I'll Have Another treatments prior to Belmont

[kekomi]

i don\'t know, your overweening sense of self-importance and inability to accurately reflect on your own short comings, coupled with your inability to debate with facts and logic, and only with insults and snark, would argue otherwise

[TGJB]

Kekomi-- yeah, it\'s amazing horses aren\'t dropping dead left and right. Which they would have to be, according to you, because MORE likely means VERY likely. Right? I mean, \"eventually\", as you said.

I\'ve been responsible for the purchase and management of somewhere between 250 and 300 myself, including 87 that have won stakes for my clients. I have gotten no reports of an epidemic of adverse outcomes. It\'s also amazing that Drape missed this, given the focus of his stories.

While we\'re waiting for Sight to tear your head off-- the problem isn\'t that you think you know everything (which as you have pointed out happens pretty often on boards, even this one), it\'s that you think you\'re the ONLY one that knows ANYTHING. Both times you\'ve come on here recently you\'ve started from the jump with insults to the other posters here (the first time using the condscending \"sigh\", which made me wax nostalgic, since it was the patented move of one of the more annoying people ever to post here. After getting thoroughly spanked he took a walk and now posts under a different name at the Brand X site).

This site is populated by a lot of people who are pros in this game, one way or another, and by a lot of other smart, informed, sophisticated fans, like yourself. It\'s not your average racing board, it\'s the top one, by a lot. Yes, there\'s the occasional yo-yo, but those here do a good job weeding them out, even without my help. You are welcome to come here, but if you do, come correct.

[phil23]

Mike/Jerry/all - Do you think if we had serious rationalization and contraction, thing could turn around?  As in something like the Hong Kong model.  Many many fewer races, but all with top class stock (and of course hard core testing).  And I\'m talking big time downsizing.  For instance - we have the Jim Dandy, the West Virginia Derby, the Haskel (and even the Curlin...who the hell runs the same race at the same track for the same horses the day before the big race...insane) all set to be run for the exact same horses within a 2 week window. Instead of what surely will be 6 or 7 horse fields,  What if we only had the Jim Dandy.  Kill Monmouth (and any track smaller than it of course). We\'d then have a 14 horse top class Jim Dandy, which would no longer be a prep but a great grade1 in and of itself.  

Basically, the only tracks we keep are NY, CALI, and KY.  Would this work? Would we then have such large field sizes and top class runners running against each other often enough that the handle increase would allow takeout reductions (maybe down to say 10%...or god forbid less) and of course, the holy grail, big TV contracts?

[TGJB]

And by the way-- one of the things that people who are in this business understand is that the mechanics of a race horse have to be perfect, or close to it. You\'re dealing with a very large amount of weight coming down very hard on a few very small parts. If a horse changes his stride because he is feeling discomfort, even minor discomfort, he is liable to change his motion and hurt something ELSE, sometimes fatally. It\'s similar to pitchers hurting their arms by altering their throwing motions.

This, by the way, is almost certainly why horses are much more likely to go wrong after huge efforts, especially when not getting enough time to recover. It\'s why I\'ve done a pretty good (ahem) job of being able to predict a few of them.

Given the economics of the sport--of all sports-- you can\'t always give every athlete an unlimited (or even ideal) amount of time to let nature deal with all ailments. So some times relieving discomfort PREVENTS further (and worse) injury.

[miff]

Phil,

Think Gulfstream winter meet very good also.Contraction necessary but with States starving for revenue it will be tough. Lots of talk about re-directing slot money from racing to general State funds which will benefit racings overall quality after non slot subsidized venues fold, and they will.

Racing in desperate need of intra-state cooperation but doubtful any state will take what is a lesser position just to benefit racing game.Parochial views/political capital will always dominate amongst politicians.

Mike

[miff]

Yo Kek,

Big pair to take on someone who has their hands in the belly of the beast every day. Whats you\'re credentials, Internet Wikipedia?


Mike

[phil23]

Thanks for reply Mike.  And yes, of course, meant to include GULF for winter as well.  Think you\'re bang on about the cooperation aspect. We can hope I suppose.

[sighthound]

You said that NSAIDS can not interrupt the inflammatory cascade - that that class of drug cannot be preventative.

You said that any medical or scientific person that said differently was a liar.

Your statement is so factually, laughably false and silly, disproven by 100 years of scientific and clinical research in humans and animals (anybody here have rheumatoid arthritis? osteoarthritis?) your statement is beyond absurd for it\'s gross ignorance.

I posted a basic college physiology-level chart of the inflammatory cascade that proves you wrong.  

You clearly don\'t even have a clue what all the stuff on that chart means.  You ignore it.

That you have zero real knowledge of how the drugs you speak of interact with the physiologic mechanisms of that chart reveals your total gross ignorance of the subject.  

You possess zero of the basic science necessary to discuss the subject.

You are standing there demanding NASA prove the moon landing was true, because you don\'t believe it, because you don\'t understand high school physics.  

Yes.  You are wrong.  NSAIDS can be preventative.  And that is a well-known, definitively-proven, hard scientific fact, having nothing to do with how much you feel like getting pissy, angry or insulting.

Oh, yeah:  and anybody that thinks, like you do, that race horses are kept constantly dehydrated, \"almost permanently though lasix and water pulling.\" is a completely ignorant idiot.

[miff]

\"What professionals are you referring to\"

Hi Frank,

I differ, the sky is not falling. Re professionals,broadly,non politically appointed stooges for starters. My call would be a blend of Casino and Corporate type execs.

Check out the performance of State run racing venues across the country.The level of incompetency is off the charts. To a lesser extent, that would also apply to racing organizations like the Jockey Club,NTRA and the rest.The state of the game is largely a reflection of the unsatisfactory job performance by it\'s stewards.In spite of the efforts of a few to change the game for the better,inertia prevails.

Good to see someone of Dr.Bramleges ilk counter some of the bullshit being spewed by Joe Dope and co at the NY Times.Game has issues but needs defenders to at least paint a picture closer to present reality,maybe then something constructive can occur.

Very good luck at the Spa.Try to avoid at least some of the Kool Aid stands, have asked Jimbo to keep you on the straight and narrow.

Mike

[miff]

surprising re NYRA Board

Bloodhorse:

....The New York Post, citing unidentified sources, said Cuomo has decided to wait until the Saratoga meet ends on Sept. 3 before acting. Saratoga will be “the last hurrah for the blue bloods who have controlled the board for so long,” the Post quoted an unnamed source as saying\"

[FrankD.]

Mike,

Jimbo & straight and narrow in the same sentence? Talk about oxymoron\'s; throw in Richiebee and Moi and you definitely have the 3 Stooges for Diana/Jim Dandy weekend.

Clockers & exercise riders may be more important than Kool Aide stands at this meet with the number of firsters. I\'ve been up to Oklahoma a few mornings, it was like a stampede until the main track opened for training. I spent a lot of my formative betting years hanging around clockers row with Cole & Trubia back in the day.

Please give me a shout when you come up. We had a great Mexican meal at Cantina on Saturday night and the town is already jumping.

The turf courses got some needed rain over the weekend and a bit more coming on Wednesday, opening weekend will be in the 80\'s, no rain, low humidity.

Good luck,

Frank D.

[richiebee]

Open Note to Gov Andy:

The \"Blue Bloods\" -- Phipps, Whitney, Vanderbilt, Mellon -- presided over decade
after decade of iconic NY racing, especially at Saratoga and Belmont.

When the POLITICIANS got involved -- your Sheldon Silvers, your Joseph Brunos,
your David Dinkins (who made possibly the worst NYC political appointment ever
when he named Hazel Dukes of the NAACP, a woman who admitted that she didn\'t know
which end of a horse s--ts and which end eats, to head NYCOTB) -- NY Racing began
to smell like a stall which has been \"parlayed\" for two or three days.

Likely that the delay due to the fact that enough qualified (and properly
politically connected) candidates for NYRA\'s new board can not be found.

Speaking of OTB, the reportedly upscale NJ OTB branch opens on Tuesday in
Bayonne, New Jersey, just a few miles via the crumbling Bayonne Bridge from
Staten Italy. Run by the same people who operate the popular NJ OTB facility in
Woodbridge, I expect to see some of the familiar disenfranchised faces from the
long closed NYC OTB branches on Richmond Avenue and Hylan Blvd.

Speaking of the Woodbridge facility, I must make a confession: My middle name is
not \"Garmin\". Three times I have set out from SI looking for the Woodbridge
facility, each time armed with a Mapquest printout. On my first sortie, I ended
up near Rahway Prison; my second attempt saw me visiting the long abandoned GM
plant in Linden NJ. I threw my hands up during my third attempt, jumped on the
Garden State Parkway, and drove 45 minutes to Monmouth Park.

The Bayonne facility is right on Rte 440, hard to imagine I can miss it...

[miff]

Bee,

Favorites:


440 South over Outerbridge becomes 287 North to Route 1 North exit straight on 1 North to Ford Ave exit, left turn at Stop, straight to Favorites Parking lot on right(30 min tops)

I defy you to get lost!

Daughter passed new \"Winners\" in Bayonne,reportedly looks much better than any NYC OTB,pretty easy.

NYRA still trying to get permission to open 7-8 super OTB/Restaurants,like Favorites. Amazingly Upstate Politicians are trying to pass a bill allowing Capital OTB(WTF??) to open these 7-8 super OTB/Restaurants in the 5 NYC Boroughs. Capital OTB,not NYRA, makes perfect sense!!

Mike

P.S. Dont ever ask Jersey Jimbo for directions to Favs, he usually gets lost en route,calls me for directions in spite of Mercedes GPS!

[twoshoes]

I sure hope they reach for professionals, because my current nightmare is that of the state getting NYRA up to the level of competence of say NYC OTB or even the Thruway Authority..... with Joe Percoco as Racing Secretary.