What is it about the Saratoga track that makes a 1.5 mile race undoable? The starting gate is on wheels; measure 1.5 miles from the finish line, put the starting gate there, and you’re good to go.
Would that put the start in the middle of a turn, and is that not considered a fair way to start a race?
Yes, a mile and a half race would start on the turn. Saratoga is a mile and an eighth in circumfrence.
I’ve seen, and wagered on, a lot of racing at Saratoga. As we often say, “If you can play Saratoga and win, you’re doing it right.”
As I recall, Saratoga isn’t just one track. Actually, it’s three: two turf tracks and a dirt track (typically called the main), and they nest within one another. This, plus the limited amount of real estate upon which the whole property sits, presents a challenge. How can you run a 1+1/2 mile race on the main that (a) doesn’t cross a turf track; and (b) doesn’t start in a turn?
If memory serves, Saratoga is 1+1/8 miles around, but the home stretch is not among the longest in North America (I think that’s Woodbine in Toronto, at about 980 feet). Anyway, backing up 3/8 of a mile from the finish line at Saratoga would put the starting gate in the middle of the far turn. And starting on a turn is not safe for the horses or the jockeys.
So, this year, the Belmont is 1+1/4 miles. Not the end of the world, and not that unusual, in the entire history of racing. Major stakes have moved around tracks, been contested at different distances than they have today, haven’t settled into an annual date (e.g. the Kentucky Derby is always run on the first Saturday in May) and so on. For example, the Queen’s Plate (now the King’s Plate) race was first run in 1860. It bounced around southern Ontario tracks for 95 years, at different distances, before settling into Woodbine in 1955, the year that track was built. Today, it’s inconceivable that the Plate would be run anywhere other than Woodbine, at a distance of anything but 1+1/4 miles. But it’s happened before to various races, and it can happen again.
I can see why it wouldn’t be fair, forcing horses on the outside to run a longer distance, but why unsafe?
Because horses are trained such that when the gate opens, they run in a straight line, often with the jockey trying to get to the horse to the rail as quickly as possible, but as safely as possible, and within the rules. That’s possible with a straight start, where the outside horses can gradually and safely move to the left. It’s not possible to start on a turn, where not only is there extra ground to make up, but there is a temptation for the horse who has been trained to get near the rail to “cut corners,” and get to the rail quickly, creating the possibility of colliding with other horses.
Unlike Olympic track meets of 200 meters, say, where the runner in lane 4 stays in lane 4, even going around a turn, and the starting positions are staggered to account for that, horses don’t stick to one lane. (Well, in quarter horse racing, they do, but I’m talking thoroughbreds.)
Especially on a route race (a race at a mile or more), or even in a sprint (less than a mile) at a bull ring (a track that is less than a mile) that goes around one or more turns, they will typically go into the first turn (want to sound like a knowledgeable racing fan? As you watch from the stands, the turn on your right is called the clubhouse turn; the one on your left is called the far turn) on the rail, or as close to it as they can get. They’ll do this in the backstretch too.
It’s when they come out of the final turn (far turn) that things get interesting. That’s when you see the group opening up. You’ll often hear a horseplayer say something like, “He’s coming out in the four path,” meaning his horse is coming out of the far turn four horse widths away from the rail. Not necessarily a bad thing to do at this point. If there’s nobody in front of him and if he’s got the gas, and if he can find another gear, then he can finish in the money.
Dontcha love racetrack lingo?
I got a little carried away, but I hope you understand why they cannot start on a turn. The horses aren’t trained to start on a turn, and if they tried, we’d likely see a lot of collisions as they tried to get to the rail early. They’re fine sorting themselves out on the straight, on the rail going into the clubhouse turn, but they need a straight start to do that.
I first attended horse racing at Woodbine, in Toronto, some forty or so years ago. In spite of the fact that it had only been built thirty years earlier, it was showing its age then. I still remember the mutuel windows that had “A B C” above them, meaning “All Betting and Cashing.” Yep, no more going to a $2 Win Only window. And it had “The Fishbowl.” Don’t ask.
Woodbine got its act together, and over a series of years, starting in the 1990s, brought itself out of the 1950s. Facilities were upgraded, bars were introduced, meaning the Fishbowl disappeared (thank God; that place was depressing), and renovations went on.
Not just to the building, but to the track too. Turf races used to cross the dirt strip, now they don’t. The outer turf course (the Taylor Turf Course) is now two miles, the main remains at 1 mile, and the inner turf (Woodbine is one of only a few tracks in North American to have two turf courses) is at about 7/8 miles.
I was last there in 2019, and I like all the changes. It is much more player-friendly, with great views from pretty much everywhere. Nice sports and racing bars. I’m not sure that I like Level 2 being half casino table games, and all of Level 1 being slot games (it used to have a nice bar/restaurant where my ex and I spent many happy afternoons having lunch and watching races) but they don’t take away from the racing, so that’s not a problem.
Belmont is renovating. That’s a good thing. By doing so, it believes that racing will continue. Good to see a vote of confidence in racing; its death knell has been sounded too many times.
I understand the geometry of it. The shortest path is going to be the quickest, and that means running close to the rail through the turns.
Strictly speaking, the shortest path from the start goes to the tangent of the upcoming turn. Start on a straightaway and you’ve got the whole length of the straight to get the positions sorted out. Start on a turn and all the horses are trying to get to the rail in the firt hundred yards.
I’m a little surprised that you say the horses are trained to get near the rail quickly. I always figured they were trained to go where the jockey told them to go, and the jockeys would keep the horses from all running into each other. How much control does the rider have, and how much is he just along for the ride.
My best friend in high schooll had a quarterhorse, and I went with him sometimes to exercise him, so I learned a tiny bit about horses. As I recall, my friend didn’t think too highly of thoroughbreds; said they weren’t the brightest breed in the stable.
Starting on the turn doesn’t seem to be a problem whenever they hold the Breeders Cup Classic at Belmont. The only time I remember anybody having a problem with it was for the Foolish Pleasure-Ruffian match race.
OK it looks like you can explain the photos I took of Belmont’s windows with vaccination stations right under them? I can’t figure out how to upload them. One of them has a table with medical equipment stacked under a window with a sign saying “$50.00 MINIMUM EACH BET” and the window next to it has a sign saying “All Betting & Cashing I.R.S. Window”.
I also have a photo of what looks like a vending machine that says “CASH CARD AVAILABLE HERE Credit . Debit Paperless Cashless Betting”
The horses know that they should get near the rail, but it’s the jockey’s job to make sure that they don’t do it in such a way that they bump into each other; or worse, push another horse into the rail. It’s always a team effort, where the jockey and the horse work together.
It’s interesting to watch a horse whose jockey has fallen off. It runs with the others, without a rider, trying to keep up, though not really following any kind of direction, so its path can be all over the place. The horse is disqualified, of course, but as long as the jockey is okay, it’s kind of fun to watch. Unless you wagered on that horse, naturally.
Your friend’s recollection and my experience are about the same. Thoroughbreds are not the brightest of the equine world. They are bred, sometimes inbred, to do one thing, and one thing only: race. They’re not much good for anything else.
A friend of mine owned a retired thoroughbred. Frankly, it wasn’t a very nice horse. Temperamental, and prone to just plain bolting for no apparent reason during a Sunday afternoon ride. I never rode it, but I saw the trouble Buddy had riding it, and trying to coax the “racehorse” out of it. He never succeeded.
There are organizations that claim to “rehabilitate” retired Thoroughbreds. I don’t know how successful they are, but they do show horses interacting with children and (I presume) experienced hobby riders on their commercials during race book broadcasts.
All the tracks I’ve been to have used an ABC system at the windows, but there’s no reason why some might still have dedicated windows for the high rollers, so the $50 players don’t have to mingle in line with the $2 players.
“I.R.S. window” is something I’m not familiar with. Something to do with income taxes on winnings? Note that I’m in Canada, where gambling winnings (racing, lotteries, casinos, sports) are not taxed, so an “I.R.S. window” is a new one to me.
I don’t know for sure, but I’d guess that “Cash Card/Debit Paperless Cash Betting” is a way to bet using some sort of account, without using cash. Buy a card for, say, $100 and you’ve got $100 in your account. You use your card at something like an ATM to place bets. Losing wagers are deducted from your account; winning wagers are added, and you can cash your card in at any time. Just a guess, though, like I said.
I do much the same thing, only without a card. I can put, say, $50 in cash into an Autotote machine, place a $10 bet, and receive my bet ticket plus a credit voucher for $40. Whatever happens, I can use that credit voucher just like cash at the Autotote machines, or at the teller’s window, to place another bet. Or I can cash it in.
Like I said way upthread, I’ve been playing the same $50 since last February. Always using credit vouchers to add winnings, and deduct losses. There’s always a credit voucher in my wallet—maybe not for much, but for something I can use the next time I am at the track.
Any exacta / trifecta / daily double / pick-whatever bet that pays 300-1 or more where the return is at least $600 is subject to the track having to report the winnings to the IRS. The bettor receives a “W-2G form” with the information, mainly as a reminder to include it on their next income tax filing as the IRS knows about it.
Thanks for the info. I can certainly see where some exotics and parlays would be (hell, they are) in excess of $600, so it is nice to know that there’s a little wiggle room there to win small amounts without it having to be reported.
I’ve never been to an American track, but I’ve played plenty of them in race books here in Canada. The closest I’ve come in the United States is playing horses in a Las Vegas race and sports book. Yes, I’ve won occasionally while in Las Vegas race books, but I’m glad to know that the I.R.S. is not going to care about the $25.80 exactor I won on a race at Saratoga, or the $12.40 I won on a race at Santa Anita.