"Peculiar Going" at Belmont Park, Daily Racing Form, 1926-05-28

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Peculiar Going at Belmont Park William A Gorman the old superintendent of Belmont Park said after the magnificent course had been completed some twentythree or four years ago Dont ever think this track will get heavy because that is impossible It has a foundation of sandstone from one end to the other When a horses hoof goes through the top dressing it strikes the hard surface of sandstone Consequently it will never be heavy or boggy all depending upon the depth of the top dressing dressingIn In the earlier years Belmont was an exceedingly fast track but safe and sane applications of top dressing in recent years have made it considerably slower Now it is what all tracks should be safe but comparatively slow to some tracks and not so conducive to crippling horses while training or racing That the going is appreciated by horsemen is borne out by the fact that most of our local trainers winter their horses at Belmont Park ParkThe The reason for describing this track is that we wish to show that handicappers who figure on time as a basis must not compare Belmont with either Saratoga or Aqueduct both of which are notably faster and that the footing at Belmont may md I might say will make quite a difference in their form Some horses will like Belmont others will prefer the firmer footing of Aqueduct This points to the old saying Horses for courses and the fact that iir future calculations one can look for repeaters as decidedly as pertains at Bowie where horses for courses is distinctly visible This argument applies to the circular course courseWidener Widener Coarse Much the Same SameOf Of the new Widener straight track little can be said authentically at present until more races have been run over it but the Toboggan Handicap won by Sarma ticus indicates that the footing will be much the same as that of the circular track suitable to some horses and detrimental to others notably the weakening of Turf Idol and Whiskalong and the utter inability of Silver Fox to find his full stride in the going There is no question that Turf Idol was fit also Whiskalong as they showed speed for a greater part of the threequarters and then weakened badly Noah did not seem to like the footing either On a track suitable to all horses it is improbable that either Rock Star or Sun Pal could beat those mentioned yet they did it in the Toboggan This fact is almost proof positive that horses for courses means much in figuring horses and that the track where a race takes olace has much to do with the result resultThat That the Widener track will become faster with age is presumably certain Even now it is faster than the circular course by just a trifle but time handicappers place little dependence on any straight course owing to wind and atmospherical conditions being so changeable Comparison and weight allotments are far prefer ¬ able to time on a straight course courseJim Jim Gaffney Verifies Gorman GormanThe The widely known contractor Jim Gaffney was at Belmont Saturday and I conversed with him on the subject as he was the man who dug the first shovel into Belmont In reference to the sandstone bottom he said it prevailed all over the entire estate which indicates that the Widener course is similar in foundation to the circular course It will never be really heavy said he and in sloppy going might be almost as fast as when it is dry This is Mr Gaffneys expert opinion and he knows His verdict coincides with that of Mr Gorman GormanThese These facts about Belmont Park tracks may be timely to handicappers who spend hours over their work and should induce them to pay a little attention to the footing before drawing a final conclusion of what is likely to happen It might also minimize the criticism that is so prevalent if a horse does not show the form at Belmont that he did at some other track ED COLE


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1920s/drf1926052801/drf1926052801_16_4
Local Identifier: drf1926052801_16_4
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800