Arlington has to be used on a consistent basis in that rotation. It is generally a very fair race track. In '02, it was drying out which I believe made it the speed favoring surface it was that day. The Europeans love the turf course at Arlington (it's one-mile) as exemplified from their consistent trips over for Million Day. Most importantly, Chicago is a top 3 market in this country. The only problem is whether to push the Juvenile races to 9 furlongs or drop it down to a one-turn 8. For me personally, I like the fact that very FEW horses have a race over the surface. It can make it tougher to handicap, but as a fan I see that it levels the playing field. Practically 90% of the horses have to ship. Others have repeatedly said that Arlington is the nicest racing facility in the country as well.
The way I see it, if you're going to give it to New York horsemen every three years, you have to do the same for the California horsemen and give them the same advantage just as often. Not to mention, the weather is generally better in California than New York at that time of year. Don't let the '03 heat wave scare you off. The Euros don't mind; they only won 2.5 of 3 turf races last time including a clean sweep of the F&MT. So, it should be:
Churchill
New York
Arlington
California
"Wild Card" - Florida, Canada, Louisiana (you know Fairgrounds is making a bid soon to help "rebuild"), etc.
REPEAT CYCLE
-Ryan
|