Funny read out of Hong Kong

[miff]

\"Physical appraisal in a vacuum has limited usefulness\"

JB,

Next time you are at the track, take a look at any horse entered by Rudy.Their coats look like seals, almost never have their heads down or walk wide or short. I\'ll disagree on limited usefulness as to horses looking poorly, but agree on those looking good.

\"Sight-- what\'s a Beyer Point

Good one JB, in a sprint 1 Beyer point app .40 of a TG point. So 15 Beyer points equals a move up of app 5 TG points. How many hundreds of those have you witnessed over the years?

Mike

[Boscar Obarra]

Having a good read on paddock and warmup is , and may always have been , the biggest edge in the game (other than knowing for sure that a certain low priced horse is not going to run well).

 Sadly, the way most tracks handle the video, it\'s nearly impossible to do a decent job of it remotely.  
 
 Was thinking, the biggest venues (NY, FLA, CAL) could set up 2 or 3 stationary webcams and broadcast the warmups from various angles. This would cost them next to nothing, and might actually get the handle up , from players who need/want information like that.

[sighthound]

>> Sight-- what\'s a Beyer point?

Oh, it\'s another one of that multitude of limited value, apparently arbitrary, subjective performance assessments ....

I\'d put my eye on a horse in the paddock up against most. Seriously, if any horseplayers come to Kee in the spring, I\'d be happy to meet up for an afternoon and point out the basics that every horseplayer should know.

It\'s funny - American trainers are loath to talk openly about their horses, where they are in their preparation, if they need a race before they peak, etc. Probably because our claiming game is so important here.

[miff]

If a groom,asst trainer says boo about a horses physical state in several large NY stables, they are fired on the spot.

[sighthound]

As they should be.

We have a culture of secrecy in American racing. Always have, as horse racing in the US is a long history of owners/trainers profiting from gambling on their own animals.

[TGJB]

Miff-- but even looking that way 75% of Rudy\'s lose, so it\'s of limited usefulness. On the other hand, if you had one that you knew last time did NOT look that way and now does... or one of his that did NOT look that way...

[miff]

JB,

My point is that horses that look/act good pre race and warming up, fare MUCH better than those who act/look warm up poorly.

Mike

[miff]

Saratogian:

John Sabini informed employees of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board Tuesday that he will no longer be the board chairman as of Friday, according to The Saratogian. Sabini, whose salary was $124,476 as of 2010, is not expected to be named in Governor Andrew Cuomo\'s plans for a new state gaming commission.

Sabini is also head of the New York State Breeding and Development Fund and the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

[Frost King]

One thing that almost every trainer does is weigh his horses. Would like to see this information. Especially for younger maturing horses. You would be able to tell who has grown and who has not. Also it would tip you off, if animals have been sick and off their feed, or being out of training.

[Boscar Obarra]

Recent Tour winner claims he\'s a parade man.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/75477/streiff-wins-national-handicapping-tour

TG could theoretically include some kind of parade note in the sheet, and deliver realtime daily updates online.

Lot of work, and you\'d need a real pro(s) to do the eyeballing,  but if the info was good, I\'m sure folks would pay up for it.

[TreadHead]

And while you are at it, integrating workout feedback from someone who has previously shown good knowledge at a specific circuit (Harringtons A/B/C ratings sheet for California comes to mind) would be great as well.  

Again, a ton of work and expense there, but I love the idea of seeing As Bs Cs as workouts on a sheet in between each of the races.  It gives a more visual picture for how often the horse has been training and how condition might be trending.

Understand this might be next to impossible for smaller circuits (Delta, Mountaineer, Beulah, etc), but even getting this in at the major tracks would be interesting.