Too Much Racing Is Detrimental to Quality of Fields

One of the items on the agenda for the California Horse Racing Board’s monthly meeting here Friday is the allocation of race dates for 1999.

What will happen remains to be seen, but here’s a plea: Let there be less racing next year.

Anyone who thinks there should not be fewer racing dates hasn’t been paying attention to the quality of racing. Frankly, it stinks most of the time.

On Wednesday, only 60 horses were entered in the eight races at Del Mar. Four late scratches reduced the total to 56, meaning the average field size was seven horses, which hardly makes for great wagering opportunities. There were three five-horse fields.

When entries were taken Monday morning for today’s card, only 62 were entered with the figure being reduced to 58 after scratches Wednesday morning. Odds are there will be more scratches before post time today with the biggest field on the card at the moment numbering 10.

Any board members planning to stay for the races after their meeting Friday will see more evidence of how bad things are.

A total of 58 horses were entered Wednesday morning for Friday. The largest field is 11 in a $25,000 maiden claimer, the kind of race in which many of the horses often have no chance.

The feature is the $84,725 Solana Beach. It attracted four horses.

The quality of the fields is also a problem.

The rash of breakdowns at Del Mar--nine horses have been put down so far--can also at least partly be attributed to the glut of racing.

Some of the thoroughbreds who have been fatally injured during this meeting looked questionable going into their fateful races.

One example was Farm Water, who went down in the final race on opening day, July 22. A 4-year-old gelding who didn’t begin his career until late in his 3-year-old season, Farm Water was making his first start since winning a Cal-bred allowance race May 31 at Hollywood Park. He dropped in for $16,000 and had only one work (three furlongs in 37 2/5 on June 27 in Inglewood) showing in the Daily Racing Form since his win.

As long as there are six-day weeks and 10-race programs on weekends, this problem is going to continue, not only here but at the two other major tracks in Southern California.

Something needs to be done sooner rather than later. Common sense, rather than greed, should rule.

AROUND THE TRACK

Other random thoughts, notes and opinions on the first four weeks of Del Mar:

* Free House proved he could win at 1 1/4 miles with his impressive victory in the Pacific Classic, but his ability to win at that distance was a legitimate question for handicappers and writers to raise before the race. He had come close in two of three tries at the distance, but he was winless before the Classic.

* Del Mar is again going to offer a guaranteed Pick Six pool, on Sept. 7, which is Labor Day. The amount this time will be $2.5 million, up from $2 million last Saturday. Let’s hope the races offered in the Pick Six on Sept. 7 are more contentious than those players saw last Saturday.

For starters, Kona Gold, who won the eighth race by seven lengths at 2-5 odds, made the Pick Six a Pick Five. The Pacific Classic boiled down to only three contenders--the entry of Gentlemen and Puerto Madero, Touch Gold and Free House--and so did the ninth race. A maiden contest on turf, it featured only three horses with a realistic chance and they--Musgrave, Erasmus Hall and Just Ruler--ran 1-2-3.

The guaranteed Pick Six has been promoted as a way for a horseplayer to possibly make a life-changing score. Realistically, there was no way the Pick Six could have paid seven or even six figures last Saturday.