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Old 02-02-2013, 07:37 PM   #1
jasperson
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Bends at Aqueduct

Has anybody else noticed that most of the horses at Aqueduct are shod with bends? I have noted that those who are not rarely finish in the money. I was going to bet the 2nd favorite #6 in the 1st race but he was picking up 7lbs from his last race and on the shoe board he didn't have bends so I passed him. He finished in the back of the pack.
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Old 02-03-2013, 12:19 AM   #2
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Good thing to look for, thanks for posting.
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Old 02-03-2013, 01:49 AM   #3
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I track a lot of things but too lazy to mark those down and none of the pubs do it for me.

Does anyone have stats on this that are meaningful?
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Old 02-03-2013, 03:20 AM   #4
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Back in the 50's and 60's, if it was raining, my Dad would always check the shoe board for "mud caulks". His theory was that if a trainer spent the money to change the shoes, he meant business. It was amazing as to how many live horses he came up with.

Today, if a trainer does not invest in equipment that will help the horse, he is probably saying to himself "why waste the $100".
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Old 02-03-2013, 04:23 AM   #5
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The options they have today are limited compared to what they were before the ban. I think you see alot of the 1/4 inch bends , shod behind , that's the limit and in front likely the Queen's Plate . Only the flat plates are allowed .

I've read statements that Pletcher and Asmussen didn't use the toe grabs and caulks . I think that was in NY though as later , Pletcher has said during Derby , Oaks preps , that he was using the rear bends , Churchill , wet or dry track .
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Old 02-03-2013, 07:32 AM   #6
Ernie Dahlman
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nijinski
The options they have today are limited compared to what they were before the ban. I think you see alot of the 1/4 inch bends , shod behind , that's the limit and in front likely the Queen's Plate . Only the flat plates are allowed .

I've read statements that Pletcher and Asmussen didn't use the toe grabs and caulks . I think that was in NY though as later , Pletcher has said during Derby , Oaks preps , that he was using the rear bends , Churchill , wet or dry track .
Pletcher used caulks on many of his stake horses, you are correct on Asmussen. They both use bends on almost all their horses, although they each won a race at Aqueduct yesterday with plain shod horses (Mordi's Miracle and Cluster of Stars). I'm just posting about NYRA tracks. In my opinion NYRA should announce all shoe changes before the start of the day, just as they announce all other changes. They confuse most bettors by announcing "shoe changes" when in fact most horses are wearing the same shoes as they wore in their previous race. For the record, Cluster of Stars was announced as wearing bends but I was told she wasn't.
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Old 02-03-2013, 07:50 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ntheiroff
Back in the 50's and 60's, if it was raining, my Dad would always check the shoe board for "mud caulks". His theory was that if a trainer spent the money to change the shoes, he meant business. It was amazing as to how many live horses he came up with.

Today, if a trainer does not invest in equipment that will help the horse, he is probably saying to himself "why waste the $100".

I used to check for mud caulks in NY on rainy days and I did feel much more confident if the horse I was betting had them on. But NYRA changed the rules to stop the use of caulks, I believe in October of 2008. I think the reason they gave was to avoid breakdowns but many top trainers said that the caulks were not bad for horses. Personally I always felt that NYRA banned caulks because they felt that horses using caulks had an unfair advantage and wanted to protect bettors.

Allen Jerkens was one of the trainers who used mud caulks and if The Chief used them you can be sure that they were not bad for horses.

Does anyone know, are these bends 1/4 inch bends? Are all bends being used at Aqueduct the same?
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Old 02-03-2013, 08:48 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by pandy
I used to check for mud caulks in NY on rainy days and I did feel much more confident if the horse I was betting had them on. But NYRA changed the rules to stop the use of caulks, I believe in October of 2008. I think the reason they gave was to avoid breakdowns but many top trainers said that the caulks were not bad for horses. Personally I always felt that NYRA banned caulks because they felt that horses using caulks had an unfair advantage and wanted to protect bettors.

Allen Jerkens was one of the trainers who used mud caulks and if The Chief used them you can be sure that they were not bad for horses.

Does anyone know, are these bends 1/4 inch bends? Are all bends being used at Aqueduct the same?
They are at most 1/4 inch, sometimes less. More will get your horse scratched unless his name is Cigar.
I don't believe protecting bettors is high on the Jockey Club's agenda.
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Old 02-03-2013, 09:07 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Ernie Dahlman
They are at most 1/4 inch, sometimes less. More will get your horse scratched unless his name is Cigar.
I don't believe protecting bettors is high on the Jockey Club's agenda.
I think the reason given for banning caulks was that they were harmful to the horses. I never understood how a horse having better traction was harmful. As for protecting bettors,I don't think Jockey Club cares at all about the bettors. They don't have supers in races with entries to protect the bettor or if a field has too few entries. The Jockey Club doesn't think the bettors can figure this out. Overall,the Jockey Club puts the bettor on the low end of the spectrum.
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Old 02-03-2013, 09:11 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ernie Dahlman
They are at most 1/4 inch, sometimes less. More will get your horse scratched unless his name is Cigar.
I don't believe protecting bettors is high on the Jockey Club's agenda.
Nor the tracks.
No need for slots money to implement this improvement TODAY.
I'm sure this info could be worked into the pre-race prattles.
Maybe Bobby Flay will speak out for us all.....
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Old 02-03-2013, 09:21 AM   #11
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One of the things I look for all the time when the track is not dry. Unfortunately when I bet from home, there is no live feed from NY tracks on NJBets. I have to go to Favorites, The Big M or else where to watch.
They do post the bends changes on the live feed, usually about 10 minutes to post. Just check the scrolling race changes at the bottom of the screen. Just wondering how many horses with excellent off-track breeding are the one who don't use them and still win?
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Old 02-03-2013, 10:33 AM   #12
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Nice that the tracks understand their customers so well.
No excuses.
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Old 02-03-2013, 11:28 AM   #13
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The definition of "mud caulks" has changed over the years.

Years ago, mud caulks, or mud stickers, were simply a sticker on the outside of the rear shoes.

Jar caulks were stickers midway on the sides of both front shoes.

Over time, the use of stickers on the rear shoes became less prevalent, and what was previously known as jar caulks became known as mud caulks.

The biggest complaint about these mud caulks (today's definition) is that too many trainers were using them on dry tracks. When they were known as jar caulks, it had nothing to do with mason jars. It had everything to do with the action it had when those stickers grabbed the racing surface. This "jarring" is especially pronounced on dry tracks, and most vets and blacksmiths will tell you that they add a couple of lengths, but at the cost of front end soundness.

Unfortunately, many trainers today consider their horses expendable and have no hesitation to gain an advantage at any cost.

Hence, the ban.
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Old 02-03-2013, 12:24 PM   #14
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I thought NYRA banned the caulks. If it was the Jockey Club then it was definitely not because of betting issues.
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Old 02-03-2013, 01:11 PM   #15
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It's got to help to know how the trainer typically operates with shoes.

I like the "cost" angle though. Few are going to spend extra money for anything unless the horse is live enough to a earn piece of the purse.
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