Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Simon I have a home in Saratoga Springs and my questions relate to the American operation and the purchase of Greentree.
The American operation seems to be going from strength to strength this year after 2 relatively quiet years. Has the purchase of Greentree contributed to this by having more surface options to train on at Saratoga?
Also are there any former Stonerside 2 year olds that are potentially as good as Midshipman?Midshipman is the best right now but we have some nice two-year-olds and yearlings to follow him through. We will know more about them after the winter.
That’s at least the 3rd time that Team Valor have had a horse run in the Dee Stakes. He failed to draw into the Kempton Park Kentucky Derby Win and You’re in race in March.
On a side note I see that Churchill has suspended the Kempton Park race for 2010
I saw today in the paper more talk of Cheltenham running the Gold Cup on a Saturday by 2011 and expanding to 5 days.
Yesterday the New York Racing Association announced the 36 day racing season at Saratoga will be expanded to 40 days next year This comes after hikes from 24 to 30 to 36 days. Belmont Park loses the Coaching Club Oaks, and presumably other Stakes races, and they run a load more New York bred races, $20,000 claimers and dire Turf sprints.
Less is definitely more in Saratoga’s case. Is it in Cheltenham’s?
Can’t be there for Friday as i’m preparing for my Mother’s move to a Houseboat on the Thames…. but will be there on Saturday and Sunday staying overnight in Ascot for the first time
She is being schooled in the paddock after the 5th race today. Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Midshipman worked 5F this morning and Larry Jones had Kodiak Kowboy out getting ready for the Forego
Well he was in fine fettle this morning as he answered questions from the press after Rachel Alexandra’s work at Saratoga.
It’s a toss-up between Santa Anita and Goodwood for the track with the best non man- made views… However the 2003 BC was sheer hell. Could heardly breathe and was constantly brushing ash off my jacket.
I hope that Bejarano wasn’t too badly hurt today at Del Mar. Suspected broken jaw and collar bone I believe.
I can’t get out of bed in London-yet I make it to the Oklahoma by 545 most mornings….
ADRIAN
Thanks for replying, looked at BA VA and AA flights for 3 week stay and all are quoting around £450 give or take a couple of pounds. I understand that it is around 15 hours flying time to get there, is that correct. If the journey does take that amount of time, is there much to do on the plane, as i find it difficult to sleep and i will be traveling economy. If i decided to travel, say to New York and then take a internal flight would i be saving much money and would it take much longer.Also would it be worth going self cattering / accomodation, instead of using a hotel, and is there a need to hire a car.thank you
PaulPaul if you are there for 3 weeks I would recommend flying into Newark NJ and then taking the New Jersey Transit train to the Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase (which i think is on October 17th) at Far Hills-track right by the station.
Arcadia/Pasadena are both good options to stay in.Arcadia convenient for the track but Pasadena a nicer city. You can get a bus from Pasadena to the track for $1….
And if anyone is into hiking. Then the area around Santa Anita is awesome. Within 2 miles of downtown Pasadena there are the trailheads to take you up to Mount Wilson which overlooks the track and Inspiration Point. From the top, on a good day, you can see all the way to Catalina Island about 75 miles away.
Best racecourse food, and value as well, is at Saratoga by a mile. They’ve always had better food than any racecourse in Britain or American track-but the food improved out of site when local restaurants were invited to serve some of their most popular dishes out of a temporary structure called "Restaurant Row" between the paddock and the Grandstand. There was room for 6 and many times over that number of establishments wanted to be involved-and the prices were reasonable.
In my younger days I used to get a train from Euston to Holyhead-then empty the quiz machines on the ferry-go to the Curragh-and the machines were pretty much full up again for the return trip the same day or a day later
This Summer. The moment the European election is over-i will fly to the Belmont Stakes and then take a 6 week Amtrak pass before ending up in Saratoga.
My Amtrak Rail Pass may well take me through Denver CO-how far is the track from the city?
When you watch British racing, there’s always people lined up along the rails, standing by the fences or the start, gathered around the parade ring and the winner’s enclosure. When I see US racing, there’s not a single spectator in sight, how can you really get into the thrill of the horseflesh if you’re having to watch it all through binoculars? You may as well be at home. Do the public get a chance to see the horses parade up close before the race? It seems to be much more relaxed and laid back here somehow. I know that’s all no real help, but it always strikes me as a big difference between the two. People want to feel involved IMO.
BH
I’ve only been to Laurel Park in the US, but from my experience you have it in a nutshell. There’s very little direct contact with the horses. There were very few seats outside the glazed-in stands and the ‘parade ring’ was a small roofed ring at the end of the stand where observation was very difficult. Most of the ‘racegoers’ were inside all afternoon.
Rob
I have been to Laurel and concur it is as you say it is. But that certainly isn’t the case, as an example, at Saratoga or Keeneland. The area by the rail even on weekdays is packed at Saratoga and there’s normally not a spot by the paddock rail at any time.
One of the problems with a number of these tracks in the US-which have these glazed-in stands is that they are in areas where they get extreme variations in temparature every year. Often well below freezing during the winter and always pushing towards 100 in the Summer.
American racing is completely up against the wall. Barely a week goes by without another piece of bad news that will make it harder for the sport to compete against the established major sports and the ones on the up.
The sport in the US needs a commissioner. They need at the very least to lobby and get on-course bookmakers back to the tracks. Too many people are too far away from their nearest racetracks-either for political or geographical reasons. Someone from Atlanta GA an Olympics host with teams in 4 major league sports has to travel nearly 400 miles to go their nearest racetrack. Fans in the North of the country have to travel similar or longer distances to get to tracks in the winter. The result is that these people don’t to go the races and the newspapers in these areas cover racing only during the Triple Crown and possibly Breeders’ Cup.
Racing TV coverage is disturbed and interupted because the College Tiddlywinks game has gone into overtime….A pair of great calls from the new boy at Churchill. He had no competition as the calls that the American network audience were subjected to were dire.
I’m a great Durkin fan. He’s fine to entertain the crowds at Saratoga with his amusing calls but just wasn’t at the races this weekend.
It could have been worse Craig. You could have watched the race on HRTV and got my losing selections…..
