Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

Horseplayer and racing fan, and former National Handicapper for Daily Racing yada yada yada New York Joined June 2014

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

Hey @TheNYRA, I love tradition like I hope you do. So there’s this: the Travers canoe is completely blocked from view of the stands by the big tote board near the finish line. Why not move the Travers canoe to the center lake, where people may actually see it?

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

Interesting strategy with Idiomatic. Sometimes you get what you deserve.

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

@downhill_putt Thank you. That is very kind.

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

Of course, that’s bottom *line,* but I think you good folks already knew that.

Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

Forgive me, because I’ve been screaming about it for years, but how can @TheNYRA continue to accept terrible decisions from the stewards who adjudicate their races? Even if the situation hasn’t affected their bottom like yet, how can The NYRA allow this problem to go on?

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

With this, we could see a repeat of Whitney Day, when multiple Pick 4s, P5s & the P6 was lost, there was an interminable 50 minutes between races, and handle cratered nearly 32%. This idea works only if we get no rain (not likely) or the card is cancelled.

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

Correct me if I’m wrong, but there is no late Pick 5 or Pick 6 today at Saratoga because canceled race 10 was in both sequences, and there is no mechanism in place to make whole the three people who may have actually bet into those pools before race 10 was canceled?

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

@davidjashforth @TheNYRA Thank you, David!!

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

Been around a long time. Have seen a lot of dq’s. That classifies as one of the worst I’ve seen. Why would anyone want to bet on @TheNYRA races when their stewards demonstrate such incompetence toward the betting public on such a consistent basis?

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

And by the way, any jockey who willingly got off the rail today here in Saratoga is guilty of either malpractice or not really trying.

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Paul Matties Jr @PaulMattiesJr

2 years ago

The biggest problem with NYRA's decision is that synthetic is not going to magically end on the first day of spring. Like Gulfstream has, they're going to have to keep writing synthetic races to fill cards. Dirt racing at Belmont will primarily be babies and stakes races.

Repole Stable @RepoleStable

2 years ago

There is NOT 1 owner, trainer or gambler that is for a tapeta ONLY winter racing at Belmont. We all wanted BOTH a dirt surface and a tapeta surface. We were asked, polled and not listened too. Repole Stable will NOT be running any horses for the winter meet of 2026. I’m

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

My semi-regular notice that the @TheNYRA stewards will, without fail, find ways to make absurd decisions. It’s absolutely amazing.

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

2 years ago

Thanks for the mention, Tony! The Racing Times was absolutely revolutionary, and I’m so glad I was a part of it!

Tinky @Tinky47flat

2 years ago

‡ A (CCA OAKS) Blast From the Past! One of the advantages of my identity having been revealed is that I can choose to post some of my work from 'back in the day'. As mentioned on the current RailTalk podcast, I wrote for several publications in the '80s and '90s, including The

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

3 years ago

@MattCTVG @sheabridge143 @RenCarothers Indeed it was!

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Mike Watchmaker @Mike_Watchmaker

3 years ago

I suppose one has to trust that the reinvention will be a good one. That begs an enormous amount of trust.

Peter T. Fornatale @loomsboldly

3 years ago

@Mike_Watchmaker I hear you but better to reinvent it and bring it out of the Stone Age than keep it in its current nether state. Belmont is dead. Long live Belmont! @DRFGrening