Claiming off the Cali surfaces - your thoughts

[Rokeby Forever]

When I watched the 2007 Hollywood and Del Mar meets on the simulcast, it was obvious how some horses just hated the new surfaces. Many of these horses are descending the claiming scales in California because they're basically worthless when running on surfaces they don't like.

Would it be worthwhile for an East Coast claiming outfit to claim (or purchase) badly off form CA horses that don't like the new surfaces (at the reduced prices), bring them back East, and run them on dirt surfaces again? I have to think that there's stock in California that's running poorly simply because it wants dirt - is it worth it?

What do you think?

[louis finochio]

i like your idea, but their are many trainers who inject the joints. If i was going to claim, i would have a person on the grounds to do the background check on your claim to be.

T, would be the person to ask, as T has the knowledge and knows her way arond the backstretch. Nobody works for free, T has her set price for doing the search.

[docjocoy]

When I watched the 2007 Hollywood and Del Mar meets on the simulcast, it was obvious how some horses just hated the new surfaces. Many of these horses are descending the claiming scales in California because they're basically worthless when running on surfaces they don't like.

Would it be worthwhile for an East Coast claiming outfit to claim (or purchase) badly off form CA horses that don't like the new surfaces (at the reduced prices), bring them back East, and run them on dirt surfaces again? I have to think that there's stock in California that's running poorly simply because it wants dirt - is it worth it?

What do you think?

I would think it would be quite "worth it." There is such a difference in form in some of these horses that ran poorly at Del Mar, and then ran great at Fairplex on the dirt. I've actually seen 2 horses that were sold to claiming trainers that did just that: they ran just awful at Del Mar, and both broke their maidens on dirt tracks east of the California border.

[bdw0617]

i like your idea, but their are many trainers who inject the joints. If i was going to claim, i would have a person on the grounds to do the background check on your claim to be.

T, would be the person to ask, as T has the knowledge and knows her way arond the backstretch. Nobody works for free, T has her set price for doing the search.

lol, i'm not even gonna go there


with that said, it works both ways. i would look for horses that had good form on dirt and then just plummeted... and if you can manage it didn't' run at fairplex.

it's just like handicapping.. that's basically what you are doing, is handicapping to see what horse can have improved form on dirt.

Or some of the old dirt horses say at Emerald Downs or wherever that have bad feet because they've been ran into the ground... maybe the poly isn't a bad idea for them.. just a thought

[docjocoy]

it's just like handicapping.. that's basically what you are doing, is handicapping to see what horse can have improved form on dirt.

The whole industry is "like handicappping, " from the breeders (that breed to race), the trainers and owners that make a claim, the purchaser of a yearling at a sale, it's all a big gamble. You study the form, we study the pedigrees, and the stallion performance stats, the conformations, all in hopes that we make the right choice, and hoping that the choice that is made is eventually validated.

[louis finochio]

If a person desires to claim, and run on artifical surfaces, he would do best to claim tb that have a turf pedigree, as those tb are at home on those artifical surfaces.

[Tucumcari]

When I watched the 2007 Hollywood and Del Mar meets on the simulcast, it was obvious how some horses just hated the new surfaces. Many of these horses are descending the claiming scales in California because they're basically worthless when running on surfaces they don't like.

Would it be worthwhile for an East Coast claiming outfit to claim (or purchase) badly off form CA horses that don't like the new surfaces (at the reduced prices), bring them back East, and run them on dirt surfaces again? I have to think that there's stock in California that's running poorly simply because it wants dirt - is it worth it?

What do you think?

LOL.. I'll claim you a good one!

[bdw0617]

If a person desires to claim, and run on artifical surfaces, he would do best to claim tb that have a turf pedigree, as those tb are at home on those artifical surfaces.

I didn't know Rubber and Grass were just alike? No wonder I got an F in Science!!!!