it still takes fast horses to run 2:07 for 10 furlongs on the Del Mar poly at this time. Did Student Council suddenly become a slow horse overnight at DelMar after basically having set a track record at Churchill in his last start?

its just a different measuring stick.

what do you think the time would be for 10K claimers to run 10F at Delmar right now?

NASCAR is different because of cautions, etc. but yes, people do look at lap times and it is important.

I think that since poly was being advertised as a dirt alternative, then it should probably compare to dirt, don't you?

everyone keeps saying it was such a weak bunch and that there is no way Student Council was a deserving winner. He had just equalled a Churchill downs track record in his prior start. What else must a horse do to give you the impression that he might be ready to win a stakes race?
No one has given me the name of a more deserving winner in that field. I can accept someone saying Lava Man or perhaps Awesome Gem, the rest are eyesores:D that don't belong winning a GR1 race either. People betting Lava Man in that race were betting more with their hearts than their brains.

name a horse in that race that was coming off of a sharp performance that would indicate a good effort was expected. I came up with three names in my prerace analysis, Awesome Gem, Student Council, and Sun Boat in that order.

tell me how you ranked that field prior to the race. Seriously, did you have Student Council way down at the bottom of that group having no shot whatsoever? Even if you did, having now read what has been posted regarding how sharp Student Council was going in to the race, how would you rank them after the race? you seriously feel he was moved way up because of the poly?

it is a dirt alternative and it does compare. at Del Mar right now it is a bit slower compared to dirt.

i'm sure that the lap times in Nascar are important when comparing against others in the same field on the same track on the same day even. do they compare lap times on one track in one part of the country to those in another? i'll bet they don't because the courses have to be slightly different and what really matters is what is happening within the race relative to the other cars and not to times on other courses.

i guess you are correct. Honestly, that field sucked so much I didnt think any horse should have had a shot. I liked Tiago, but he didnt run, because his trainer hates they way the poly plays in the afternoon.

You are right, in a field as shitty as that was, Student Council isnt the biggest surprise around. That should have been a O/C $100,000 race, not a prestigious Grade 1. I guess that is what bugs me!

The sad part about this is we are going to get the same crappy field for The Travers.

I really don't think there is any appropriate way to compare NASCAR and horseracing. Hate to be repetitive, but apples and oranges.

I don't agree with you that poly is a dirt alternative. I think that synthetic surfaces are in a league of their own.

What about this comparison:
NASCAR sucks and horseracing doesn't.
:D

At least Street Sense is a proven champion. (I guess you can say the same about Lava Man... but he may be on the way down, where Street Sense is on top of his game). Grasshopper is a horse with a big potential IMO and Sightseeing and CP West are good second tier 3yo's.

Sucks that the only good horses out there today are 3yo's and they are ducking one of the most historic races in the world. What a matchup it would have been to see Street Sense, Curlin, Any Given, Rags to Riches, Hard Spun, hell even throw in Tiago, NObiz and CP West, Sightseeing, and Grasshopper.

I guess a good horse race is too much to ask for these days unless it is the Breeders Cup or Triple Crown.

I love both, but I realize I'm in the minority on this forum. LMAO

A BIT slower!! understatement of the year. 2:07 compared to the 2 flats of the past equals about 35 lengths slower.

I told Steve this morning that they were considering a new class of races

The optional claiming/Grade 1.

The claimers can run for the purse but dont get blacktype if they win because they are entered for a claiming price. The stakes horses are just running for the Blacktype but no purse money because the blacktype is so much more valuble than the purse anyway. It is a win-win.

becareful....Breeder's Cup is looking for races for Thursday afternoon now..

Maybe they can run a whole card of them on a tuesday at Philadelphia Park.
Race 1- Opt Claiming $75000/Breeders Cup Sprint
Race 2- Opt Claiming $50000/Breeders Cup Juvy grass sprint
Race 3- Starter Allowance $5000/Breeders Cup Mile and 70
etc....