In The Sulky Forum
General Category => General Harness Racing Discussion => Topic started by: Elgin on October 19, 2012, 06:43:28 AM
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Return of Final Four Among Many Changes at
Meadowlands 2013
By Bill Finley
A major revamping of the 2-year-old stakes schedule and
return to fall racing head a list of changes that will be implemented
when the Meadowlands resumes racing in 2013.
The Woodrow Wilson and the Sweetheart have been
dropped from the Meadowlands racing schedule. Their
place will be taken by the return of the "Final Four" races for
2-year-olds, the Governor's Cup, the Three Diamonds, the
Valley Victory and the Goldsmith Maid. Those races began
at Garden State Park and have been looking for a permanent
home after the South Jersey track closed in 2000. They
were last contested at Chester in 2011.
"I'm going to shift things
around so that the majority of
2-year-old money will be in
the latter half of the year, "
Meadowlands owner Jeff
Gural said. "We will reward those trainers who are a little
more patient with their 2-year-olds and, hopefully, we won't
see as many breakdowns and will make it easier for horses
to come back at three. Hopefully, guys will go easy at the
beginning of the year because the vast majority of purse
money is going to be Lexington, the Breeders Crown, the
Matron and my races. All the big money will be out there
from late September to late November and I think that will
shift the focus on 2-year-olds racing a little later in year."
Gural said the purses for the Final Four races have yet to
be determined but he expected they would be comparable
to what was offered when they were last held in 2011.
The Meadowlands meet will end Hambletonian Day in
2013, rather than two weeks after the track's biggest event.
Gural said he would re-open the Saturday after
Thanksgiving and continue to race through Hambletonian
Day 2014. The extra stretch on the calendar won't, however,
mean more racing days as Gural plans to drop Thursday
night racing whenever Harrah's Philadelphia is open.
With fall racing the Meadowlands once again becomes an
option for the Breeders Crown. Gural said he would like to
host the Breeders Crown races for older horses in 2014 and
beyond.
"I know there is some sentiment to having all 12 on the
same day," he said. "Having been there for that I think by
the tenth or eleventh race the place starts to empty out.
Personally, I think it's more appealing if the 2 and 3-year-old
races are separate. We would love to have the whole card,
but we just don't have the money."
Gural had no updates on his search for a new general
manager at the Meadowlands other than to say he has been
contacted by several candidates.
(harnessracingupdate.com)
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Am i the only person that thinks Gural thinks he's god ?
Im happy he saved the Big M but talk about somebody with a power trip dorkusinterruptus
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Am i the only person that thinks Gural thinks he's god ?
Im happy he saved the Big M but talk about somebody with a power trip dorkusinterruptus
I am right there with you. I guess he doesn't realize that the biggest race for 2 year old's is in Canada. The Metro goes for a million dollars Jeff.
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I am right there with you. I guess he doesn't realize that the biggest race for 2 year old's is in Canada. The Metro goes for a million dollars Jeff.
yes it does but without slots in canada how much will it go for ?
yrs ago the wilson even reached a $2 million level
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Just finished Jeff's new book " My Struggles With Megalomania"
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yes it does but without slots in canada how much will it go for ?
yrs ago the wilson even reached a $2 million level
I still believe that they will work something out.
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Just finished Jeff's new book " My Struggles With Megalomania"
slaphead
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I agree that Jeff is on a bit of a power trip, but if it wasn't for him the Big M would be gone for good. People with that kind of money to invest don't earn it by being shy types. It's nice to see that he's looking into the future instead of wondering if he's gonna quit racing.
I like the idea of shifting the big 2yo races to later in the season. Those early 1:50 miles take a toll on babies.
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I agree that Jeff is on a bit of a power trip, but if it wasn't for him the Big M would be gone for good.
I am sorry but if the Meds were gone --- does it make that much of a difference. I got Direct TV and was looking forward to having the races on TVG... I probably didn't watch 10 races all summer. Plenty of great racing elsewhere including a great meet at Scioto.
As for the horsemen --- well they pretty much made up their minds and have moved onto PA and NY...... sure they have the stakes, but those only proved to be nights when the track lost more money than usual. What about jersey breds ? Well stock has moved to other states along with the breeders and owners purchasing in other states.
Gural is there for one reason --- and it's not harness racing.... And I am okay with that. MTR didn't buy Scioto to continue racing at the Ohio Showplace of Racing.
The industry has thrown in the towel and have settled on being the backseat with the subsidy money until that someday dries out..... What then ? Well I guess you just keeping beating the nearly dead horse till it dies..... Poor horse is laying on the ground. You have the management pulling on the reins / the horsemen our pushing from behind..... and gamblers keep declining.