[JolyB]

After studying the race cards available to use for this Saturday's contest, I have a bit of a dilemma and would appreciate your thoughts. The two possible tracks in my opinion are Santa Anita and Belmont. Both have quality cards.

Normally, one would think that choosing Santa Anita would be a no brainer. There are three grade 1 races on the card and four other stakes races. While the major stakes races all have "name" horses entered, the fields seem small. They break down as follows: SA Derby - 7; SA Oaks - 5; Hollywood Gold Cup - 6; Fran's Valentine - 6; Desert Code - 6; Crystal Waters - 8 and Cinema - 7. When you have small fields, they are often not very competitive and might not provide the best basis for our contest.

The other possibility could be Belmont. Their card only has 4 stakes races, only one of which is a grade 1. However, the fields for each is much fuller, to wit: Fort Marcy - 9; Westchester - 11; Intercontinental - 12 and Carter - 11. The rest of the Belmont card also has what could be described as full fields.

The issue is whether we focus on races that have glamour or depth. I think that part of my responsibility in choosing the venue is coming up with a choice that will be enjoyable to most of the contestants. I'd appreciate your feelings as to which of these choices most appeal to you - it would help me in making the final choice. I've never been sure what the majority of you prefer in your contest handicapping. There is merit in both of the choices.

I'll be paying attention to both of these cards, since the races in CA have future Derby and Oaks implications. But the choice of which one of use for our contest has me uncertain.

Thanks for your thoughts.