how would you guys break down this race?

[chaka]

Distant second

[chaka]

Saratoga valley ran second ,beaten 11 lengths, in a mdn 8k at laurel..
try again in few weeks

[cbiscuit]

Hey Chaka, all due respect but why are you bringing up a cheap claiming race on MF Breeders' Cup day??? You seeking buyers?

[chaka]

Hey Chaka, all due respect but why are you bringing up a cheap claiming race on MF Breeders' Cup day??? You seeking buyers?

no disrepect taken cbiscuit... the simple fact is i remembered during BC I forgot to post the thursday result for my buddies.

While they are low level claimers- being new to the game i needed to start small... It's what I could afford to lose.
Thankfully I did because its been a quick learn how difficult it is to have a winning horse at any level.

Constant nagging injuries and travel costs adding up. 2nds and thirds at these levels dont offset the bills... have to win- which hasnt happened for me yet (see record below)

A few of my non racing buddies have friends that like horses (whom I have yet to meet) keep asking my friends how things are going for me.. They just direct those people to this thread.

Time saver for everyone,primarily me.

definitely not seeking any buyers-not intent of thread- rather posting here in the same thread is easier than sending dozens of emails or pms to family/friends (plus a couple forum friends) wanting to follow my experiences in this game.

"living vicariously thru me" as they say . They want to feel a part of it without the fiscal investment
Its definitely a money burner for sure, except for the few elite ones.


HORSE-STABLE RECORD
TRACKS RACED HIGH/LOW RACE LEVEL**
Moe Man -DAS*
3s 0-1-1 + 1 5th
Belmont/Monmouth Clm 40k/ Clm 12.5k

Indy Tune -DAS*
3s 0-1-0 + 2 5ths
Belmont/Saratoga AOC40k/ Clm 20k

NFs Destiny-DAS
1s 0-1-0
Belmont Clm 20k

Wishful Melody -Dare To Dream
4s 0-0-1 (retired)
Arlington/ Canterbury MSW27k/ Mdn 6.5K

Saratoga Valley -Dare To Dream
6s 0-1-2 + 1 5th
Belmont/Saratoga/Delaware/ Laurel MSW60k/ Mdn 8k

No Lie -Eclipse Thoroughbreds
unraced yearling 1st start est. summer 2015

The Second Burst- Dare To Dream
unraced 2yo 1st start est spring 2015

2014 total 17s 0-4-4

* Claimed away
**Race level is for races I owned a share only

[Jeffie]

Keep at it Chaka, the most important thing is enjoying the experience.
Im sure you knew before hand this wasnt gonna be a huge moneymaker its just a Hobby.
I enjoy your updates and am rooting for ya pal GL in your future races.

[chaka]

Glad to hear that.

Oct. 29th and Nov. 13th at Laurel.

These days they are writing both Maiden 8-7 and Maiden 12.5-10.5 going long on the same day.

The idea is that one will fill by being able to have trainers "if" their horses from one race to another. You never know but for both to fill, that would be incredible. Seen stranger things though.

What that means is they enter for md. 8 but "if" that race does not go, ( fill ) , they can "if" enter to the other race. Key here is to enter EARLY , around 9-9:30 AM. The racing office will start to push the lesser of the 2 fields over to the other race around 10:30 or 11 AM. Like if one race has 6 entries and the other has 4 entries, they start getting on the phone and persuading trainers to move the entry over to the other race. Because it will probably be the 1st, 2nd or last race, they want at least 8 or 9 horses for the Daily double or 9 or 10 for the Super of they can get it. If they get less, like 7 or 8, it will probably be the 3rd or 4th race. A lot of this depends on the size of the other fields that the secretary has to deal with.

For the most part the horses will be the same BUT typically there will be one or two horses that do not want to drop down to 8K. So... the 12.5 might be tougher than the 8k would be. Not by much, but she needs any help she can get.

Hopefully they enter for the bottom number and get the 4 lbs. off from 122 to 118 lbs. Again, help her all they can right?

Saratoga Valley next start expected nov 13th either at 1 mile race or the 1 1/16 race whichever goes

[chaka]

Keep at it Chaka, the most important thing is enjoying the experience.
Im sure you knew before hand this wasnt gonna be a huge moneymaker its just a Hobby.
I enjoy your updates and am rooting for ya pal GL in your future races.

Thanks Jeffie.. I knew wasnt moneymaker but hoped to not lose a ton in the process
there's been more delays and setbacks than imagined. As I've learned pretty much every horse has something wrong and there's no avoiding it- just hope it's not serious
It's all been learn on the fly for me as I never grew up around horses. I just love being at the track plus the mental challenge of solving race puzzles

When i first got in last July, the offering indicated fall starts for racing but neither horse were able to take riders until December and it wound up being May and June (so 3 cash calls occured) before their first races. One horse had teeth issues and couldn't take the bit. The other had back and leg issues..they even use acupuncture on horses lol

Trying to avoid the pre race delays, the next horse i waited until there were several breezes and an announcement of a first race within the month...then the next work after receiving my payment they find a chip near the knee lol

while recovering from the knee scope, an intestinal issue led to another surgery. Both surgeries went well, but again accrued more bills prior to racing.

I invested with Eclipse Thoroughbreds to see if could find a horse with ability over the low level claimers. Dogwood stable(think Palace
Malace) was winding down and were sort of co-oping with Eclipse as they were getting started. Jack Sadler long time dogwood exec , now with Eclipse, was the person i spoke with about costs etc. Jack is probably one of the most soft spoken no pressure people I've ever dealt with.

I asked to receive offerings from Eclipse but my work was too hectic to consider buying in. Then late summer an offering came thru for 2 colts and a filly. I already had invested in 3 fillies so I was down to the colts.
The top choice was to be trained by Graham Motion but came with a 175k price- even the smallest investment option was something like 12k plus 1q dues...and the horse was a yearling so racing was likely a calendar yr away.

"Decorated Soldier" was the name.. I plan to follow this horse out of curiosity - no regrets mind you.
While my heart and eagerness wanted to say "yes, go for it"- The cost was too great at this time , plus there are more horses born every day. While it would have been fun to see reactions from locals after telling them graham is the trainer , the reality is I would be getting way ahead of myself for what I know.

The filly was to be trained by todd pletcher.

I decided on the third of the three offerings. "No Lie" will be trained by Wayne catalano. I was familar with Wayne's success at Arlington Park, where I have done most of my online wagering, and I could afford the initial investment.

My plan was easy- just roll the funds from the first two horse (once they get claimed) towards the Eclipse horse.
Easy right? Well, only in theory.
Wishful Melody ran 4x and was given away. Saratoga Valley is 6 races in- winless- and no claim in sight. She's at least starting to cover her expenses.

It's been a fun journey that's only going to get better!

[chaka]

Saratoga Valley next start expected nov 13th either at 1 mile race or the 1 1/16 race whichever goes

Neither race went for Thursday... Re entering for mdn 8k for this friday 1 1/16.. She needs the lower level as the mile was 12.5k mdn cuz she's a chronic slow starter who lacks speed

[Jeffie]

Neither race went for Thursday... Re entering for mdn 8k for this friday 1 1/16.. She needs the lower level as the mile was 12.5k mdn cuz she's a chronic slow starter who lacks speed

Good luck man, and most important lets hope for a safe trip.

[chaka]

Hmmm not sure reason but looks like next three days at laurel have 16 entries for the long races but no mention of saratoga valley.
Havent received entry from equibase either so Looks like she's not in.. No word from managers yet -so can't say if it's just not right spot for her with that many entries or she's ill or didn't look right
I assume they would prefer a softer race with smaller field but time will tell

[chaka]

Managers are Hoping race gets brought back on overnights for next Thursday 11/20

[cutchemist42]

Hope the win comes soon!!

[chaka]

Ok taking lotto style $2 flyer on pick 6 the hard way

7 kozani 4:1
4 bitter heat 6:1 ml
3 echo Zulu 5;1 ml
3 wild at best 7/2 ml
1 law dog 4:1 ml
8 dr suer 7/2 ml

[chaka]

RACE 4

Off at: 1:47 Track Condition: Fast Purse: $40,000
Race Type: Claiming
Age Restriction: Three Year Old and Upward
Sex Restriction: Open
Distance: Six Furlongs On The Dirt

ChartReplay

10	N. F.'s Destiny	Angel Cruz	$3.70	$2.80	$2.10
7	Seek to Destroy	Joel Rosario		$7.60	$4.20
6	Taxplayer	Taylor B. Rice			$2.90

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner I'm off the schnide
Wire to wire.. dang wish i were there heck i didnt even get to see it live lol

one more item off the bucket list- Part Owner of winning racehorse

[chaka]

Saratoga Valley entered for saturday 7F for maiden 8k
Pretty sure it will be on the dirt though not specified in update
Track i think will be Delaware

[str]

Saratoga Valley entered for saturday 7F for maiden 8k
Pretty sure it will be on the dirt though not specified in update
Track i think will be Delaware

No 7/8ths at Del.

No 7/8ths turf at Laurel or Del.

Must be Laurel.

Must be dirt.

[chaka]

No 7/8ths at Del.

No 7/8ths turf at Laurel or Del.

Must be Laurel.

Must be dirt.

-15 wind chill here. Supposed to be 43 sat in laurel. I should see if i can get there. I cant stand the cold

[chaka]

Valley Entered in full field of 14 for sat but may not run. This is frustrating part of the game as the managers complain in Updates about races not going time and time again, then one comes we are entered, they want a different race

i understand their reasoning -they want smaller field giving a struggling horse best opportunity to earn money to pay its bills. Especially when a couple other entries have beyers 20 pts higher
No problem there.

It's just the perpetual delays in finding races that run. one other low level claimer back in August had entered 8 races in a row that didn't get used
Patience definitely isn't my strong suit

[chaka]

Stayin in the race with nothing else on the horizon- Race 9 laurel park 7f dirt
pretty weak field -mine included- though she finished ahead of half entered here in last race
Here's hopin for good effort

[chaka]

Her best race yet imo as she finished strong rather than passed tired horses.. Finished second closing strong but missed by 1/2 length or so

[chaka]

[chaka]

Saratoga valley entered sat dec 13 race 1 8k maiden 1 1/16 mile on dirt laurel park
7 horse field
she's beaten half the field in recent races 2-3x.
Couple big MSW droppers from msw40k and one from mdn25k

hope this one is finally it for her after last four 3rd,3rd, 2nd, and 2nd by 1/2 length last out

[chaka]

Disappointing race. Started ok then immediately fell back. Post race jockey said she lost couple of her glue ons and made her tentative

flushing this race and re entering same race next time it's scheduled around 12/27

[str]

Disappointing race. Started ok then immediately fell back. Post race jockey said she lost couple of her glue ons and made her tentative

flushing this race and re entering same race next time it's scheduled around 12/27

Made her tentative is an understatement. Were they front or back shoes? And anyone have an explanation as to why? On a dry track freshly graded that is not at all cool. Any reason given for wearing glue ons?

[chaka]

Made her tentative is an understatement. Were they front or back shoes? And anyone have an explanation as to why? On a dry track freshly graded that is not at all cool. Any reason given for wearing glue ons?

the initial report didn't indicate front or rear...I plan to ask why they used glue ons as its never been mentioned before. is it plausible they were trying as an equipment change?
I thought they would stay with whatever was used in last race...if she has been running with them we've never been informed

[str]

the initial report didn't indicate front or rear...I plan to ask why they used glue ons as its never been mentioned before. is it plausible they were trying as an equipment change?
I thought they would stay with whatever was used in last race...if she has been running with them we've never been informed

I never used them because I had a tremendous blacksmith and I did not trust them to stay on. Some guys use them just to use them. Yes, a small % of horses have feet bad enough to warrant them but not many . Didn't she have a foot abscess before? Maybe they will blame that on nails, thus the glue ons but that's a reach.
Lost shoe behind, I doubt it would have made her that tentative. Up front, it's a wonder she ran at all. So it is important to know. Shoes just don't come off on fast tracks. Maybe I am expecting too much.
No, that would not be an equipment change and off her career best, all you do is hold your breath and change nothing and hope she repeats. My guess is she wore glue ons last race as well. Probably was not shod in between which pushed her close to close to 30 days? Whatever. I just was never into them for this reason.

[chaka]

I never used them because I had a tremendous blacksmith and I did not trust them to stay on. Some guys use them just to use them. Yes, a small % of horses have feet bad enough to warrant them but not many . Didn't she have a foot abscess before? Maybe they will blame that on nails, thus the glue ons but that's a reach.
Lost shoe behind, I doubt it would have made her that tentative. Up front, it's a wonder she ran at all. So it is important to know. Shoes just don't come off on fast tracks. Maybe I am expecting too much.
No, that would not be an equipment change and off her career best, all you do is hold your breath and change nothing and hope she repeats. My guess is she wore glue ons last race as well. Probably was not shod in between which pushed her close to close to 30 days? Whatever. I just was never into them for this reason.

It was right front she lost. She had been using them for awhile because of sensitive hooves- sounds like after the abcess they went to them.

They said dont like using them especially because of cost- they are more expensive but a few in their stable are wearing them due to fragile outer walls of the hooves unable to hold the nails well enough. The last sentence was to best of my recollection how it was explained

[chaka]

Saratoga entered sat dec 27 going 1 mile. Pretty much same group as last out

[chaka]

Scratched -unable to make it to the track

[chaka]

Saturday race 9 laurel 7F saratoga valley entered hopefully she can finally break maiden

[trytrytry]

how many races with no wins so far for Saratoga Valley?

[chaka]

how many races with no wins so far for Saratoga Valley?

lol too many 9. I invested in the first two horses before they began to train and combined are 0 wins in 13 starts 2 seconds and 3 thirds.
Last race for Saratoga was throw out with lost shoe but just missed prior start.

first 3-4 were turf routes where she was majorly outclassed at saratoga/belmont req major drops to laurel 8-12k and switch to dirt

im anxious to see my other horse start to run..The Second Burst- she just started jogging after minor surgery

shes a filly with some speed hoping to debut late in meet at Oaklawn.. Whether she can turn it into "racing speed" - time will tell but she ran one a 10.1 furlong at the auction. The trainer also owns a piece of her which I take as a positive

[chaka]

Saratoga breaks her maiden

Who hoo
after 8 tries she was able to get some early pace and run down the leader with a furlong to go

This was awesome as it,was shortly after the. Bison drove the field to win their 4th consecutive championship

have to admit I failed,going for an unrelated trifecta...the cool cat sos burger 8patties and 8. Cheeses in 30 min

[str]

Who hoo
after 8 tries she was able to get some early pace and run down the leader with a furlong to go

This was awesome as it,was shortly after the. Bison drove the field to win their 4th consecutive championship

have to admit I failed,going for an unrelated trifecta...the cool cat sos burger 8patties and 8. Cheeses in 30 min

Congrats Chaka !!!!

Enjoy the moments that you wait so patiently to experience.

Good for you Man

[chaka]

Congrats Chaka !!!!

Enjoy the moments that you wait so patiently to experience.

Good for you Man

Thanks boss it was great ! wish I was there though Not complaining being in maui lol

I think it's definitely more exciting catching the horse than winning going away but that's an afterthought as we take a win anyway they make it happen

i did put her on top only one horse for the exacta. Wrong horse under as it paid $162. Didn't have her to,win either at $6:1 as I barely got the exacta bet in.

These might be low level claimers but these exacta prices are huge with the larger field and favs not hitting board

I've watched race a few times. Win photo comin in 10-14 days I guess
Finally!