fasteddie Wrote:
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> PJ gets a bad rap! He does what all racing
> secretary\'s are supposed to do. He makes his cards
> based on the horses on the grounds
PJ is not the \"Racing Secretary\". He is the \"Director of Racing\" As such
he is responsible for the horses on the grounds.
> Racing in general has suffered from the declining
> foal crops, and quality is thin. I will take issue
> with the complaints about the claiming races, as
> even the \"cheap\" ones are loaded with 50%
> drop-downs because the purses are so rich. 38K and
> up for 20 claiming??? Mdn Clm for purses that are
> MdSpWts at most tracks??
Agree about the dwindling foal crop. Add to the fact that horses
(though arguably faster, ahem) are not as sound as they once were,
thanks to a seriously diluted gene pool, and you have horses making less
starts per year, a situation exacerbated by the inflation of purses, which
means even a \"cheap\" horse can make a decent living for its connections by
starting only eight or nine times per year. But there are other factors
which should have driven quality horses to NY.
> Yes, too many state-bred and maidens, etc. but
> this is what is available to write the cards, and
> the handle is doing quite fine thanks to full
> fields. I hate playing 5-horse Alw races,and will
> take my chances with a nice full field of turf
> maidens.
All sources handle only up marginally halfway through, a 6.5
increase in wagering from all sources, which should be reduced
slightly for the fact that 9 more races were run this year than last
year.
As to twelve horse maiden races on the turf, you certainly are \"taking
your chances\": bad trips, placement of turf rails, and of course,
main track onlys. Of the 119 races carded for the turf halfway through,
26 ended up on the main track.
PJ Campo has done an awful job this summer. I may be the only one
who thinks so, and there is nothing that can happen in the last 3 weeks
of racing to change my mind.
