changes to gulfstream stakes
 

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/47272.htm

shortening dist in alot of stakes ..spreading the purses to some new ones i like it..

I might be mistaken but Gulfstream has the same configuration as Arlington (1 turn mile). They just need to do an alternate finish line like Arlington did to satisfy the need for 8.5f races.

So they fixed the debacle from last year where they moved the Holy Bull after the Florida Derby but now the distances of the preps goes 9f/8f/9f? How does that make sense? Why not start at a mile and then run the next two at a mile and an eighth?

You are correct... mile and an eighth oval with a 1 turn mile.

Personally, I love one turn mile races, however in this particular case ( for a number of reasons ) this feels like a questionable decision. I'm not sure where exactly to begin, but I'll start with the placement of the race now versus history. The Fountain of Youth used to be the third to last major prep for the KY Derby. Now, with the Florida Derby being moved forward, and becoming horses' final Derby prep, for the most part, the FOY became the second to last prep. Thus it is now a much more important stepping stone and I seriously doubt trainers will be happy to use a one turn mile race as their second to last prep for the KY Derby. NYRA moved the Gotham to the inner to make it two turns pretty much solely for this reason.....and trainers have responded favorably. I would be curious to know how much Gulfstream consulted with trainers before making this change.

By the way, I hear the mall is now at least partially built and it basically abuts the paddock area. I wonder if construction will be going on in that area during the race meet.

im not sold on the ideas of shorter races or the moving of dates.but i do like the of reducing the purse for it and creating new stakes races that im sure the trainers would be in favor of..not all trainers have that caliber of three year old..

Ummmm, they added four stakes restricted to Florida Breds to supplement the already bloated ( from a purse standpoint ) Sunshine Millions card. Those purses were the ones that should have been reduced first. Regardless, they cut the purse to save themselves money, not that I blame them, but let's not act like it is merely a redistribution.

However, this was the quote from the article that I really enjoyed.....“Horse racing’s appeal is strong with women and we want Sundays to be special not only in terms of the racing product but also in terms of the various attractions Gulfstream offers,” Murphy said.

What are the chances that was actually said with a straight face?

Does this mean I could check out the horses in the paddock while shopping at Bloomingdale's? That might be enough to get me down there this winter. Oh well, I forgot, I'm one of those "girls" that they suddenly want to appeal to. Maybe they can install a nail salon in the simulcast room.

Agree with you Andy about the placement/distance changes. It seems weird.

Now I'm worried that you were sitting by us at dinner last night, as I made the exact same Bloomingdale's reference. But who are you kidding, you know you're one of those South Beach babes that are literally flocking to the Tiki Bar.

I wish...if only I could go back in time 20 years! Once I reached mid 40's and 20lbs overweight I stopped going to So. Florida. It's just too sad. Besides, I don't want to be confused with one of those old NYer's who goes to Florida to die.
BTW, I do NOT drink umbrella drinks!

Shhh. Don't help them figure it out.

There's two 8.5f preps at Tampa and we like it that way.

I may be wrong but doesnt Stronach put alot of the money up for the Sunshine millions and it is not counted towards the usual stakes versus overnight percentages? And I believe that alot of the money for the FL bred stakes comes from the FL breeders program. They didnt specifically say that the cut from the FL Derby is going to create the other races.

Sundays are conditioned claiming day at GP. Or is that every other day but Saturday? i do like the Friday stakes races.

I like the Friday Stakes as well.

Ya know Chuck, feel free to correct me if you disagree, but it seems like they have an unusual lack of regard for Horsemen at Gulfstream. I realize all facets of the industry, specifically horseplayers and horsemen, always feel management should care more about them, but Gulfstream really takes the cake. Starting with the ridiculous paddock/walking ring situation, and ending with this change to the Fountain of Youth, you have to wonder if they ever ask ( or care ) how the trainers feel about what they do.

They now have exactly one two turn prep for the KY Derby....and it's five weeks before the race. They used to have three, the Preview ( which became the Holy Bull ), the FOY, and finally the Florida Derby.....and you still had time for one more serious prep. And, this is at the track that is theoretically the East Coast center for TC preparation.

The Holy Bull is two turns, so they have two two-turn preps. The changing of the distances is strange but the configuration of the track really handcuffs the progression of distances.

NT

Here's hoping those ****ers (and all the other BUSH, time-challenged tracks out there) are able to time their races correctly next meet. Somehow, I doubt it.

Thanks.....I missed that they moved it back to it's original spot. Nice progression......1 1/8th to a mile to 1 1/8th. Whatever.

I understand the configuration screws things up....but they further screwed things up with the timing of the races and the distance moves. Why not make the Holy Bull a mile again and leave the FOY at 1 1/8th? They seem to do a good job of breaking things that were best left alone.

They seem to have a disregard for everyone including slots customers since they mainly go elsewhere. The dynamics of the horseman situation in Fl in the winter is a bit strange because most of the stronger trainers at GP are seasonal guys in from somewhere else and they dont really take part in the horsemans groups in FL which is all calder guys. The Calder guys seem happy to run for whatever at GP because they hate Calder management so much and most of them dont have TC contenders and horses for the big races anyway.

That's one problem, at least, we can't lay on Stronach. They have never been able to time their races accurately.

And, I guess given their purse structure, and uber-reliance on cheap racing, they don't really care what the trainers ( or owners ) from up North want.

What a debacle.