SPA OPENER ALL WET
SARATOGA SPRINGS – It was a tough opening day for NYRA Nation at the Old Spa, as rain washed all five turf races off the grass – only six were lost all of last summer! – with 45 scratches on the 10-race card. More rain is expected this morning.
Attendance and handle both took big hits as Saratoga Race Course kicked off its 140th meet. Yesterday’s soggy crowd of 18,127 was a shadow of the 30,052 fans who showed up last year on a picture perfect afternoon. On-track wagering was off more than $1 million: $2,813,981 compared to last year’s record of $3,994,487. All sources handle plunged from $15,282,907 on opening day 2007 to $11,431,845 yesterday.
Coming on top of the transformer fire at Belmont Park that closed the grandstand last Saturday and cancelled racing on Sunday, NYRA has had some rough sledding this week.
“Obviously it’s disappointing,” NYRA president Charles Hayward said. “We’ll be hard-pressed to meet the numbers (attendance and handle) from last year.”
All those scratches and the sealed, sloppy racetrack made for some lopsided racing. Only three races were decided by less than a length; the average winning margin for the other seven was nearly six lengths.
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Today’s stakes is the 94th running of the Grade 2, $150,000 Sanford, with a field of seven 2-year-old colts dashing six furlongs. Though all seven won their last start, the 104 Beyer Speed Figure that Notonthesamepage earned breaking his maiden at Churchill Downs on April 30 jumps off the pace. But the number of any race run at 4 1/2 furlongs is suspect, so we’ll switch our attention to Desert Party, a Street Cry colt Darley Stable purchased last February for $2.1 million.
In his lone start for trainer Eoin Harty, Desert Party galloped by 31/4 lengths as the 8-5 favorite at Arlington Park. That race also was run at 4 1/2 furlongs over Polytrack, but we’re betting this colt can stretch out and make the transition to dirt.
Also keep an eye on Vineyard Haven, privately purchased by trainer Bobby Frankel after romping in his debut at Calder, and Phosphorescent, a winner first out going six furlongs at Churchill for Dale Romans.
