Seems like we have some live wires in the most recent crop of newbies. That is not a bad thing though. We definitely need fresh blood to continue to stir things up. It would get boring otherwise.
I sure hope the super-filly syndrome goes away during the upcoming season. Laurie made the changes in the programming a while ago and I think they are supposed to kick in with this next batch of 2yo's. We'll probably still have to suffer through a couple seasons of filly dominance until the older horses retire though.
As Ettore alluded to in the Forum recently, there are probably gonna be a ton of horses available in the auction this year. Everybody is overbreeding because of the new foal/mare stabling rule. There will be some outstanding deals available. I envision as many foals as you can choke down for less than $20k apiece. We'll see.
I didn't do any research to back this statement up but, there sure seemed to be a glut of turf races again this past season. I've got a couple dirt sprinters and there weren't alot of options for them. This has been an issue in the past as well.
I was surprised to see the War Machine breeding drop down to the 5th (or was it 6th?) choice in the PW contest. Considering there are only 4 available breeding spots per year and he's booked for the next 2 breeding seasons, I really thought that he would be the first choice. Remember folks, he won 16 of 17 in his prime and every big race that you can win on dirt. If you want to sign on for 2010, step right up! : )
I am very high on a couple colts coming up next season. Keep an eye on Big Slick and Mister Fantastic. My 2yo crop that began racing this past season was a little disappointing although I still think Kid Flash and Lady Katherine may show something as 3yo's.
I don't think I like the rule of starting off new stables with their choice of horses from Endless Vista. There have been some newbies who have vaulted right into prominance by inheriting special horses. That luxury was not something that was available to the older stables. In fact, there are older stables who have still not hit the big time because they did not have the option of choosing a superstar as a freebie. I think new stables should be given $200,000 and then turned loose to buy their own racers. There is never a shortage of horses for sale so they should not have trouble getting into the races. They just won't be having Eclipse winners in their first season.
Is it just me, or did we used to have much deeper discussions on the Forum in the past? Seems like Forum discussions lately have been more superficial and infrequent than they used to be.
I'm thinking about doing a complete rewrite of my website. It really hasn't changed much in the past few seasons and I'm getting the itch to change it. By the way, can you hear the music when you bring the site up? When I do, I don't hear the music for some reason.
Ten races per season. That is my goal per horse for 2008. Plenty of rest is my new mantra. I'm following in Amanda's footsteps.
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