Gulfstream Handle $32M on Saturday

[NJ Stinks]

Just in case this was missed, Gulfstream proves once again that if you give players what they want, they will play. And just what was the key to this humongous handle? I thought you'd never ask!

IMO:

1. Saturday after Easter is a perfect storm if it collides with Florida Derby Day. The pagans are ready to play!

2. Gulfstream stayed on the turf even after the downpour at the beginning of the card and some rain later on. "How many tracks would have done that?", I ask myself.

3. Eight turf races on a 14 race card. 75 horses ran in those 8 races. Sounds like a sweet dream to me.

4. An exotic menu that had something for everybody - including the 20 cent Pick 6'ers.

Have I missed anything?

[lamboguy]

no doubt, Stronach knows how to run good race tracks, not that much in love with all those exotic wagers, but with a handle like that you can get away with it without creating that much long term damage to the game.

[CincyHorseplayer]

There were some good betting races early but overall it wasn't a bet friendly card IMO. I didn't make a single wager after the 8th. There might have been only a few heavy favorites but when you have 3 horses in race after race that are between 2-1 and 3-1 it's hard to really bang that up. That's Turf Paradise on a Monday! But it isn't their fault who enters or doesn't. I bet 3 of the 14 races on the card. By comparison I bet 7 of the 10 on Oaklawn's card. I still look forward to these big stakes days but many of them especially with the bad habit of jamming 5-6 maiden races on the card end up being dominated by chalk and nonsense. And I like using pedigree and trainer information so I'm not ill equipped. Anyway that's my only gripe!

[Appy]

The finale at Oaklawn yesterday(?) was one to make you shake your head and drool at the same time! $93 winner with prices under. The $2 super pd $94K+.

I agree GPX wasn't as good as I hoped for and expected it to be, but that is too often the case with stake heavy cards. Sure is hard to resist the terrific pools though.

[EMD4ME]

Originally Posted by NJ Stinks

Just in case this was missed, Gulfstream proves once again that if you give players what they want, they will play. And just what was the key to this humongous handle? I thought you'd never ask!

IMO:

1. Saturday after Easter is a perfect storm if it collides with Florida Derby Day. The pagans are ready to play!

2. Gulfstream stayed on the turf even after the downpour at the beginning of the card and some rain later on. "How many tracks would have done that?", I ask myself.

3. Eight turf races on a 14 race card. 75 horses ran in those 8 races. Sounds like a sweet dream to me.

4. An exotic menu that had something for everybody - including the 20 cent Pick 6'ers.

Have I missed anything?

All nice things but when you can't time a race properly, it tends to throw a wrench into things