Saturday Card at Belmont

[Sparky13]

[formula_2002]

OUT OF SYSTEM PLAY

TRACK BEL
RACE 12
BET 8

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by Spalding No!

I don't either but the replay bears it out.

Not sure of her history but she was recently cut back & refashioned as turf sprinter.

The question that I have is why Cox/Rosario opted to try to wire the field yesterday when last month Bubble Rock beat many of these from well off the pace in the License Fee?

There was no pace in yesterday's race.

She was always a sprinter, they just spent way too much time mostly running in the wrong races.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by Brass Hat

Fox should be using Serling as their handicapper. There is someone named "The Bear"...not the chef from the TV show. Picked the Chad Brown horse on top of an exacta, fine, but did not include Caravel with his five horses underneath. Huh?

Thanks...but I absolutely despised Caravel's chances and would have booked her.

I was wrong.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by the little guy

Thanks...but I absolutely despised Caravel's chances and would have booked her.

I was wrong.

I like that you are so forthright with your handicapping opinions. Classhandicapper could learn a thing or two from you in that regard.

[dilanesp]

Second biggest victory of the week by a female trainer in New York.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

I like that you are so forthright with your handicapping opinions. Classhandicapper could learn a thing or two from you in that regard.

For me, she was my 14th choice...for him, she was one of 14 that could win.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

Second biggest victory of the week by a female trainer in New York.

People ought to throw tomatoes at you for this comment, not rice...

[pandy]

All three cards, Friday through Sunday, were very good cards and I love that NYRA had the track and turf courses in great condition. Saturday's main track appeared to have a dull rail and favored closers, perhaps because of the drought, but watching classy horses storm home to win from off the pace is exciting so that's fine with me.

It used to drive me nuts when racetracks would soup-up the surface on big days and you'd get a track that strongly favored leavers with artificially fast times.

[lex]

On the Fox thing, should have stuck with their regulars who do a really good job of talking tracing in a way that people can understand and would also have the ability to punch it up a little for a big day with some extra segments. Can't remember what the first race was that was up when Fox went on but they were talking away while a post parade was happening right behind them.

And for the love of everything I though the one thing they would do right is listing the horses on the screen in post position order. Instead they did NBC thing and put them up by odds. I would think even the most casual fan know the number of the horse they like and can find it easier that way.

They did a better job than NBC but missed a real opportunity by skipping over the regulars. Glad Maggie was on and Amoss but the appeal of Amoss to me is his personality that comes out with the other people. I love Mike Smith but he barely talked. Mig is great at discussions on riding. Andy, Paul and Jonathon are great at explaining betting and have personalities. And Pincay and Wolf can absolutely carry the hosting duties.

[Cutter14]

as someone that usually bashes New York racing--The NYRA really put on a fantastic day of racing--the races were loaded with really really nice horses--ty for putting out an excellent day of racing

[ScottJ]

Originally Posted by Cutter14

as someone that usually bashes New York racing--The NYRA really put on a fantastic day of racing--the races were loaded with really really nice horses--ty for putting out an excellent day of racing

Belmont Stakes Day was absolutely the best downstate card in the last five years for sure (since the Justify Belmont in 2018); being realistic, it could be the last decade or more. Pulling together ten-horse-plus graded fields is nearly impossible in the "race less, Breeder's Cup era", but the Racing Office pulled it off with at least half of the entrants having legitimate handicapping angles to make them viable in the wagering.

The early race coverage on FS1 (11:30am-3:00pm) was exceptional and it was great to have the usual faces talking about the horses with a focus on the bettng angles. If you watched the "Big Fox" versus FS1 teams (4:00pm-6:30pm), it was interesting to compare the differences.

You quickly realize just how good Greg Wolf and Laffit Pincay are in the host's chair when we see them on FS1/FS2; Curt Menefee was serviceable on "Big Fox", but was not crisp in his presentation as he seemed strained for racing facts. Menefee was a New York sports reporter on Fox/5 here, but seemed out of step with the Belmont scene.

Tom Amoss carried the "Big Fox" presentation single handedly. The "New York" banter between Tom and Andy might not play nationally, but Tom needed a "foil" on the main desk to challenge him.

Mike Smith really tried and gave worthwhile insights, but Mike and the "mic" do not seem like a match made in heaven. Mike needs to be directly asked the questions rather than trying to create the conversation. Richard Migliore is just flat out better than either Mike Smith or Gary Stevens.

I have no idea how the "Big Fox" paddock crew were selected, but Chris Fallica (who grew up in New York) and Charissa Thompson were not up to the task on Belmont's biggest day.

On the interviewing front, Tom Rinaldi was fine, however an industry insider such as Michelle Yu, Acacia Clement, or Maggie Wolfendale would be my personal preference.

Overall, Fox did a good job on the national feed in their first start with NYRA in the Triple Crown. Unfortunately, too much of the Grade 1 stock was left in the FS1 stable.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by the little guy

For me, she was my 14th choice...for him, she was one of 14 that could win.

Actually, I made her the most likely winner, but bet against her, as I did with Elite Power. Thankfully, I’m not a public handicapper that has to make selections long before I see the odds. So yep, I guess I might have used any of the 14 until I got to see the odds.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I also used White Abbario. I had a small win bet and used him underneath Cody’s Wish.

In the Belmont I left out Forte and National Treasure and boxed the horses that were 1st, 3rd, 4th and 4th in the trifecta.

I lost a few dollars for the weekend, but no real damage.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by the little guy

There was no pace in yesterday's race.

She was always a sprinter, they just spent way too much time mostly running in the wrong races.

Thanks; I couldn't bring myself to actually look at the PPs beyond her basic race record.

I had already made the mistake of actually listening to Stevens' commentary when I watched the replay. Didn't want to go down the rabbit hole any further...

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by Spalding No!

Thanks; I couldn't bring myself to actually look at the PPs beyond her basic race record.

I had already made the mistake of actually listening to Stevens' commentary when I watched the replay. Didn't want to go down the rabbit hole any further...

Gary was right that she was getting out. As you said, it was fairly obvious...unless you agree that Saez moving prematurely would have led to a 3 to 5 length win. Personally, I think that would have led to a 3 to 5 length loss, but what do I know.