jeebus1083
02-28-2012, 04:29 PM
Come opening day at Belmont, round #2 of the slot revenue kicks in, which will make Belmont's purse structure perhaps the largest in the nation. The Aqueduct winter inner meet has been plagued with short fields and 40% favorites, but I will give NYRA a pass here, as one could not realistically believe that most horsemen would have passed on warm and sunny Gulfstream for slot purses in cold and gray New York.
The return of turf racing, plus the return of laid-up horses on winter vacation should help increase field size. However, my concern is whether or not the added purses will help attract enough out-of-state horsemen to abandon their home tracks, or split their operation to run both in NY and at home. Having said that, NYRA needs to go out and try and CRUSH their competition this spring, and that starts with PJ Campo. Campo NEEDS to get creative with his condition book, and reach out to trainers out-of-state to prop up his product, and give them incentive to run frequently at Belmont.
I think Belmont will be vastly improved over the quality of Aqueduct, but even with enhanced purses, Belmont could still be disappointing if NYRA doesn't go out and try and crush their competitors. Things are tough all over, and NYRA is holding Quad Aces with their Aqueduct Racino. If they cannot parlay a megabucks purse structure into larger, more competitive fields, there's a problem, and it needs to be addressed.
The return of turf racing, plus the return of laid-up horses on winter vacation should help increase field size. However, my concern is whether or not the added purses will help attract enough out-of-state horsemen to abandon their home tracks, or split their operation to run both in NY and at home. Having said that, NYRA needs to go out and try and CRUSH their competition this spring, and that starts with PJ Campo. Campo NEEDS to get creative with his condition book, and reach out to trainers out-of-state to prop up his product, and give them incentive to run frequently at Belmont.
I think Belmont will be vastly improved over the quality of Aqueduct, but even with enhanced purses, Belmont could still be disappointing if NYRA doesn't go out and try and crush their competitors. Things are tough all over, and NYRA is holding Quad Aces with their Aqueduct Racino. If they cannot parlay a megabucks purse structure into larger, more competitive fields, there's a problem, and it needs to be addressed.