Venue for October 26 - Thoughts

[RUFFIAN]

Frisky Feline Votes ===> SANTA ANITA

[Roamin42]

Frisky Feline Votes ===> SANTA ANITA

Santa Anita sounds good, get into SA mode, I agree with the Fabulous Ruffian

[cal828]

Short priced favorites and scratches seemed to take their toll at Belmont so I would hate to see that repeated, if we decided to go there again. I'm ok with Keeneland or Santa Anita. Probably best to wait and see what the fields look like.

[Real Quiet]

I'll cast my line in the water for the short Meadowlands all turf card weather permitting.

[JolyB]

None of the entries for the relevant tracks have been posted for Saturday's races yet. I'm sure that the Racing Secretary's office at Santa Anita is going to be very busy, first announcing the pre-entries for all 14 BC races, starting at 11:30 Eastern, before getting around to drawing Saturday's card. It may be a while before those entries are available.

To respond to your post RQ, the long range weather forecast for the Northeast suggests that races at the Meadowlands will probably remain on the turf.

I have several commitments to fulfill this afternoon, but I'll try my best to have a venue announcement by sometime this evening.

[cal828]

5 maiden races at Santa Anita and the first race only has 5 entries. Not exactly my cup of tea. Hate to flip-flop, but after seeing the fields, I think Belmont or Keenland would be best.

[JolyB]

Cal, I had been leaning toward Santa Anita, but after looking over the SA entries, I'm inclined to agree with you. The race card looked very uninspiring to me. I also don't think that there is a particular benefit to our having a "contest over the track" just before the BC. On the big weekend, the track conditions may be completely different and even the wagering menu won't be the same as normal.

As an alternative, I've decided to choose to return to Belmont Park for a 10 race card that begins at 12:45 PM Eastern time. The race card includes 3 interesting stakes races, and as an added benefit we will get to see Maximum Security compete in the Bold Ruler Stakes.

I'll post the contest threads sometime late tomorrow, in between puzzling over the BC pre-entries.