Quote:
Originally Posted by redlandb
I'm taking a look at a couple races from Crooked River, and some of the horses are running on as little as 2 days rest. How much does this hamper them? A lot a little? Any opinion is appreciated.
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Physically?
Probably doesn't hamper them at all.
For it was a common theme 20 or 30 years ago that runners at small tracks who raced only on weekends, and for short meets especially, would run on consecutive days.
A few horses dotted around would win on consecutive days, and they would make a big deal of it whenever it happened.
I can recall one horse in the mid-1980's who started 9 times in a month, at a race meet that probably had 12 or 14 dates that month. The horse ran 19 times in a 42-day race meet and shipped to somewhere else for 3 starts during that season.
In addition, to prep for that endeavor, he raced 3 times in 3 days at a small meet which only had 3 race days.
Beginning a 4 1/2-month period, the horse ran those 3 consecutive days, and then on 6 separate occasions he ran on 2 consecutive days during those 4 1/2 months.
If they can bring harness horses back for 2 or more heats in a day, a Thoroughbred running 2 days in a row should be a non-issue. Furthermore, while horse racing has devolved considerably over the past 30 years, the fitness of the average horse probably hasn't deteriorated at anywhere near to the same trajectory.
Because purses are so much more significant today than they were decades ago, particularly for the cheaper set, the seeming
urgency for horses to run so often has diminished considerably in most circles. That just doesn't apply
as much to the horses on tiny fair circuits. Although in Oregon the purses at the fairs are boosted by the account wagering companies who have
hubs in that state.
