Toga vs Del Mar
 

Yes, it may be an East vs West coast question.

Toga gets all the love, but Del Mar will always deliver.

Why? Weather. Simply weather.

When you cap Toga, you always have to keep in mind if it will be wet, and if it will be wet early or late.

Del Mar? Just look for the best horses. Weather isn't a problem.

Saratoga gets their entries from the eastern third of the racing nation. It's not just New York stables re-locating north. Del Mar to me is just Cali racing somewhere else.

You should check out their PPs. They are getting ship ins from all over. They've done a great job drawing shippers. They wouldn't be getting these big fields with just Cali horses. We'll see if it will continue the whole meet, but it has been great so far.

I prefer Del Mar because year after year the average field size is always bigger and the 4 day week works better for me.

The stakes at Del Mar today were terrific. Both were nice sized competitive fields. When I let the moths out of my wallet for both races you know the racing is good. We’ve seen some huge performances and exciting stakes races at Saratoga, but the fields sizes are still an issue.

ABSOLUTELY !!! :ThmbUp:
I've been having a really fun time so far although the betting patterns in the Maiden races have been a bit chaotic.

Saratoga has run 46 races with 6 betting interests or less in 13 days, Del Mar has run 5 races with 6 betting interests or less in 6 days but it doesn't matter to the bettors. Saratoga's handle is always going to be higher than Del Mar's.

And of course, that five-horse race at Saratoga also had superstar horses in it..

The per race handle for Saratoga in 2022 at about $2.1 million/race. Total Saratoga handle was $878 million over 417 races while Del Mar was $580 million over 31 dates. Assuming If 10 daily avg at Del Mar then per race is $1.87M. Del Mar did not include race count in its 2022 season end press release, NYRA did.

I admit I haven't looked at DM much this year. My original comment was more of a historical perspective.

And of course, the home team owner got the decision despire bull riding and bumping at the wire.

Good ole boys.

Saratoga small fields are driving me away.

Saratoga draws the best trainers jockeys and horses year after year

At least you're not in Kinchon's cart!