Aqueduct benefits from extra turf racing

[groupie doll]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

Some of these turf races are very good betting races.

I couldn't agree more

Originally Posted by Tom

That is why I love OP - NO TURF!
I hate turf racing for the most part.

aaaand... my polar opposite! Hello inverse-doppelganger.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by pandy

It's ironic, too, that so many people complained about synthetic tracks because they think that horses should run on dirt, but now we're steadily transforming to a turf-first product instead and there are less and less races conducted on dirt. I wonder when the breeders are going to catch up with this, because they're still breeding for speed and dirt, for the most part. Fortunately, American Pharoah has turned out to be a strong turf sire.

I have the data to research it but haven't had the time. If I had to make a guess based just on observation I'd say the quality of turf racing in the US has been increasing in recent years and the gap between the US and Europe has narrowed a bit at the top. We bring in a lot more Euros, Chad is bringing in young unraced Euros, and we've had a few decent sire with AP adding to the list.

I'm not a huge fan of betting the cheaper races littered with 1st time turfers and horses going back and forth with off the turf performances mixed in but I love the high quality races.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by Tom

That is why I love OP - NO TURF!

I'm looking forward to playing OP as my primary track this winter. The quality of racing should be very high and when you have 9-10 dirt races it's a little easier to figure out how a track was playing than when there are 3, 4,or 5 dirt races sandwiched between turf races and the dirt surface is sometimes not getting watered consistency for each race and changing.

[Robert Fischer]

much prefer dirt

once in a while there is either a really mispriced and easy turf race, and of course the higher class turf races are enjoyable

in general i'm a dirty old man

[castaway01]

It's not so much that I "prefer" turf as that I prefer competitive races with some nice prices more than I prefer 5-horse dirt fields.

[groupie doll]

guess I am in the minority... wouldn't be the first time!

[Michael]

Originally Posted by castaway01

It's not so much that I "prefer" turf as that I prefer competitive races with some nice prices more than I prefer 5-horse dirt fields.

I've pretty much stepped away from racing due to short fields. Short fields in combination with drastically huge odds drops after the horses leave the gates was the last straw. Figured, might as well spend my time doing other things in life. My tendency to bet smaller tracks compounded these issues and that's on me.

That said, the late fall turf racing at Aqu has been awesome.... seeing full fields of 12 leave the gate was something I really missed.

and yes, I hate to be "that guy" sounding like a broken record with regards to short fields and betting post bell... but, it seems as if betting races these days is dictated by the short fields. Playing horizontal, seems like one of the only ways to bet these fields... betting p-3, pick 4s and pick 5s just isn't how I want to spend my time. but to each their own.

If the future holds more 12 horse fields.. I welcome more turf in the future.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by castaway01

You really disliked Aqueduct's November racing? There were a ton of good opportunities at great prices, mostly on the turf. I thought it was great. I played a lot more Aqueduct than usual just for that reason.

I don't even look at Aqueduct racing. Other than a stake if someone starts a thread about it here on weekends. I have no use whatsoever for 90% of NYRA racing. Any track, any surface, any time. Used to love Bel andSar turf racing, but last few years I find it a a waste of time. Give me Parx any day

[Tom]

Originally Posted by castaway01

It's not so much that I "prefer" turf as that I prefer competitive races with some nice prices more than I prefer 5-horse dirt fields.

That is not the case everywhere. Not all tracks have such a limited supply of dirt horses as NYRA does.