Aqueduct

[holeinthewall]

Looks like they cut out their Thursday cards.    I don't play it but noticed it isn't in tomorrows form or on the calendar going forward.

TVG should be showing the full Oaklawn card now

[ghostzapper]

They needed to cut back if that is what they have done.   I don't know how many consecutive days than ran the first 5 races with no more than six horses in any of them.

[hogoffate]

I like playing NYRA, especially on "big" race days when you can make some money if lucky but it's brutal to watch 5-6 horse fields and their attempt to make it sound like a quality product.

[OaklawnCapper]

I like playing Aqueduct hopefully this will fill the fields up a little bit.

[HawgFan70]

Oaklawn had a race about to go off the other day with 11 horses in it the favorite was 5/2. The TVG announcer said this race at Aqueduct is as challenging as Oaklawn I looked at it 5 horses a 3/2 and an 8/5 shot that ran away with the exacta. I have heard they may shut the big A down and race winter meets at Belmont

[OaklawnCapper]

Oaklawn had a race about to go off the other day with 11 horses in it the favorite was 5/2. The TVG announcer said this race at Aqueduct is as challenging as Oaklawn I looked at it 5 horses a 3/2 and an 8/5 shot that ran away with the exacta. I have heard they may shut the big A down and race winter meets at Belmont

I think they will keep running winters at the Big A.  It would take quite a renovation for the Belmont grand stand to accommodate winter racing.  Plus if the casino is tied to racing at Aqueduct I don't think NYRA would want to lose that revenue.

[holeinthewall]

Oaklawn had a race about to go off the other day with 11 horses in it the favorite was 5/2. The TVG announcer said this race at Aqueduct is as challenging as Oaklawn I looked at it 5 horses a 3/2 and an 8/5 shot that ran away with the exacta. I have heard they may shut the big A down and race winter meets at Belmont

Probably because you could give me 4 picks in that 5 horse race and I still wouldn't pick the winner.  I rarely if ever make a play there.

[heavylifting]

Here is a likelier scenario vis-a-vis racing in New York.

NYRA shuts Belmont Park down for a few years to redo the grandstand and the 12-furlong configuration. Meanwhile, they shift all the Belmont dates to Aqueduct, which has gone back to 2 turf courses now (they changed the inner dirt back to grass).

Why would they do this?  Because much of the Belmont property, largely parking lot space that is no longer used except on Belmont Stakes Day, is going to be developed as an arena for the New York Islanders ice hockey team.

I haven't seen the actual plans, but the Belmont far turn and the part of the grandstand down at that end comes close to the development area; there's a train platform down there that is still in use, but they'll have to upgrade it for year-round usage.

Maybe you have to be of a certain age to remember, but this wouldn't be the first time the above scenario played out. Belmont Park was closed from 1963-1967 and all racing (save for Saratoga) was held at Aqueduct. Of course, there was no winter racing then. The season ran mid-March to mid-December, with a 4-week meet in August at Saratoga. And, yes, the Belmont Stakes was run at Aqueduct at 12 furlongs. I guess they broke on the backside going into the turn.

Among the talk -- and this was discussed last year sometime, although nothing was resolved -- is that the Belmont grandstand will be downsized somewhat and the main track will be reduced to 9 or 10 furlongs, so as to make it more visible for attendees. The grandstand would also be winterized.

After all this supposedly takes place, which would take several years, racing at Aqueduct would cease and all downstate NY racing would take place at Belmont Park.

Yes, there's the casino at Aqueduct, but there would be some sort of agreement whereby the horsemen would get purse supplements (until years later, when they get screwed by politicians who are now in diapers, but that's another story). To you and me, Aqueduct is a race track. To pols and developers, the racing surface and infield are underutilized grounds that would be "improved" by development, such as expansion of the casino, a hotel, theater, etc.

I imagine the Saratoga season would be lengthened by several weeks, although there's the issue of where everybody (meaning racetrackers, both front and backside) would live, since most reside in rental housing during the meet. Many of the landlords, who rent out their houses, don't necessarily want to spend 8 weeks away from home. This will be an issue going forward.

The prospect of all this makes me nauseous. I have fond memories of Gulfstream Park and have not yet been to Stronach's shopping mall. I'm sure my heart would skip a few beats at seeing the changes. Hollywood Park and Rockingham Park are other bygone tracks I enjoyed my visits to, as well as River Downs, now reincarnated as Belterra (haven't been there since they redid it).

Ironically, I write this about a week after John Brunetti died; say what you will about him, he knew the treasure he had at Hialeah and it's still intact. Maybe someday, thoroughbred racing will return there.

Here's a link to the most recent treatment of the NYRA situation on the Paulick Report -- https://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/business-group-urges-racing-move-aqueduct-belmont-park/