2008 Breeders Cup at Santa Anita?
 

Rumor is the an announcement is to made that Santa Anita will host the 2008 Breeders Cup races. This will be the first to be run on poly track.

Put it at Del Mar.

I will forward your wishs.

Hey I'm of the opinion they should have one at Saratoga also. If they put it the 3rd week in October---slightly earlier, they could do it. They had one at Woodbine, they should have one there. Yes, there is no heat and it could be cold. I've also been there in October in the 60's. Lord knows the last 2 times at Belmont I was freezing my ass off....Get some balls and put it at Toga.

So Randall, you think the BC should further ruin the once great Fall stakes by running the BC even earlier....and at a venue with 5000 seats?

Out of curiosity, how much time have you spent in Saratoga in mid to late October?

Plenty. And I'd say that if you look at Monmouth, it has more to offer than they do. Monmouth is not offering walk up tickets. I see no reason why with temp seating you couldn't put as many seats at Toga as you could at Monmouth....This is not new, it has been talked about before....Toronto is every bit as cold as Toga.

Plenty? How many times have you been there when there was snow on the ground? The other thing is that Saratoga is completely open, there are no enclosed spaces, and they aren't about to winterize that historical structure.

Trust me, the weather COULD cooperate, and it would then be a spectacular day, but in all likelihood it would be a nightmare. You cannot compare the weather at Monmouth to Saratoga....there could very well be a 15 degree difference.

I hear you are fiery this morning?

As I said, it isn't enclosed and it could be cold. But jeez Andy, Belmont has been awful the last two times. And I'm not comparing the weather to Jersey, but I will to Woodbine....Mind you I'm talking about moving the date up a few weeks....One time, at a place where it all started needs to be done. I will start a petition at the Carolina BBQ this summer. You can be the first to sign.

I would be a LOT happier if the 4 got up for second in the first at Aqueduct.

I'm not " fiery ", I am just trying to explain that hosting a BC in Saratoga, while a pleasant thought, does not make logical sense.

Both Woodbine and Belmont have SUBSTANTIAL areas that are enclosed, most importantly for dining, so to compare the experiences there to Saratoga makes little sense.

For weather it sure does make sense....Your fine dining happiness on BC day is not that important to me. Its the racing that matters. Put on your timberland boots Andy, I know you have them, and your Northface jacket and let's roll.

The hell you're not fiery, you finding faulty in every post you put up.

What's wrong with you?

Saratoga in general has miserable weather. In the summer it is humid and rainy, much more so than Monmouth. In the winter it is snowing when at Monmouth it is raining. There is little shelter at Saratoga; I have been caught in numerous downpours there. The town is gorgeous, but the track is not particularly user-friendly. Monmouth is user-friendly; I know it well. I live in New Jersey and I have been there hundreds of times. I would like to see the next Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. It seems to have it all.

All I can say is if it is at S.A. I will be there with bells on!!

It isn't about " fine dining ". and I would hope you didn't mean that, it is about dining areas that are enclosed. Belmont and Woodbine have plenty....Saratoga has NONE.

Someone in here is being HIGHLY amusing.



I'm just not saying who.

A roll of the dice on the weather. I'm willing to do it.

Thankfully nobody in the decision process is.

Not yet...Are you happy they are having it at Monmouth? I'm not particularly.

Happy? I think it is better off at Belmont, but trying a new spot adds some spice to it, and at least it's relatively close to where I live. I'm reasonably indifferent.

You have to realize, nobody loves Saratoga more than me, and a lot of the inconveniences felt by the masses wouldn't be as acute for me ( seating and dealing with restaurants ). However, because the POSSIBLE disaster that could accompany it so far outweighs the positives, I just feel it is logistically impossible. When Saratoga gets in the mid 60s, which it certainly did last year during Labor Day weekend, it is uncomfortable. I shudder to think how bad it would be if it was even 10-15 degrees colder. And, quite frankly, it rates to be even worse than that.

New spot spice....Where is the next newbie to be tried? Fair Grounds hasn't had a Cup yet, right? Am I forgetting one

in what way do you feel its uncomfortable at saratoga when its in the mid 60's, you have definitly lost me here, i go up 2-3 a week, all meet and i have been there when it is in the 60's and i think its very nice.

Agree (esp the Belmont comment). I was on the grounds for the Fall Mixed Sale on October 15 and froze my butt off.

Dress warmer...The horses are the ones who we worry about and they'll eat up that crisp air. Mmmmm.

My point was that it is not especially comfortable when it gets in the mid 60s, which it did on only a few occasions over the last few years ( I go every day and have for the majority of the last 32 meets ) and thus it will be much worse if 20 degrees colder.

I would love to see a BC at Saratoga more than anyone. But realistically, it just cannot, and should not, be done. There is extremely limited space for temporary seating and no place for more fine dining for VIP guests. Logistically it cannot be done. And as for the temperature? Who would have fun with it being 45 degrees and the wind whipping through that cold steel building? Burrrrrr.

Plus, the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile would be known as the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and an Eighth.

I guess we need to push whoever wins the New York tracks for a retractable dome on Saratoga, funded of course by VLTs.

If you were going to plan a trip around the Breeders Cup, Then you cannot find a better venue than Santa Anita in the fall of the year. The local area is very nice and the track can handle more than 70,000 people with plenty of parking. I was at the last Breeders Cup at Santa Anita and it was a great day at the races.

its closed don't know if they can open just for that with the other south cal. tracks running.

Cough...cough...biased...cough...cough...opinion.. .cough...cough...

They could open it for a special 3 day meet. The problem is the turf course isn't wide enough for 14 runners. Unless they are planning on widening it with the polytrack installation, there will be no BC at Del Mar.

BTW: For a BC to run at Saratoga, they'd have to close Belmont. They share equipment/clerks, etc.

Why would nyra go to that trouble to run in a small location with no easy air access and too few hotel rooms when Belmont is available?

Give it up.

Mid 60's on Labor Day in Saratoga, is uncomfortable?

You might want to see a doctor about a circulation problem.

Also a quick look at the past years weather in Saratoga in October and I think you would see that the weather isn't the problem for Saratoga holding a BC. I agree about other logistic problems, but the weather in October, even possibly the first weekend in November should be fine.

That's a very good point about the equipment ( tote machines and TVs would all have to be brought up ) and the costs of opening the plant like that would be prohibitive. Another reason it is a poor idea....however nice it sounds.

Actually, not that it matters, " air access " is easy, as Saratoga has an acceptable private airport and Albany airport is only 20 miles away. And there are plenty of hotels in a 30 mile radius.

I agree withe the equipment and clerk statement, but the rest of your post is way off base.

Saratoga and the surrounding areas have more then enough hotel rooms to put up with every ounce of media and attendees. No question.

Air access? I guess the 20-25 minute drive to Albany International is far to far for anyone to want to fly in for the BC.

Come on....

The weather could very well be almost fine, though I don't think you are taking into account the difference between being used to the crisp Fall weather in Saratoga and asking 50,000 people to brave a long day completely uncovered in it. I love Saratoga in the Fall, and have spent a reasonable part of my life enjoying it, but that doesn't necessarily translate into acceptable BC weather.

The other problem is the very real chance that the weather is far from fine. You know, to keep harping on what I said about last year's Labor Day weather is missing the point. Saratoga is a summer track, and when the weather gets into the mid 60s, as it did last year on Labor Day weekend, it is not as comfortable as most people like. Is it bad? Of course not.....but it's also not the weather one associates with Saratoga.

A quick look at the averages of all time, from weather.com, shows that the Saratoga October avg high is 60, and the avg low is 38, a mean temp of 49.

The averages of all time, from weather.com, shows that the Monmouth's October avg high is 65, and the avg low is 38.

Not a whole lot of difference.

And by the way, Monmouth gets an average of about 1/4 inch more of precip in October then Saratoga too.

I am not saying Saratoga is the ideal BC spot, but if Woodbine and Monmouth can get it, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Saratoga could not hold it as well.

You are ignoring the lack of any enclosed areas at Saratoga...which these other tracks all have.

True, point taken.

However, I still don't see the weather as the #1 issue. I know people here that don't close their pools till late September. The gardners up here say you can plant blubs up untill Veteran's Day. Last Halloween everyone was walking around in t-shirts trick or treating. The weather would be one of the least of my worries for a BC here.

If you are afraid of a sweater and a wool cap, maybe you should watch the simulcast in So Cal or South FL.

I think with some of the trees changing colors, and a nice early fall day, it would make for a beautiful BC.

Will it ever happen, I doubt it. Could it? It would take some work but absolutly.

It is spectacular on a beautiful fall day at Saratoga. All the trees in the background make it an incredible setting.