Should Sulkies be listed as Change of Equipment

[Slim Russ]

When the Joe King Signature Sulky (Modified Sulky) was introduced at the conclusion of the Yonkers meet and into the Roosevelt meet at the tail end of 1975 the OTB bettors screamed bloody murder because the tracks refused to list which sulky would be used in the program or on the OTB entry list. At that time the contrast between the King and Nassau modified bikes and the traditional Jerald and Houghton wooden bikes was huge.

[Psycho Dad]

Of course its an equipment change and should be listed.  How come they can chart bridle changes and not sulky changes?

The Meadowlands does a good job with sulky stats in the program, but that does not go far enough.  They announce the sulky when the horse post parades, but not the sulky the horse used the race before -- and that is all that matters -- the change.

[hungry]

when the M1 announcer announces the sulkies, i shrug my shoulders and say "what good does this do me, i dont have time to note all the sulkies from previous weeks"

All i care about is if its a CHANGE. Meadowlands should do the leg work for the fans and list sulky changes, tell us if its a change or not.

Is anyone from the M1 reading this or listening???

[Dolfan]

Of course its an equipment change and should be listed.  How come they can chart bridle changes and not sulky changes?

I said the same thing.  As for the comment that it is useless in handicapping, I totally disagree.  I find shoe changes, murphy blinds, hopple length & bridle changes useful but not as useful as a bike change.

And it depends on the trainer too.  One of the easiest ways to stiff a horse is put him in a bike that he doesn't fit or slap on a piece of equipment (could be a shadow roll or martingale or a jawbreaker bit) that annoys him.

[cecil127]

Psycho Dad and hungry both hit the nail on the head....

[Psycho Dad]

If a horse has a UFO hooked to him one week with a top notch driver and races well, the next week the horse has a an old Tel Star and a top notch driver, should you then expect they same performance as the week before. Then what should you expect with an average driver using the old Tel Star. I think the older sulky will hinder both drivers. And that hindrance would be magnified if everyone else was using a UFO or similar modern sulky.   

Good questions.  The point is that we should have the information available so we can make our own decisions.