Dont know JB, but they are talking a 40% annual reduction in races and you would
hope that they would be able to apply a stricter testing regimen under those
circumstances.
John Forbes hit the nail on the head. The 40% reduction in races and the
competition for these swollen purses will probably be the death knell for some of
the smaller stables, to which Forbes replied pithily: \"The smaller horsemen don\'t
have the kind of horses the public wants to bet on.\"
Outside the box: I never liked thoroughbred racing at the \"Ghettolands\", but I
would love to see a night/summertime meeting at the Atlantic City facility--
they could race weeknights (Monmouth plans to race only during the weekend, nyet?)
and provide an outlet for some of the stables/horses which would not be able to
compete at the prime Mth meet. Maybe also run alot of the NJ Bred races at AC.
Hal \"take the High Road\" Handel, COO of the SS NYRAtanic, put a mad positive spin
on Monmouth\'s bold plan, saying that Monmouth\'s purses would draw great horses
from all over the country to the Northeast Region, and Saratoga would benefit
from the presence of this horseflesh.
Of course if NYRA hadn\'t fallen in with the New York State Breeders years ago,
these great horses and stables from all over North America would have been coming
to Saratoga all along.
As a racing fan, I look at it this way: April: Keeneland; May KY Derby; June/July/
Aug/Sep high quality racing at Mth/Sara/WO/Del Mar(protecting myself from a P-Dub
attack); Oct Kee; Nov. Breeders Cup. Kinda Sweet.
