| Executive Director Email Tony S. Membership/Questions Email Noel A. Insurance Questions Email Marlene R. |
|
|
|
|
|
15 Spinning Wheel Road, Suite 432 • Hinsdale, IL 60521 |
|
Fair and Balanced? (08/21/10)Posted Saturday August 21, 2010 By Mike Paradise I like my television news “Fair and Balanced.” A want my Free For All Pace to be the same. In my opinion Saturday’s ninth race to-event feature didn’t come up that way. It’s a nine horse For All All “Handicap” but the problem is that its handicapped by “Groups” and that’s why you’ll find Thisbigdogwilfight—hands down the most dominate older horse all year long at Balmoral—starting right in the middle with the five-slot while four other horses with less impressive season (and lifetime) credentials landed outside of the seven-year-old state-bred. In a true FFA “Handicap” Thisbigdogwilfight would have been assigned the outside nine-slot. In April, May and June we all had previous FFA winners assigned the outside posts in their next FFA event by the Race Office, a common practice on the Chicago circuit for many, many years. When the caliber of horses in our FFA got a bit better, we’ve gone to “Group Handicapping” and each “Group” is drawn separately. Hence a horse that not only easily captured the last Balmoral Free For All but has won 6 of the 7 he’s competed in locally this season, can end up inside of horses that he’s been consistently beating. Thisbigdogwilfight has lost only twice all year at Balmoral and it took some very rugged trips for him to be beaten in both. His other two season defeats came in an Indiana Invite and in Maywood’s Cook County stake where he did finish first but was disqualified for racing inside of the pylons. The horse is three-for-three with Todd Warren driving and he’ll be back at his lines Satirday night. And the gelding’s $839,544 career earnings if more than twice as much as any other pacer’s bankroll in the field. Thisbigdogwilfight was dominating so much earlier in the season at Balmoral he was “banished” to Indiana for being “too good” for our FFA competition. However tonight the same horse is lumped in a “Group” with four other pacers—Fort Silky, Western Trademark, Well To Do Guru and Four Star Bling. Thisbigdogwilfight whipped “Bling” by almost five lengths last week. He has finished ahead of “Guru” the last four time’s they’ve squared off. Western Trademark comes off a 1:49.1 mile but previously was defeated in four consecutive races and all were conditioned events. And before Fort Silky’s victory at the Mount Sterling Fair the gelding had lost his last 12 starts on the Chicago circuit, many in conditioned paces. Wouldn’t you think in a “Handicap” this foursome of horses would be placed inside of Thisbigdogwilfight? While “The Dog” has romped in no less than 6 of 7 Balmoral Free For Alls this year, the eight other horses in the field have won just two FFA paces—Fort Silky all the way back in mid-April and “Bling” on July 24. In the meantime while Thisbigdogwilfight has the five-slot the lone three-year-old in the race Indescribable—who hasn’t even raced for three weeks—was “assigned” the four post. Indescribable (only 28 lifetime starts) hasn’t ever competed against older horses on our circuit. In his first three season starts he did in Pennsylvania and didn’t hit the board. And this state-bred pacer was a fourth place finisher at almost 30-1 odds in the Incredible Finale Final on July 31. Yet Saturday Indescribable is handicapped only one slot further in from “The Dog ?” If there’s a need to “Handicap” Free For Alls, then let the Racing Secretary assign all the posts or have every one of the horses draw for all the slots. This “Group” thing isn’t a good thing. Not if you want your Free For All Pace to be “Fair and Balanced.” To view Archived Notes and Quotes click here. Country Fair Report WHITESIDE COUNTY FAIR AT MORRISON Friday, August 20 Results FIRST: Non-Winners $5,000 Lifetime, Pace, Purse $600: SECOND: NICA Three-Year-Old Pace, Purse $2.837: THIRD: NICA Three-Year-Old Trot, Purse $2,413: FOURTH: Non-Winners $5,000 Lifetime, Pace, Purse $600: |
 Notes and Quotes
|
