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Cuomo basically said what I've been saying all along. One of the biggest risks to racing at Saratoga is that it will bring in people from the virus hot spots to an area that is still relatively calm. That risks starting a brand new outbreak somewhere else. It makes no sense at all.
If you do it without fans and most of the horseman and backstretch workers remain on track, the risk is mitigated. But then you have to ask what is the point of shipping equipment, people, and horses to Saratoga and adding all that expense just for almost everyone to stay on track at Saratoga?
I'm not sure I buy the "brand" argument as enough to offset the incremental expense and risk as we've debated previously. IMO, the Travers, Alabama etc.. would handle just as much if run at Belmont instead. The better argument was probably that the turf course at Belmont can't handle an extended meet, but if they wind up running an abbreviated schedule at Belmont, maybe that won't even be a factor.
To me, this not an obvious call for Cuomo, government, or anyone else despite our own desires for normalcy. Not sure when they have to make a final decision, but I guess we'll see what the data looks like in 4-6 weeks. Maybe things will look much better. The data is clearly improving steadily in NYC. That's a plus.
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Last edited by classhandicapper; 05-01-2020 at 06:04 PM.
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