Question

[Ray2000]

I haven't been to any track for many years. I once held the 'Perfect Attendance' award in the eighties at The Meadows where I used to be one of those dummies who sat in the stands clocking the warm up miles.

Question
Do the horses still come out on the track an hour before their race and go a mile?
Are there clockers still sitting in the stands with with their stopwatches?

thx

[sonnyp]

I guess the silence is deafening. the old days and the interest is gone. the days when traffic was backed up waiting to get into parking lots dont exist any more.

[wilderness]

Ray,
S-Breds still do warmup miles. It will never change. It's they way there are conditioned from when they are yearlings and for the most part continues through their racing careers (most are jogged daily (or a similar alternative (i. e. pool or treadmill) at training tacks even when not racing))).

[wilderness]

Ray,
The USTA published two versions (1969 & 1996) of a book named 'The Care and Training of the Trotter and Pacer'.
The earlier version (i. e., 'Old Care and Training') should be in every handicappers library, despite NOT offering any insights into handicapping (there is a chapter on driving a race), because of the insights you've asked about.
Training methods changed from 69 to 96 and the newer (and thinner) version (newer known names) offers lesser detail.

[Ray2000]

You're right sonny, it's a different game now and diminishing.

Don
I still have my 1969 copy of 'The Care and Training of the Trotter and Pacer'. a lot of good info.
I was looking at Freeholds Racing Tips this AM

http://www.freeholdraceway.com/pages/handicapping
{don't know when or by who this was written)

and the section on warmups got me reminiscing about those old days.
Didn't take an expert to see who was warming up lame.

[baconswitchfarm]

Only young horses and trotters will go a warm up mile now. Most aged horses will come out and jog a mile or two and go back into the paddock. The standardbred of today is much more refined than than the horse of 30 years ago.

[sonnyp]

"breaking yearlings" was akin to a rodeo and sometimes took weeks. many times it resembled a rodeo. these babies many times came out of a field and had limited exposure to handling. kick, bite, throw themselves......all part of the game.

I remember one colt that was so wild, we had to push him into an equine pool and drag him back near the side wall just to get a bridle on his head.

many jog cart looked like toothpicks and many of us went home limping and black and blue in the process,

now a days, they're broke and jogging in a few hours

[Overcall]

Hmm maybe three publications. My copy of ‘Care and Training....
publish date is 1968. Amazing list of contributors, all dead now. Saw 2yo’s doing
final scores at the track last month. It SOP years ago.

[1GCFAN]

The clockers have retired to the casinos along with most of the crowd. Todays harness track are pretty ugly. Saratoga Raceway is still a nice place.

[Sea Biscuit]

Originally Posted by Ray2000

I haven't been to any track for many years. I once held the 'Perfect Attendance' award in the eighties at The Meadows where I used to be one of those dummies who sat in the stands clocking the warm up miles.

Question
Do the horses still come out on the track an hour before their race and go a mile?
Are there clockers still sitting in the stands with with their stopwatches?

thx

Ray: If you had visited the Blue Bonnets track way back in the early eighties, you would have found another dummy clocking the warm up miles religiously every race day.


Needless to say that was me.

[sonnyp]

ruby foos Chinese restaurant on decarrie blvd. had underground tunnels going to a motel so patrons didn't need ti be exposed to the brutal winter nights in montreal across from blue bonnets. announcer called the races in French and English at the same time

[Sea Biscuit]

Originally Posted by sonnyp

ruby foos Chinese restaurant on decarrie blvd. had underground tunnels going to a motel so patrons didn't need ti be exposed to the brutal winter nights in montreal across from blue bonnets. announcer called the races in French and English at the same time

Those were the days.