Track Conditions

It hasn’t rained a meaningful amount in a month. The track is supper dry powder . Deeply harrowed, with dust abbated by the water truck.  Hoofbeats are greatly muffled.  Therefore track is fast with a lower-case “f”. Excessive  early speed does take a toll.  After race # 9 there was still a Mid-Summer’s Eve glow on the NorthWest horizon. Temps in the low sixties, sky partly cloudy, winds light from SSW

Special Situations

By race #10  driver Serge Masse had won half the races. ( looks like another Winter in Costa Rica & Florida,
while his FRD counterparts grind themselves down in the cold, slimy limestone PIT.
In Race #11 his stead was a head in front around last turn , but broke stride.
In race #12, down the lane he steered ROCKET RACHEL around the leaders, but was himself beat at the wire by a 45 to 1 shot ( A MIDNIGHT PROMISE, so appropriate for Mid-Summer’s eve.)
No one picked that final leg of the late  win-3, so it paid on  2/3.

Driver Kieth Clark is now competing in Grand Praire Alberta , where they race Friday twilight (no lights) and Sat & Sun afternoon, through August 30th. The ASHA site has a link to live racing.  Six of the horses he trained raced at FRD this weekend,  but only one won. KC will be inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Evergreen Park ( 55′ 6” N, 118′ 45” W  –  2130 feet ASL ) Is a four turn, half mile track Straightaways are aproximately 504 feet and each turn covers 816 feet around a 260 feet radius. ( See this blog,s post ” How to measure your track with Google Earth”) Sunset on June 21 is 9:39 PM,  Mountain Daylight Time. Civil Twilght ends at 10:37 PM . PP#7 trails PP #1.

Buggies use inside track. It appears that straight-aways gradually "transition" into turn semicircles.

Alberta Downs, located in Lacombe/Red Deer, AB, cancelled the last few days racing because of poor track condtions ( discontinous frost thaw ). That oval is so new it’s not yet on Google Earth.

Parimutuel HighLight

Dustin Poloway in race #11 tonight came second @ 50 to 1 odds paying $51 to place.  Having benefitted by following a M.A.D. pace. Last night he came second at 29 to 1 odds

2008-2009 Season Wrap

Next weekend ( Fri-Sat) will wrap-up the season .

Track Condition:

Fast. Powder on surface, hoofbeats muffled. No precip for several days
Heat wave last few days. Moderate temps tonight, but still  warmest racing of the meet.

Track Political Economy:

Performances are being cut back for the last 8racing days of the 2008-2009 Season. Many entered fewer drawn.

Special circumstances:

D. Monkman Jr., another Albertan teamster is testing FRD’s tight-turns.
At start of card, live racing video signal was intermittent and poor quality.
My usual web site for an EZ excel paste of the exacta matrix had gone subscription .
I figured tonight was not meant to be so I booked off. Will be reviewing video replays during week.

Rce #9, Clm 15-17.5k

Rango from pp#8 trys “pedal to the metal” thus commiting MAD . Much to fast , Halves were 55.4 & 58.0.
RS KASH ( K.Clark) win with slick steer. many who figured where buried and bloked as leader on rail totally collapsed

Race #10,

RS WildCard win ( seven in a row) going a tough W/W. Fought of challengers from any angle. Showed amazing GRIT to hang on for the win.

Race #11 Open F&M

The two entries were the first four finsihers, making the fifth placed horse third in the triactor.