ringato3 Wrote:
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> Trying to lay low with the ponies while the
> quality of racing in my home region, NY, is
> extremely poor....
> Rob
I\'ll take it a step further Rob. Winter racing at NYRA has never been worse.
Stakes races with 4, 5 and 6 runners. Full fields of dirt cheap 10K, 12K and
14K claimers. The always formful winter grade NYBs. The occasional $170 winner
put over by top breeder Ken Sherman (if there was truly a pari-mutuel God, this
one would have been taken down by the stewards, the bane of the \"Shermanator\"\'s
existence).
Bad quality racing, but why? A lot of things broke in NYRA\'s favor this winter,
with both Parx and soon Laurel going on hiatus. NYRA has done the right thing
by offering Parx and Laurel horses free shipping to and from NYRA during the
respective closures.
The purse structure for the Winter meet at AQ compares very favorably with the
two winter homes of \"quality\" racing, Gulfstream and Santa Anita.
So why aren\'t we seeing better quality racing at AQ? What can be done to
improve the quality in racing at Ozone Park during the dead of winter?
1) Inner Dirt racing should have its own Racing Secretary or assistant racing
secretary, who concentrates year round on planning for racing over the
inner dirt.
2) Only trainers who have stock which is ready to run over the Inner should be
stabled at the NYRA tracks. I know NYRA will never do this (Stronach might),
but winter racing could really benefit from the construction of a huge indoor
training facility somewhere on Long Island. Move all the horses who are more
than 6 weeks from a race out to the training facility; fill the stalls vacated
by these \"lay ups\" with horseflesh from New Jersey and Finger Lakes; with
horseflesh which has been \"orphaned\" by the closure of tracks in Va. and New
England. NYRA or its successor would be wise to offer incentives (beyond an
already lucrative purse structure) to trainers willing to relocate to NYC for
four or five months every year.
Even if the incentives are offered, maybe no owners/trainers would take the
bait. What could be the reasons for this?
a) Condition books which feature too many races restricted to NYBs. I\'ve said
it before--while there are some advantages of restricted races, I believe that
restricted racing has diluted the year round quality of NY racing for the last
two decades, while at the same time devaluing NY bred runners. End most
restricted racing (maybe only running NYB MSWs and stake races) and let NYBs
run versus open company with a purse enhancement and a weight allowance.
b) I think the perception of a Pa. or Md. owner or trainer with a formful 20K
claimer is that if he/she ships to NYRA, the following will happen: the formful
20K claimer (i) will get beaten by a DJAKE runner dropping from 40K first off
the claim or (ii) will get beaten by a RUDYROD runner who RR claimed for 10K
four days ago; and of course (iii) the 20K shipper will probably be claimed by
DJ or RR.
As you all know, I could go on and on. There are a lot of problems with NYRA
now that have to do with motivation or the lack thereof, which stems from the
fact that there is no job security at NYRA given the imminent (?) privatization
of the NYRA tracks.
I guess one could ask what am I whining about, why don\'t I just sit in Living
Room Downs and watch racing from Stronach Anita or Gulfstro, but for some
reason when racing in what Ringato calls the \"home region\" is poor, I somehow
disconnect from racing on a national level.
But there it is Messrs. Kay and Panza: more free advice. Hire someone who
focuses only on the four or so months that racing is conducted over the inner
tube; for those four months write a realistic condition book and fill the
stable areas with horses who fit those races. This inner dirt \"specialist\"
should be offered an adequate salary, but most of the compensation should be
pegged to something like field size or overall handle.
