Historically, we try to choose the races for our multi-track tourneys 48 hours in advance during the “good weather” months and 24 hours ahead of time during the winter. Designed to avoid us scheduling races that later get canceled, it is a policy that has generally worked well over the years. Lately, however, the 48-hour guideline has worked…a little less well.
Why? Even during the summer, tracks are more likely to cancel these days than they were just 10 or 15 years ago.
Horse safety has been one such agent of change. That’s a good thing, of course. Still, when temperatures and or heat indicies rise suddenly in an area, a race card that seems perfectly good to go two or three days prior can get scrapped on the day of.
Then there’s the seemingly impetuous Canadian wildfire smoke…or severe rain storms…or track surface issues. You get the picture. Having an extra day to see how things shake out can sometimes make a big difference in our planning.
So we’re going to give ourselves that extra day — but only when we think we need it.
In general, we are going to stick with our 48-hour framework, but when things are looking dicey in one area or another, for one reason or another, we are going to delay our selection process if we feel that it will increase your chances to actually play the tourneys you want to play.
Apologies in advance to those for whom this modification will subtract a day from their customary handicapping preparations. (And, yes, there are some out there who DO go at it that long and hard.) Cancellations are never any fun for anyone, though. So we appreciate your understanding as we attempt to minimize them further.