Creative Way to Increase Field Size (09/04/10)

Posted Saturday, September 4

                                                                       By Mike Paradise 

   Most everybody likes big fields. The racetracks certainly do. After all bigger fields often produce bigger wagering pools.

   Nearly all tracks get those big fields the old-fashion way. They open up the entry box in the racing office and then sift through the horses entered to determine which are eligible according to the posted and distributed conditioned sheet for that night of racing.

  However, here on the Chicago circuit we sometimes get more creative to expand to those bigger fields.

  For instance on this Saturday’s card the seventh race conditioned pace had seven horses eligible if you adhered to the posted conditioned sheet (listed No. 3) that read : “Non-Winners of $4,500 Last 5 Starts (ICF Allowed $500). AE: NW 5 Races or $25,000 LT. AE: NW of a Purse of $4,200 of More since February 2, 2010.

  Note that this unchanged conditioned sheet was on both of the track’s web-sites later Wednesday night after the Saturday card was drawn and posted.

  However the original seven eligible pacers entered were joined by three other horses, growing the field for the race to 10 starters because of a new heading that appeared in the Official Track Program that read: “Non-Winners of $4,750 in the Last 5 Starts (ICF Allowed $500) (3 YO Allowed $1,500). AE: NW 5 Races of $25,000 Lifetime. AE: NW of a Race for a Purse of $4,200 or More since April 11, 2010).”

  The change from $4,500 to $4,750 made the New Zealand pacer Natural Lad N eligible by $86. The addition of the line “3 YO Allowed $1,500” qualified the state-bred sophomore JHS to compete. And the date change by more than two months got a tenth starter into the field because the import Anescape N, who hadn’t started since he won in Florida on April 10, was now entitled to race by just one day after the April 11 date change.

   Now that’s a unique and creative way to increase the size of your race fields.

   If the Chicago tracks can be just as creative about marketing their product it would go a long way to ease the current difficult racing climate, but that’s a story for another time.

  Super Night Ahead:  This is the last weekend before next Saturday and Sunday Super Night eliminations and a number of two and three year olds are in action tonight to prepare for those upcoming stake elims.

  There are potential Orange and Blue freshman hopefuls in both the second and fourth races, as well as the three-year-olds Finance The Master, the 30-1 upset winner of the $57,500 Incredible Finale Final, and JHS, an elimination victor in the same stake, staying sharp for next Saturday’s Pete Langley Memorial elims in race six.

  Former Breeder’s Crown champion Fox Valley Topaz is in town prepping for the Lorna Propes stake on Super Night. The 2008 freshman champion has the outside seven-slot in the ninth race Open Handicap when she meets six other distaffers in search of her first victory of the season.

 The four-year-old daughter of Sportsmaster has taken on some strong foes in the recent Golden Girl and Lady Liberty stakes at The Meadowlands and is reunited tonight with driver Mike Oosting and trainer Paul Stafford for (Marty) Engel Stable of Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

  The $10,000 Free For All got a big boost with the arrival of Sawgrass Farms Annieswesterncard (programmed 7-2, Travis Seekman), who was assigned the outside nine-slot in the eleventh race handicap. The four-year-old Joe Seekman trainee recently has been knocking heads with the best older pacers in North America in Mohawk’s Canadian Derby Pace elimination and the U.S Pacing Championship at The Big M.

  Saturday’s Balmoral program also includes the past performance lines from Mohawk and the Canadian track has a dynamite card that includes the $1 million Metro Final, the $788,000 Canadian Pacing Derby Championship, and the $688,000 She’s A Great Lady showdown.

 To view Archived Notes and Quotes click here.