Thank You, PJ

[richiebee]

I work crazy hours during the week. I can begin to see the weekend oasis about
the time that Saturday\'s NYRA entries come out on Wednesday.

Looking at Saturday\'s Saratoga card, I must congratulate PJ Campo. 11 races,
average field size 10 runners. I mean who really cares that 5 of the races are
for maidens and four of the other races are for bottom (20K) claimers?

The Camporegime has not just blurred the once clear distinction between upstate
and downstate racing, they have totally obliterated it

[FrankD.]

Worry not Mr. Bee, Saturday is going to be a complete wash out. TGAB will have his mud caulks on.

Look at tomorrows early pick 4; 3 maiden races none of which has a full 8 horse field and a bottom claimer, a pick 4 sequence generally with a 250,000 pool and 28 horses entered.

Miff is in town for a couple of days, I couldn\'t get up today with work and my Mom\'s 80th birthday but plan on being there tomorrow. I have to meet the man who makes me seem open minded!!!!

Apprentice Dylan Davis (son of Robbie) gets his first win tomorrow for Wesley Ward in the 2nd on Jacksalildevil.

Good luck,

Frank D.

[PapaChach]

I know I\'m sounding like a broken record around here, but just wanted to publicly concur w/richie\'s sentiments, because this is an utter embarrassment. How often have many of us said something like this sentence the past few years: \"this must be the worst Saratoga Saturday card I\'ve ever seen!

If the calendar read 1770 or so Campo would be getting tarred and feathered for this.

And by the way, their press release for their \"we\'re going to take policing the game seriously for the Travers, otherwise, carry on\" thingy has a glaring, stupid typo in it (\"Horses will be have out-of-competition blood testing taken August 22.)

Hopefully all the rumors of Cuomo\'s posse cleaning house after the meet are true and those who have helped run the NY game into the ground \"will be have\" out-of-employment forms to fill out.

On the brighter side, Keeneland\'s right around the corner.

[FrankD.]

Papa,

Being local like you I know many who work at the track and the melancholy attitude this year is atrocious. No one gives a F#$%, supervisors don\'t know if they have a job next month, stewards, track crew, etc... down the road.

The last week is going to be like Belmont for the past several big events lacking in food, beverage and ample staffing.

It\'s ugly to see in what we all thought would be a marquee racing meet with the addition of the short lived slot money.

FD

[PapaChach]

Frank,

My clean-house hopes are directed strictly at the upper management levels, not at the people who make the place go on a day to day basis. I\'ve heard second-hand from some friends who know people same thing you have about the attitude around the place.

I think a bad racing quality meet with an ugly ending like you describe is going to give Cuomo &co more ammo to take the slots money away, ASAP. Not even a diehard can look at a card like Saturday\'s and come up with a good answer to the question, what happened, I thought the VLT money was gonna turn things around? I\'m just thinking at this point, some version of starting from something like scratch couldn\'t be any worse...but as they say, be careful what you wish for...

[banditbeau]

Looks like Frank D. is back in the weather business.  Good meeting him last Saturday where he correctly stated \"it will not rain today\" despite 90+ degree temperatures and high humidity that had Frank looking like a Popsicle in the Sahara!  The sweat was running down so fast that Julian had his glasses fogged up! After his correct weather prediction for the Spa on Saturday, our morning line was 3/5 that he would nail what appeared to be a tougher forecast for Sunday\'s seminar and save us handicapping the turf races Saturday night for both turf and mud on Sunday. Alas, Frank was a now show?  While as Indian Charlie says \"we never let the truth get in the way of a good story, rumor has it Frank was a vet scratch from the weather department after he was apparently spotted on Union Avenue selling well done pizza\'s from the pizza shack that burned across the street the night before after bleeding his bankroll dry on Saturday??
 
Needless to say, our handicapping seminar Saturday produced many opinions but very little success at the windows.  However Julian did offer some great insight on sheet reading. He also highlighted the $25 winner of the first, and the $16 winner of the Whitney,and the $240 tri in the 7th.

Sunday he pointed the small group towards the FTS $8 winner of the 3rd, the $36 winner of the 7th, and in the 11th said \"any of these 7 could win-and it is probably the only reason I will stay all day so as to see what kind of odds there are - 1,4,5,6,10,11,14\" from the 13 that went to the post. While that did not necessarily narrow the field to a clear picture the 11,1,6 tri paid $11k, and the 11,1,6,4 super $74k! To his credit he made these comments in the aforementioned heat using sheets printed individually by Kinko\'s. The books did not arrive for him so the sheets were faxed to him and as a result he had about 200 sheets of paper to rifle through, trying to keep them in order, and beat the heat!  That was a feat in and of itself. So, thanks for the thoughts presented Julian, and FrankD., good to see you are back in the saddle again!  bb

[FrankD.]

Saturday (314 Views)
Posted by: FrankD. (IP Logged)
Date: August 04, 2012 08:54AM



90\'s and very humid today requiring a few trips to the beer garden.
I\'m hoping the T-storms hold off until after the races tomorrow.

Accuracy banditbeau, we strive for accuracy here!
If your not privy to a Gregorian calendar? Sunday August 5th was the tomorrow.

As far as the pizza; \" I don\'t know nutin\"

LMAO

Frank D.

[Upper Nile]

Almont half way thru the meet and there\'s still no audible sound available in many locations of the plant including the clubhouse apron. The one exception is right behind Carolina BBQ just when you don\'t want sound, when the seminars take place.

[miff]

There is money for a new sound system so there is no longer any excuse.Can\'t  tell who will be in charge after the SPA meet but the rumors on what Cuomo\'s team wants to do with NY Racing is ugly.Talking about NYRA being run more like any other NYS Agency,seems unimaginable.

[PapaChach]

nyra\'s already run like a poorly-run state agency, so hard to see how it could get much worse. of course as a ny racing fan, cuomo\'s obvious hatred of the game does make me very nervous. not sure it\'s realistic option but best thing might be to put the franchise up for bid and hope magna or cd bites, though not sure who\'d be interested given slots money will soon be gone. and to think i used to be a frank-o-phobe...

[miff]

No takers in the private sector for NYRA franchise without serious subsidies/tax breaks. Already been looked at.

[TGJB]

Believe me, it can get much worse than NYRA. Watch.

[Niall]

And another viewpoint ... I think the extra weekend has zapped some of the energy from the place ...

http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/8243247/too-much-good-thing

[richiebee]

A good article, but I was inclined to stop reading when, midway through, Moran
said \"The racing [at Saratoga] has been quite good and keenly competitive.\"

What is so \"good\" about four races for bottom claimers on a Saturday in the
middle of what is supposed to be the best month of racing in the US?

[richiebee]

FrankD. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Worry not Mr. Bee, Saturday is going to be a
> complete wash out. TGAB will have his mud caulks
> on.

Frank:
 
Will never question your Eclipse nominated weather forcasts, but the amateurs at
Weather Channel are saying that Friday, not Saturday, will be the washout.

Would love an accurate update before I start my homework tonight for Saturday.