posted October 1, 2007 at 20:26 in Triple Crown Betting Trends

Anyone planning to wager on the 11 Breeders’ Cup races at Monmouth Park ought to take notice of how the track played during its 62nd meeting this year.

Frankly, it deserves the reputation of being a fast track – just like Gulfstream Park did at my old South Florida stomping grounds for many years.

Through July 21 of this year’s 79-day meeting, according to Brisnet.com, 40 percent of the winning horses in 191 races at six furlongs (distance for BC Sprint and Filly & Mare Sprint) went wire to wire. Ah, when the meeting ended on Sept. 2, that statistic remained the same after more than 300 races.

According to Paul Grimm, editor of the online Oceanport Racing Report, “Records fell all over the place. I heard many complaints from owners that the strip was too fast.

“Claimers $20,000-$18,000 were running in the 1:09 range, kind of skewed many handicappers because the speed was so dominant that the bias made horses that were mediocre look better than average for a while.”

How about good horses? Well, they did equally well as five track records were broken – three on the main track and two on the grass. Idiot Proof, a Hollywood Park-based 3-year-old, roared to a 7 ¼-length triumph in the Jersey Shore Stakes at six furlongs on July 4.

“The record that stood out is the six furlong mark, which was set by Gilded Time as a 2-year-old in 1992 – 1:07 4/5,” Grimm said. “I can remember at that time people being up upset that a 2-year-old would set such a time. I never in my lifetime thought that record would fall again.”

Such an outstanding performance had trainer Clifford Sise Jr. talking BC Sprint on Oct. 27.

Speed at other sprints didn’t fall off. While there were only 27 races at 5 ½ furlongs, wire-to-wire jobs were 44 percent. Joey P. shattered, by a full second, the track record of 1:02 4/5 set last year by Man of Danger while winning the opening day Decathlon Stakes on May 12. It was his ninth victory at Monmouth.

“I will say that over the final five weeks or so the times got slower as it looked as if the dirt surface was adjusted,” Grimm pointed out. “Quarter and half-mile split times in sprints still ranged from 21 to 22 and 43 to 44, but coming home was 1:11 to 1:12. At the beginning of the meet those races were finishing in 1:10.”

That’s the way one of my favorite tracks played before the main track was enlarged and redone several years ago. Gulfstream, rightfully so, had been known as speed favoring, especially in its first month of any meeting.

I recall that you could win a bundle wagering on speed horses in the late ’90s at the Hallandale Beach strip. I did so during a paid sabbatical during ’95 when editing and writing for The Miami Herald for more than three decades.

I was no stranger to Gulfstream. I attended many races since graduating from the University of Miami in ’56. Yep, there were complaints back then after the track landed the 16th BC, which I covered.

On that perfect Nov. 6 afternoon in ’99, Artax defeated Kona Gold by a half-length in the BC Sprint, equaling the track record of 1:07 4/5 set in ’73 by Mr. Prospector.

Since Gulfstream was renovated in time for the ’05 season, the main track has played more fairly. Monmouth might do the same in the future since its main track was redone for the ’07 meeting.

(Next: A look at Monmouth’s routes and turf races.)

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