Georgie,
I meant to respond to this yesterday but forgot to.
For some reason you and Round Pen took what i was saying in this thread as personal towards you. It really confused me as to why until I guessed that both of you were either involved in the business or lived in Florida.
Its not personal and wasn't intended to be.
I was all over Gulf for such a lousy job on our old board this past winter, long before I knew of either of you existing in the world.
I actually think Calder is a very underrated track, both from a betting standpoint and a racing standpoint as well. They have some spectacular days and were the first track to have the idea of what now is an accepted industry standard, to package a bunch of big stakes on one card.
The horseman there are underrated as well, not only the trainers, but all of the talented guys who run training centers and farms.
Of course everything is speculation, but I truly believe I will be proven right as far as my assertation that Gulf will again offer small purses and minimums for graded stakes, and awful weekday claiming filled cards. And trust me, I won't forget this thread. When Gulf starts you can count on me doing a daily thread on the purses and races being run.
I'm certainly hoping that Gulf turns it around some year as it has been such a vital part of racing on the East Coast for years and years.
As far as naming names Georgie, I rarely if ever do that. Its just not right. You don't go out to dinner with someone and repeat something that they have said on a message board while naming them. Surely you can appreciate this. And I said that this person said they were CONSIDERING going, not definitely going.