Saratoga to go to 40 days a year in 10.

Mr Saratoga · **Joined:** Tue May 19, 2009 2:50 pm **Posts:** 1247

I wish they would go back to four weeks at da Spa.

1/8-pole · **Joined:** Wed May 20, 2009 2:25 pm **Posts:** 11598

Mr Saratoga wrote:

I wish they would go back to four weeks at da Spa.

ditto

lukeydog · **Joined:** Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:28 pm **Posts:** 1040

Jeebs wrote:

Of course it would never happen, but one can always dream 8-)

To most it would be a nitemare.

1/8-pole · **Joined:** Wed May 20, 2009 2:25 pm **Posts:** 11598

lukeydog wrote:

Jeebs wrote:

Of course it would never happen, but one can always dream 8-)

To most it would be a nitemare.

To everyone except dreamers.

ThoroughbredZone · **Posted:** Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:20 pm

Why don't you just shut down Belmont all together while you are at it...

Jeebs wrote:

KPMats10 wrote:

Nothing like squeezing every last bit of the apple dry and taking time away from Belmont in the process, much to my dismay. Might as well just close down the Belmont spring meet right after the Belmont Stakes and just shift everything upstate.

The meet is already too long at 36 days.

Kicking off the Spa on a Friday afternoon is a huge jump start to the meet, especially with a G-1 like the CCA Oaks headlining the 1st Saturday of the meet. A perfect prep for the Alabama, since it gives the contestants a race over the track prior.

Here's an idea that has potential to be a tremendous moneymaker for NYRA: eliminate Belmont's fall meet altogether, and race at Saratoga in September, but only on a Friday/Saturday/Sunday schedule. By racing 3 days a week at the Spa during September, you maintain the high quality of racing, while making each weekend during September a major event, with the major Breeders' Cup prep season in high gear. I'd bet that Saratoga could pack in 25,000-30,000 for Super Saturday the last weekend of September, compared to the 7,500-10,000 they would get down at Belmont.

After Saratoga's Fall Championship meet concludes, the racing would move to Aqueduct, with an extended main track season running straight through the Thanksgiving holiday. The remainder of the Belmont races (NYB Showcase, and the assortment of supporting stakes) would be run on successive weekends at the Big A. It would make use of a main track and turf course that gets minimal use anyway due to the inner track/changing of seasons, and would give Aqueduct some added significance on the NY calendar.

Will this ever happen? Most likely, no. Belmont in the Fall is a revered tradition in NY racing, and I'm sure that many would be up in arms.

4stardave · **Joined:** Thu May 21, 2009 10:01 am **Posts:** 140

Belmont fall meet could never be shortened as you say, as it will play host to breeders cups in the future
and trainers will want to use preps for them.in addition to taking away all the prestigious races that decided
championships before the breeders cup it will never happen.

Publius · **Joined:** Fri May 22, 2009 2:45 pm **Posts:** 361

The addition of four days to the Saratoga meet makes perfect sense since on track attendance & handle will increase signficantly as well as off track handle when compared to Belmont. As far as cheaping the product I think we can all see that the racing at Saratoga as good as it is has declined in quality from years past. However the quality horse racing across the country has declined sharply in the past few years.

knicks23 · **Joined:** Fri May 29, 2009 1:56 pm **Posts:** 37

From a spreadsheet perspective, this was a no-brainer and a long time coming.

Saratoga to go to 40 days a year in 10.

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