tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post9193397104231763622..comments2024-03-05T05:38:22.024-05:00Comments on Left at the Gate: Slow WednesdayAlan Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12570505944559196118noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-18750507363022685952008-07-31T21:35:00.000-04:002008-07-31T21:35:00.000-04:00I agree with GM Punter. Nobody has invested the $...I agree with GM Punter. Nobody has invested the $$$ and effort to create a "perfect" foundation for a dirt track which is always step one for a synthetic.<BR/><BR/>I'm beginning to believe that the best will skip the 2008 Synth at the BC (which makes me wonder about my investment in tix, airfare, and hotel expenses).<BR/><BR/>Wondering about attendance and handle at the Spa? How about tommorrow's undercard for race quality? And again, don't forget about attracting fans to week 3...ljkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15345829432231688681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-49782788353149439032008-07-31T10:31:00.000-04:002008-07-31T10:31:00.000-04:00Rototilling the artifical surface at Del Mar you s...Rototilling the artifical surface at Del Mar you say? Huh? You can't make this stuff up, can you? Why should NY tracks give one smidgen of consideration to installing artificial surfaces? If NY holds out for dirt I think NY will prevail in any competition for top Grade I stock. You'll have a two tier championship: The NY champion, who will be recognized as The Champ, and a SoCal champ who will be recognized as an artificial surface champ, Breeders Cup or no Breeders Cup. That's competition, that's business.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Synthethic surfaces remind me of the boondoggle that was artifical turf on athletic fields. Took years to perfect the stuff after dealing with the unintended, unintended consequences, i.e., more injuries created than it prevented. Most baseball and football fields went back to natural turf, didn't they? Why should NYRA tracks lower the bar just because SoCal tracks were forced to?<BR/><BR/> It seems to me that racing would be better advised to pursue improved dirt tracks with properly engineered base layers to insure that drainage is swift and complete following rain storms. I think going to synthetic surfaces in NY would be a big and costly mistake when there is a better alternative that preserves natural surfaces. /S/Green Mtn PunterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-37412116795405131172008-07-31T09:58:00.000-04:002008-07-31T09:58:00.000-04:00OK Bob, here it is, from last year's Saratogian:Mo...OK Bob, <A HREF="http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18645449&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=664109&rfi=8" REL="nofollow">here it is</A>, from last year's Saratogian:<BR/><BR/>Monday brought 12,224 people, a bit over last year's opening Monday crowd of 12,054.Alan Mannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12570505944559196118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-11242805613513003782008-07-31T09:52:00.000-04:002008-07-31T09:52:00.000-04:00Bob - I looked back in my archives to see if I'd n...Bob - I looked back in my archives to see if I'd noted it here, but whaddya know, I was at <A HREF="http://leftatthegate.blogspot.com/2007/07/this-is-view-from-balcony-off-our.html" REL="nofollow">Del Mar</A>! Wish I was there again!Alan Mannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12570505944559196118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-32233313064842549172008-07-31T09:39:00.000-04:002008-07-31T09:39:00.000-04:00Hi Alan - would you happen to know what Saratoga's...Hi Alan - would you happen to know what Saratoga's attendance was for the first Monady last year ? Thanks.<BR/><BR/>Bob from NJAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-53402944562515810362008-07-31T08:34:00.000-04:002008-07-31T08:34:00.000-04:00Another example of a 'Win and you're in' victor wh...Another example of a 'Win and you're in' victor who might not have otherwise slipped into the BC. Yesterday everyone was expecting Big Booster to snag the Cougar II Handicap at Del Mar. <BR/><BR/>However waiting at the back of the pack and never making a move until entering the stretch was not the best plan when everyone let Zappa already build a big lead and the pace non-existant.<BR/><BR/>That was a great run (mixed with luck) that earned Zappa, the 6-yr old gelding, a gate in the BC Marathon. <BR/><BR/>Final time 2:30.30 on the faster Del Mar synthetic. Evening Attire did the same 1 1/2 distance in the Greenwood in 2:29.90Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com