldom worked anyplace else.

[Dahoss9698]

How long do they need? I want to re visit this then. I am really skeptical all claims that are being made about higher purses because it has so seldom worked anyplace else.

m9zJHvCsmOI

[Robert Goren]

Pretty funny, Dahoss. All kidding aside, just once I like to them do something that would directly effect the bettors. I believe that funnelling money to the horsemen and hope they will put out a better product is the wrong approach. Let try use the money instead to lower takeouts and other such things and see if it increase the handle enough to make up for the lost revenue. At least it has not been tried and failed over and over again at other tracks.

[Dahoss9698]

Pretty funny, Dahoss. All kidding aside, just once I like to them do something that would directly effect the bettors. I believe that funnelling money to the horsemen and hope they will put out a better product is the wrong approach. Let try use the money instead to lower takeouts and other such things and see if it increase the handle enough to make up for the lost revenue. At least it has not been tried and failed over and over again at other tracks.

Fair enough. I certainly can't defend todays card, but I remain optimistic that we will see better fields in coming months, which means more opportunities for bettors. Frankly, most of the cards everywhere have been pretty awful.

Since we're talking about wishes, I wish most of the people that complain the most about issues impacting bettors actually bet.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Pretty funny, Dahoss. All kidding aside, just once I like to them do something that would directly effect the bettors. I believe that funnelling money to the horsemen and hope they will put out a better product is the wrong approach. Let try use the money instead to lower takeouts and other such things and see if it increase the handle enough to make up for the lost revenue. At least it has not been tried and failed over and over again at other tracks.

I started to type out an essay in another thread about the HANA blog talking about this. I stopped, but to summarize - if my experience with fellow horsemen in promoting that concept is any indication of that ever happening - :bang:

Edited to note - I'm not referring to New York, to be clear.

[mountainman]

I don't have a problem with the mix, I love the inner track meet, but I do wonder why they run any races at a flat mile. With the race starting close to the first turn, it is not a good race and it makes a lot more sense to run either 1 and 70 yards or a mile and a sixteenth so all of the horses have a chance to leave.

You can bet that the racing dept prefers to card longer rts, but have found them harder to fill. Experience has taught me that the connections of a horse that prefers longer distances can be maneuvered into entering for a flat-mile, but a trainer looking to stretch a sprinter out often insists on the shortest of route races-eight flat furlongs.

Ironically, a counterintuitive approach would probably yield better results-flat miles often unfold at a brisk, closer- friendly clip, while longer routes can be more vulnerable to theft-but most trainers nonetheless adhere to old-school notions about distance. And those deeply ingrained notions far outweigh the fear of drawing a poor post.

[Tom]

I think your right, the other day a couple of horses in the first race were so slow they finished with the leaders of the second race.
_________
David-LV

I bet a horse the other day and he left the gate at 10-1.
Came home at two thirty.

[Thomas Roulston]

Getting marginally off the specific subject, who else noticed that the 1 5/8-mile Gallant Fox Handicap was not run at Aqueduct in 2011?

One would figure that the advent of the Breeders' Cup Marathon would lead to there being more races of this type, not fewer.