The Big M Vs Georgian Downs

[Oskar]

The Big M has a pretty good card Saturday night; highlighted by two very strong Meadowlands Pace eliminations; the Reynolds for 3-year-old colt trotters, featuring the return of 2-year-old champ Possess The Will; and the final of the Green With Envy series for 4-year-old pacing mares, featuring Drop The Ball and Krispy Apple. The purse money amounts to almost $330,000. Good money, but less than a third of the million dollars plus being offered up by the ONSS at Georgian Downs on Saturday night.



Some of the horses in the mix at Georgian are pretty good. Daylon Magician, who is probably second best in NA behind Chapter Seven, with San Pail on an extended furlough and Mister Herbie among the missing, goes in a $160,000 Masters Series Trot. Of course Dukester, who gets buried by nw4 every week, is also in there. Michaels Power, who won the Upper Canada, should have an easy time of it against the 3-year-old pacing colts for a $130,000 purse. And the same goes for Frenchrysnvinegar against the aged mares.



The mares pace has Monkey On My Wheel taking on Camille, Dreamfair and Western Silk, but most of these races, and there are seven of them offering up purses between $130,000 and $163, 000, feature one standout, one or two that are mediocre and a lot that are ordinary on a good day.



One wonders how owners, trainers and bettors will adjust to the shock of having this big money go away under the proposed contraction of the ONSS program. The check for finishing in the middle of a $160,000 race is still pretty good, but open competition for short money will turn a lot of worlds upside down. I suppose the upside is that this time next year mares like Monkey and Camille would have been entered in the Green With Envy, and Daylon would have competed in last week’sTitan Cup, and Dreamfair and Western Silk would have been staked to the Lynch. Lots of horses will fall through the cracks at the bottom of the scale but the competition at the top should be markedly improved. Still, not much of a tradeoff for all that will be lost.

[camfella]

The Big M has a pretty good card Saturday night; highlighted by two very strong Meadowlands Pace eliminations; the Reynolds for 3-year-old colt trotters, featuring the return of 2-year-old champ Possess The Will; and the final of the Green With Envy series for 4-year-old pacing mares, featuring Drop The Ball and Krispy Apple. The purse money amounts to almost $330,000. Good money, but less than a third of the million dollars plus being offered up by the ONSS at Georgian Downs on Saturday night.



Some of the horses in the mix at Georgian are pretty good. Daylon Magician, who is probably second best in NA behind Chapter Seven, with San Pail on an extended furlough and Mister Herbie among the missing, goes in a $160,000 Masters Series Trot. Of course Dukester, who gets buried by nw4 every week, is also in there. Michaels Power, who won the Upper Canada, should have an easy time of it against the 3-year-old pacing colts for a $130,000 purse. And the same goes for Frenchrysnvinegar against the aged mares.



The mares pace has Monkey On My Wheel taking on Camille, Dreamfair and Western Silk, but most of these races, and there are seven of them offering up purses between $130,000 and $163, 000, feature one standout, one or two that are mediocre and a lot that are ordinary on a good day.



One wonders how owners, trainers and bettors will adjust to the shock of having this big money go away under the proposed contraction of the ONSS program. The check for finishing in the middle of a $160,000 race is still pretty good, but open competition for short money will turn a lot of worlds upside down. I suppose the upside is that this time next year mares like Monkey and Camille would have been entered in the Green With Envy, and Daylon would have competed in last week’sTitan Cup, and Dreamfair and Western Silk would have been staked to the Lynch. Lots of horses will fall through the cracks at the bottom of the scale but the competition at the top should be markedly improved. Still, not much of a tradeoff for all that will be lost.
You point out an obvious problem, these races are not coordinated by some overlording body. The money some of these races pay are more like horse welfare. I dont know the perfect way to do it but the filly trot at Yonkers,draws 3 entrants, the colt trot only 5, 160k races draw only a few top horses, and yet racing will scream when this money is sure to be taken away. All that was needed was a PLAN, now when jurisdictions decide to remove the candy,who stands up for them? no plan, no strong political organization, no power, the industry has no one to blame.

[Oskar]

You point out an obvious problem, these races are not coordinated by some overlording body. The money some of these races pay are more like horse welfare. I dont know the perfect way to do it but the filly trot at Yonkers,draws 3 entrants, the colt trot only 5, 160k races draw only a few top horses, and yet racing will scream when this money is sure to be taken away. All that was needed was a PLAN, now when jurisdictions decide to remove the candy,who stands up for them? no plan, no strong political organization, no power, the industry has no one to blame.


Exactly! In golf a player gets paid according to how he plays and where he finishes. Football, baseball, basketball and hockey players get paid on the basis of how good they are. In harness racing, where a horse is foaled means more than how good they are.


The Credit Winner mare Jezzy made $543,000 last year in 18 starts, much of it in the NYSS. This year in six starts in open competition, she’s got one win and has earned $25,000. They’ve been trying to find her niche: she was second against nw16K atM1; second in the Miss Versatility; out in the Armbro Flight; and out against nw25K at Yonkers. Schnittker predicted stardom for her at the beginning of the season, but that hasn’t happened. It’s a long way down from that SS perch.