Sunday, February 3, 2013

Gulfstream Park v Santa Anita


I don't have much of real substance here, but I did want to mention a few of the positives that I experienced Saturday in playing Gulfstream Park over Santa Anita.  For example, I liked being able to play a Pick Six with a small bankroll (for example, my $7.20 play at Gulfstream yesterday would have cost $144 with a $2 minimum).  I liked that the Pick Five races were all part of the Pick Six, so that no additional handicapping was required to play both (in SoCal, the Pick 5 starts the card, while the Pick 6 ends it, so there's minimal overlap).  

I liked playing $1 Doubles and $1 WPS wagers (SoCal still has a $2 minimum for these bets); not so much because it's easier on the bankroll, but primarily because it makes it easier to leverage opinions and hedge your main plays.  For these same reasons, I liked the $0.50 minimum for the Trifecta vs the $1 minimum at Santa Anita.

Does the above mean that I'll be switching circuits?  Probably not; West Coast races run at a time of day that's better suited to my schedule than the East Coast circuit.  I also like that, with the exception of the Winter months, you virtually never have to consider anything other than fast tracks and firm turfs when handicapping the SoCal tracks.  But it certainly would be nice to see Santa Anita / Hollywood / Del Mar make some of the changes mentioned above.

So what do you folks think?  What changes would you like to see your local circuit make to its wagering menu?  Conversely, what are they doing that you like that you hope they never change?

Peace and Love,

Jimbo

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