Quote:
Originally Posted by Sea Biscuit
Hey CheckMark how you doing man?
I noticed that they have a new manager at Grand Rivers in Jenna MacDonald.
Chad Rozema the former manager is now training to be a judge at Mohawk. Maybe you have the inside scoop as to why he lasted only one season as manager.
Your valuable comments regarding the conversion from a 1/2 miler to a 5/8ths mile track would be much appreciated. Racing should improve. No?
Are you still working for Grand Rivers?
My best to you.
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Hey SB, I’m doing well thanks hope you are too!
Yes new manger who is taking over Chad Rozema’s job only after 1 year. Never met her before, but her dad Paul MacDonell is a legend and HOF, so I have high hopes for her this season.
Idk why Chad left after 1 season. Hard to say. Maybe he had his AGCO judge job lined up before he stepped in or someone wanted him there. Or he thought the job was too hard. Lots of question marks, but I think he wanted to become a judge because his buddy Jason Portuondo is one too so they might get to work alongside each other this year maybe.
I was hoping he would stay for a few years. Just looks a bit bad when we got all the hype to bring him in and then he leaves after 1 year of racing. Sucks but it happens.
I would say moving Grand River from 1/2 to 5/8 is a big improvement. It will make the track more fair to all horses, with no post bias, and also will attract a lot more horses who didn’t want to race at 1/2, but can now race at 5/8. I think it also helps those bad breaking horses (horses that go off stride often) will decrease that with the space the track is now.
I’m predicting now that we will see a major increase in handle and as well as shippers coming in from Mohawk and other places we haven’t seen yet. Maybe we also see some track record speed this year too? I know that we will have to get some new times on the board, but I mean we will see loads of speed, which 5/8 tracks do, which is nice.
Very positive about this upcoming season! I’ll be returning for my 4th racing season, since being hired in 2020. I’ll still be in my role of Timer and Photo Finish, which I enjoy. Just have to get used to stop watching a 5/8 race lol.
I’ll start a thread here in the Harness section posting my picks and tickets as well as any news I have about racing on at Grand River. I did set up a new Twitter page, which is @ConleyPicksGRR so make sure to follow that. Almost the same as my River Insider stuff, but I’ll post differently there.
Thanks for checking in SB. I wish you all the best in your racing endeavours! Take care and talk soon
