Race Conditions
 

I'm not a big fan of the commonly used conditions in today's races. I remember a time when we had allowances, claimers and stakes and it was much more beneficial to the bettor to evaluate class.

I read some of the conditions now and really can't figure it out.

The AOC and SOC races are especially perplexing. From what I've been told, Bobby Umphrey started these. They confuse the horseplayer beyond imagination.

Nobody I know likes these races. Maybe horsemen do, but the betting public mostly feels they are bogus.

I'm a fan of going back to strict conditions. MSW, MCL, NW1, NW2, NW3 and even NW4. Then claimers. They run these AOC races at $65K or more, so why not run them as an overnight stake instead ?

I don't get it. I'd still keep the NYBred races different, but allow NY Breds to run in open races with conditions. I may not let a NYB MSW winner run as a maiden in open company, but might let a NYB MCL do so.

These Starter Allowance races often just end up as "juicer" races and do nothing for racing. While some outfits do claim a horse and get it to run better, the general public is doubtful, and that's a bad thing.

Most "nay-sayers" say this will decrease the fields, but I disagree. You have to fit your horse to what is offered.

i agree. it's insane....now you have to handicap conditions as well as horses.

When I lived on SoCal I got to know Jim Quinn at SA. He wrote a great book, "The Handicapper's Condition Book", which went into great detail explaining the subject. It used to be a trainer used to find a spot for their horse, but now I think they find a spot for you and fit the conditions to you. They certainly don't fit it to the public to bet on.

How many members of the betting public have you discussed this with to know most are against it?