NYRA Racing Secretary?

[linrom1]

Does the racing secretary at NYRA have a goal in the way he cards races?

Why is the EMPIRE CLASSIC carded as the 5th race? This is the premier race for the day with the highest purse value.

Is this guy's priority to create large payoffs to "insiders on Pick 5 and P-6 bets' rather than to create a card that would appeal to larger fan audience? Look whoever you are, you are going to drive Belmont meet into a sewer despite all the advantages that it has in money and horse population.

[MonmouthParkJoe]

The race is in the same position it was back in 2015. It was moved to the "feature" spot in 2016, and now moved back to race 5. I think the race came up good and will be interesting to see Twisted Tom take on older.

I actually like having it earlier in the card. With the early pick 5, too often you get some lower level races. Here we get four stakes. Part of it too most likely has to do with the live show and the late pick 5.

[toddbowker]

Good Racing Secretaries always have a goal in setting races. Here are some examples:

1) Time placement for TV, simulcasting, or multi-track wagers.

2) To increase betting (for example, this is why the first leg of the early DD is the short field, so you have more tickets alive for the second half)

3) To protect a carryover pool; or
4) To disburse a carryover pool

5) To meet a pre-requisite for number of horses in a race for betting (ie, must card 8 or more in a superfecta)

6) To help a short-handed trainer that gave them a horse to fill a race, but has another one in and needs a race or two in between to be able to run them both. (I actually had to volunteer to hot-walk a horse once when I got stuck placing a race in a bad spot for someone who did me a favor)

7) Quality of the field.

There are many other possibilities, but races are always set the way they are for a reason. You can actually tell just how sharp a Racing Secretary is by looking at an overnight. The closer the races are carded to how they are listed in the condition book will tell you.

[cj]

I wouldn't give the guy too much credit with foresight. He is the guy that carded a 90k 6f turf allowance two days before a 150k ungraded stake at the same distance also on turf, essentially cannibalizing both races.

[Cholly]

For breeders of NY state-breds, the Empire Classic is their equivalent of the Breeders Cup Classic. Carding it as the fifth race of the day the racing secretary seems to be going out of the way to show disrespect.