Zayat is Leaving; Baffert hates it

[lemoncrush]

I was at Del Mar last week, and couldn't believe what that crap looks like up close. It reminded me of the inside of a used vacuum bag.

Anyway, part of the problem when I was there was the quality of racing (Saturday's card was full of low-level claiming races..I could have stayed in MN and watched those at Canterbury). But from what I saw, if you didn't get out of the gate well you were toast. Deep closers had no chance. It was all stalkers and horses coming from just off the pace.

Del Mar is gorgeous, but the racing was mediocre while I was there. The polytrack certainly didn't help.

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Polytrack cannot erase one of Del Mar's chronic problems: the racing is essentially the same as what we see thoughout the California racing season. California is on an island, so to speak, meaning that horses aren't shipped there from other parts of the country like at Saratoga. Horses from Kentucky and the Mid-Atlantic region provide the meeting with flavor. Minus a few Pletcher and Dutrow horses shipped out west after the Cushion Track was installed, California's fare hardly changes.

yet somehow the polytrack gets blamed for this?
its the same Del Mar cards as any year. the daily fare is just sorta average for the reasons you mentioned.