Mahoning
 

Scattershot observations:

1) Luis Quinones should have been dq'd for jock interference in Monday's (?) second race. His intimidation antics crossed the line in deep stretch.

2) The surface has been mostly fair lately.

3) Lots of people who bet Luis Gonzalez yell "stiff job" when he loses, and it often DOES look like he's straining to slow his mounts down, but that's just how the guy rides. Gonzalez is old school and thinks every horse should be taken off the pace, and his idea of rating is to snatch on the horse's mouth right after the break and try slowing up to a canter. Really, I'm serious.

4) Love the size and quality of veteran condition fields up there, but they card simply too many mdn races and struggle more each season to fill higher class events not restricted to ohio breds.

5) Certain Ohio bred races carry incorrect connotations in drf.

6) Jose Colon is by FAR the best rider in this region. Not even close.

7) When the weather is cold, fast tracks tend to develop a slight rail-bias late in the day.

8) Where did the live crowds go?????

9) Mvr's signal has grown in popularity at mountain simo. A lot.

10) Some players at Mnr simo suck up to and consult a core group of mnr horsemen who wager there everyday. I had no idea there were still players that stupid.

11) One of the tellers got me shut out of a 7/2 winner last week by pausing to flirt with the dude in front of me. I will retaliate by switching to the Sams. With sparse crowds there on certain weekdays, clerks need the business to justify their hours.

Thanks for the recap mountainman.

Beginning to figure this place out. And I noticed some really awful favorites that can be against. Luis Q had a 1-5 shot in a maiden last week race 1 from the rail. ( sorry forgot the name of the horse)WHY ???? Ive noticed a few of those underlays.

Mv
 

Do you mean Luis Colon?

my bad...BIG difference...

THAT'S the race I got shutout on. The winner (Shack's Harem??) got pushed on extremely fast splits race before last and then swallowed by a potent bias last start.

Lone speed and the rail was golden that day. Of course race 1 we didn't know the rail would be so good but nonetheless lone speed

love MV, you can find them there.

I’ve been keeping track of biases similar to how you do for
The mountains and I’ve been writing Fair a lot lately. This makes me feel better about my notes! You think we’ll have racing tomorrow with the big storm coming through?

Yes. Storm not supposed to hit until noon. Actually, Nancy does the bias notes for the website. It was, however, my idea and I'm considering doing them myself this year.

Race 1 on January 12. #1 Sweet Evy Grace. She won in her debut going a mile on November 13 by 14 lengths. She then raced December 17 in an Allowance sprint vs NW1X. She broke badly and looked sluggish throughout that day. Soon after, she was DQ'd from her Maiden win due to a positive drug test. Therefore she was placed back into a Maiden Special Weight race. Anyone watching the 12-17 race knew something was wrong. To bet her down to 1-5 was insanity. #2 Shack's Harem was 0 for 23 coming into that race but was certainly the lone speed exiting 2 races vs open MSW's, then placed back into OH Bred MSW's. 7/2 was a true gift. Also my top pick on my Postman's Picks Tipsheet for that race.;)


RR

Mountainman mentioned Jockey Luis Colon being the best jockey in the area. I've been saying that at MVR for the past 3 years. No one comes close. Rumor has it he may be going to Oaklawn when their meet opens in 2 weeks. He deserves a chance to try a major circuit. There is a huge drop off in talent after Colon. Jaime Rodriguez from Finger Lakes hasn't returned to MVR, Walter DeLa Cruz has left for Oaklawn, Augustin Bracho has followed his son Jose Bracho (hope he quits growing, talented as DeShawn Parker) to Tampa. Not sure about Magan Fadlovich's where abouts. My gradings for the riders here:


A+ Luis Colon


A- Luis Quinones (Won the Fall Meet here and at MNR.3rd nationally in wins)
Christian Pilares


B+ Erik Barbaran
Victor Santiago (Just arrived from Hawthorne)


B T D Houghton
Luis Gonzalez


B- Luis Rivera
Edgar Paucar


C+ Sonny Leon
Kaitlin Bedford (Apprentice has shown strength, timing and ability)
Hector Rosario


C Noel Vigil
Gerrardo Corrales
David Cardoso
Kirk Johnson



I'll be polite and won't name the riders I'd labeled a D or F.


RR

To me Quinones is the best gate rider of them all. His horses seem to always break well and more times than not if his horse has speed he will make the front with ease. He seems to be aware of any biases that come up from time to time at MVR and MNR. After him and Colon I’d put barbaran, Houghton,paucar, and Rivera in the next tier. I’ll be on track today and I’m
Hoping the weather cooperates but I think the card is in doubt.

Also side note. I’ve noticed when the track here or at MNR gets very quirky (extreme bias) Luciano Hernandez can spring a long shot here and there. He doesn’t get the best mounts but look for him on prices on quirky days.

Speaking of Mahoning
 

There is a trainer Rodney Moyers who is 0/1000. don't know his exact percentage. He owns the horses he trains. Also he has the same results in 0n other Ohio tracks. How can someone survive owning these horses with such dismal percentage ?

Can't say if this is the case for this guy, but I know some guys that train here in Oklahoma that do it as a hobby. They legit have full time jobs away from the track. They keep the horses at home, van them in on race day, lose almost always, and go home. They do it for fun, not for money.

How that is fun I have no idea. :)