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Zorro and Adrian, I’m not saying that my view is right, I was just trying to explain my lack of interest.
The thought of studying the American form just doesn’t appeal, I’m afraid. I can see the attraction of seeing all these good horses in the flesh but I am very unlikely to be ever in that position.
Colin
"If I could stick to betting on the big international meetings, including this one of course, I would be a rich man now"
Send me your betting bank and your selections and I’ll only put your money on those selections you make at the big international meetings.
Job’s a good ‘un.
(Apart from the small matter of my not inconsiderable commission, handling fees, gratuities, etc)
Cormack, I can’t do that. I will bet four or five in each race and won’t make up my mind on some of them until the last minute. I will be looking for horses that are overpriced on one or other of the betting mediums. I will be doing exactas and trifectas the same way. I’m not dogmatic yet about anything, although I am pretty sure I’ll be laying Curlin.
Cormack, I can’t do that. I will bet four or five in each race and won’t make up my mind on some of them until the last minute. I will be looking for horses that are overpriced on one or other of the betting mediums. I will be doing exactas and trifectas the same way. I’m not dogmatic yet about anything, although I am pretty sure I’ll be laying Curlin.
How you write a blog is beyond me…
These international "Group 1 festivals", quite apart from being pinnacles of the sport (at least to some of us non-xenophobes), offer outstanding betting opportunities.
You’ve got the choice of taking UK bookmakers’ prices or a local pari-mutuel price. Usually at the BC, that means in effect, no overround or even an underround. As is well-known, the general rule is to back the UK horses at pari-mutuel prices, and American horses at UK prices.
In particular, some of the top American horses, especially those which have been specially laid out for the BC and have already run well on the surface, are at pretty tasty prices in this country.
Only two complaints about a quality meeting –
1) The yanks insistance on everything they do in their own country being the "World" championship being carried in to their racing.
2) The diluting of the quality with all these new races is for the poorer, same as Cheltenam.
Blogging interferes badly with my punting Aragorn.
I always think nobody reads it anyway.I’m astonished by this thread and, whilst I understand the contributions may make up the majority of British opinion, I cannot grasp why.
I love my British racing – jump racing and point to pointing in particular – but how can you say that ordinary meetings at home are more interesting than this spectacular.
I think an event such as Breeders’ Cup weekend polarises the divide between the more holistically-minded racing enthusiast and the inveterate racing punter like few others (and before anyone writes in, I’m well aware there are many shades of grey in between).
The BC meeting may be far higher quality racing than much / anything else that will be run this weekend, but that won’t be represented in terms of market liquidity. A quick glance on Betfair reveals that the following amounts have been matched ante-post for each Santa Anita contest so far;
Classic – 42.980
Turf – 7,744
Mile – 6,132
Marathon – 1,134
Juvenile – 1,057
Spint – 1,050
Turf Sprint – 1,034
Dirt Mile – 1,022
Juvenile Turf – 243Even allowing for the likelihood of greater interest a lot closer to the off-times of each race, and for the periodic suspension of the markets for each race (they’re suspended just now, for example), those strike me as very poor figures with only around two and a half days until the “off”.
To add just a little context to the figures, the Classic’s matched figure is less than that of each of the three biggest races at next year’s Cheltenham Festival; and there are only two races being run in Britain this afternoon (the seller and the 2m chase at Ludlow) for which less than £1,500 has already been matched, despite the comparative ordinariness of the fare.
If the UK money is in betting more on UK races even in the face of classier fare elsewhere, then so be it, it would seem. I certainly remember doing a domestic class 3 handicap hurdle or chase as the “race of the day” on a couple of occasions for the Sprotsnam, although there were Group 1s in France or Ireland (admittedly still covered to a fair degree editorially) on the same day.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
As a betting medium it isn’t for me, simply because I don’t know the form of the American horses well enough to make confident predictions about running style, etc.
Then there’s the impact of non-US runners racing with the aid of medication for the first time and the impact of the track.
There’s also the time of year to factor in when trying to work out whether European runners are in any sort of shape to be competitive.
But apart from that, there’s another significant issue.
Cheltenham Festival – live on terrestrial tv.
Royal Ascot – live on terrestrial tv.
Goodwood July/August – live on terrestrial tv.
Epsom Derby/Oaks – live on terrestrial tv.
York Ebor meeting – live on terrestrial tv.
Doncaster St Leger – live on terrestrial tv.
Newmarket Guineas meeting – live on terrestrial tv.Breeders’ Cup – depending on wether William King, Battlefield Road Glasgow stay open … well it’ll be live on there. The place is a hole.. but anyway.
See my point here, folks?
The majority on here who are complaining about the Breeders Cup, then say they would much prefer a jumps meeting at Kelso or a poor Cheltenham meeting. I think it is fair to say they are probably not the biggest fans of UK flat racing let alone international flat racing.
I love the meeting, it has its faults of course but I always (bar last year) enjoy it. I think the extra barriers for the Europeans make it all the more enjoyable to see them succeed.
I love the meeting partly because its one i can just watch and cheer on european runners without having a bet. Its always a fascinating evening and i have to agree with aidan (for once
). Its wonderful to see fine horses crown their craeer in style (or not) in the most demanding of arenasBetting against form that is hard to weigh up is not my style (ok..i may dabble)
Santa Anita is a course ive always wnated to visit to (maybe next year) and the moving from one arena to another is another dimension
I don’t think the Breeders Cup is the most demanding of arenas on turf. Is Red Rocks good enough to win an Arc? Was Six Perfections good enough to win a Sussex / QE2? Fleeting Spirit close to favourite for the "World Championships" ing come up short every time in all-age domestic Group 1’s.
Certain trainers / connections bother – others don’t. I agree its a good watch though.
If I read phrases like "Crisp winters day at Towcester" in the same context as a holistic spiritual epiphany one more time I’m going to skewer my eyeballs with a kebab stick.
The Breeders Cup is one of the world’s great racing festivals and some of my favourite memories come from there. There ought to be a thread for those memories instead of this rather dismal effort.
I actually said Towcester in the rain, but never mind eh? I do have one great memory of the Breeder’s Cup that of Lester winning the Mile (note a race on turf) on Royal Academy, but nothing else of any consequence.
Of more interest to all of us should be the Racing Post Trophy or the Old Roan Chase, or come to think of it, the Haldon Cup at Exeter on Tuesday. Let’s celebrate our own a bit more. The money might be better at the BC, but a crisp Tuesday at Huntingdon after a good lunch at the Grange in Brampton (walking distance from the track and a cracking pub) now that’s proper sport.
I did used to follow it, but that was when Channel 4 showed the highlights plus the Classic live. As I never had satellite, I haven’t really watched recent ones.
Don’t like the term ‘World Championships’ – they’re not, and the lasix, bute, etc issues don’t help. But as a one of day/days racing, no problem. Do think they’ve watered it down a bit, and the Marathon is a joke.
As more of a jumping fan, the BC Chase is held seperately, on a different course, why?As more of a jumping fan, the BC Chase is held seperately, on a different course, why?
Well, it would be pretty hard to fit in a jump course on the inside of those tight American circuits! Belmont would probably be the only track big enough to contain one.
The BC chase day at Far Hills is a proper NH day, a bit like a one-day Cheltenham or Aintree festival if you like, with the main race being the equivalent of the old American Grand National.
Well, it would be pretty hard to fit in a jump course on the inside of those tight American circuits! Belmont would probably be the only track big enough to contain one.
Doesn’t Saratoga feature one as well, albeit one with only four or five fences per circuit? Genuinely can’t remember at this remove whether it was just the turf Flat course with some portafences on it or a bespoke jumps track.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
). Its wonderful to see fine horses crown their craeer in style (or not) in the most demanding of arenas
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