Major vs. Minor tracks

[For The Lead]

Originally Posted by gl45

what is the difference between major and minor tracks, beside better horses and larger purses.

Your post kind of got lost in the shuffle, but it was "on topic" and deserves an answer so that new members start to learn if they have not been involved with racing previously. My answer to the question is "none" and "a lot". Now I'll qualify my answer.

If one chooses a minor track as one of a couple of tracks that they are going to dedicate themselves to for regular play, they will learn everything about that track. They will become as familiar with that minor track as they would be with any major track they may dedicate their play to. Granted there will be differences in how one goes about their handicapping process from a major track to a minor track, but in the end they will succeed at both tracks.

One of the problems most people have with minor tracks is that they don't play them regularly. They really don't have "a handle" on them and they tend to approach the races at the minor track in the same way they approach the races at a major track. When it doesn't work out for them, they place the blame on the minor track.

Let's take the every day, run of the mill claiming race. At most major tracks these are what are called "open" claiming races. In other words there is no "restriction" as to what horse can enter the race. The race is "open" to all who care to enter their horse for the price indicated.
At a minor track,however, these same claiming races have many different "restrictions", also known as "conditions". These conditions are varied and have an impact on how the horse will perform. As trifle as these conditions may seem to you, they do make a difference.

Let's start at the beginning. First there are maiden races. The better maiden races are those from which a horse can not be claimed. Then there are those from which a horse can be claimed. Naturally, one type of maiden race is better than the other. Once a horse wins its' maiden race it can no longer run against maidens. The most logical next step is to run against "non winners of two races lifetime" (NW2L). Every horse in the race has beat a field of maidens and that is it. This is not the same as a maiden race, it is just a little harder because all the horses in the race have demonstrated the ability to beat a field of horses. Having beat a field of "NW2L" the next logical step would be a race for "non winners of three races lifetime" (NW3L). Again, this race is just slightly harder because now the horse is facing other horses that have demonstrated the ability to beat horses that have all won two races. The next logical progression is to "non winners of 4 races lifetime (NW4L). Once a horse beats the "NW4L" condition there is no place to go other than "open" races.

Many times these horse have a problem trying to beat "open" races and after many attempts they just are not successful. So what do they do? Well, once 6 months has past they becomes eligible for a condition called "non winners of a race in 6 months" (NW16M). In this condition a horse is no longer competing against successful "open" condition horses. Now it is facing a field of horses that, like it, have not been able to win a race in the last 6 months.
So as you can see, there are various aspects of racing at a minor track that are not present at a major track and my advice is to learn about all the various conditions and what they mean.

People talk about "erratic" form when discussing minor tracks. I'm not that sure the form is "erratic". What I have observed is that horses that win a race in the NW2L condition will many times run poorly when they go against the NW3L condition the next time out and then will come right back against the same NW3L condition and win. It is doubtful to me that this horse, within a period of one month, went out of and back into form. I do not know the answer to this scenario, but I do know that I have seen it over and over again. So when choosing a pace line, I have no problem with going past this horses last poor performance and using its' winning performance as long as the situation I just described exists.

I prefer "some" minor tracks over major tracks simply because the nuances of a minor track are not understood by most players. This results in opportunities. The reason I say "some" minor tracks is because I don't prefer to play "bull ring" tracks, which are minor tracks. Don't take this the wrong way. I'm sure that if you dedicated yourself to playing these tracks you would come to understand them and would be successful. Also, I would not "trust" any line from any shipper that has been running at a track that is NOT a bull ring track. An example would be playing Charles Town (CT), a bull ring, where a 6 1/2 furlong race is run around two turns and having a horse ship in from PEN and using a 6 furlong line from PEN where 6 furlongs is run around one turn. That's too much conflict for me and with all the choices there are, why get involved. I mean, if you watch a 1 1/16th race at CT, it's like watching a "merry-go-round". I'm simply not going to try and compare a line from CT at 1 1/16th miles to a line from PEN at the same distance.

I do play PEN and horses do ship in there from CT, but what I have come to realize is, horses that ship in from CT do not win very often and if they do not have a recent line from a track other than a bull ring, I simply eliminate them from consideration. Do I get burned? Sure, "EVERYTHING" happens at one time or another! But it isn't enough to be concerned about. (for me)

Hopefully this has given some insight to new players.

Good Luck!