forum.sports-pro.co.uk

lenahan · Group Performer Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Posts: 1421

Hoping the board have some help and info they can can put up on this thread to assist me,others and maybe even yourself if someone puts up something you didnt know about.

Basically im not really having any proper bets now for a couple of weeks until the breeders meeting as im going to save my funds for the many oppurtunities that this meeting presents. The value on some horses and races should be quite something.

Thing is im a real novice on american racing. I only bet in the US on a European runner when im confident of the Euro runners chances. Even then i do it blind without knowing anything of the local runners. Foolish sometimes but other times not so much so when you can be confident in a trainer etc and the fact Euro horses are better in certain general instances. The vice versa is true of course. I wouldnt even back STS on dirt against a us performer.

I want to boost my limited knowledge base this next couple of weeks so i can make more informed choices for the santa anita meet.

What good sources are out there to help me ? Sites for US info,form,opinion anything ? Breeders stats and trends ? Important trial races ? I want to try and learn about the Us runners and wiegh them up against our own euro horses and as much about us racing in general as i can. I know abit about the beyer scale and the comparison with a timeform rating. Last year the winners were either turf horses or horses with form on a synthetic surface. None of the dirt performers won or did particulary well. Id expect that to be the case this year so im interested to know who are the us synthetic horses etc

Im sure there is a whole host of knowledge people may have on here that they may be happy to share with myself and others?

Cheers
lenahan

cre8flow · Group Performer Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 1921

the fall meet at santa anita is called the oak tree meet
i am not sure that you can access calracing.com but for americans its free
this will give you all the races from southern california for about 6 months

you can access a horse's races by putting in its name

you might not find all of its races there as some tracks dont share

try keeneland as well -they have replays as well but just not sure if euros have access
look also at the drf and the ntra sites for further info

to me its simple those that have raced on poly oak tree have the best chance but horses having raced well at woodbine kee santa anita and arlington should also be considered

betting so cal the parimutual pool sooner or later and much sooner the take out will be raisedd-the cal governor just signed a bill allowing tracks to increase the takeout-so you should know what the takeout is

so cal is in a dire situation
small field sizes are abundant and oak tree has had a terrible meet for field sizes-maybe the worst ever

keep it simple and look for value-one difference may be that the euros will be bet down much more this year so look for the unobvious euros

Pieman · Handicapper Joined: 10 Mar 2008 Posts: 53

I usually look at this site http://www.drf.com/ when looking at US form. There is a Breeders Cup section and write up and nearer the time there is usally some form guides on the races with expected SPs.

lenahan · Group Performer Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Posts: 1421

BUMP TTT

lenahan · Group Performer Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Posts: 1421

Could someone help out on this one please. Cre8flow and tony or anyone that knows ?

Could someone please just clarify how many different surfaces horses are racing on for the breeders cup this fri and sat at santa anita ? I thought it was just two. i.e PRO RIDE and TURF ? Howver the race being called the DIRT mile confuses me ? what surface is this being run on ?

Its all very confusing and misleading

Could someone please just clarify the track and santa anita and the surfaces and explain that in context to the names for some of the races please. I just want to be sure im not making any major Co*kc ups.

theBear · Handicapper Joined: 03 Jul 2007 Posts: 148

theres a good free comp over on sporting life if anyones interested? Mythical £ on each race. Free bets from Skybet are prizes.
Check it out
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"Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is." Danny Blanchflower

Swagger · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:23 pm Post subject:

Lenahan - All the dirt races are run on the ProRide surface. They will still be listed as Dirt in the Racingpost and racecards but they are all run on the Proride surface. Proride is a synthetic surface which was introduced to balance the dirt races between the US and European trained horses. They is little kickback compared to the Dirt and it rides similar to good ground on the turf. ProRide is very different to Dirt, if a horse has outstanding form on dirt then they won't necessarily translate this to ProRide. Arguably, Group 1 form on Dirt could be construed as a negative as you need different qualities to win on the ProRide - I would argue horses with more speed, less stamina and those who can quicken from off the pace. But this is my subjective viewpoint.

Santa Anita, especially the ProRide generally favours closers, judging from last years races.

Regards and good luck.
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cre8flow · Group Performer Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 1921

they just call it the dirt mile
that is what they named it a couple of years ago when they made it a bc race
there is a decent chance in the coming years the dirt mile will be canceled
it takes away from other races and a huge number of mile entrants are double entried