Great Meadow. Singular. One meadow. :o)
So noted with the singular Meadow. I swear on John S. Mosby’s grave I’ll never get that wrong again! 
The entries:
(pdf) 26th Annual Int’l Gold Cup (VA) - Oct 17, 2009 - entries
(pdf) 88th Annual Far Hills Meeting (NJ) - Oct 17, 2009 - entries
Note that the 2nd race in NJ is The Harry E. Harris Sport of Kings Maiden Hurdle Stakes. 2-1/8 Miles over National Fences with Old Man Buck and Steppenwolfer
Wagering - with the new NSA partnered online system - will be offered only for the New Jersey races: per the NSA/DRF
Bettors will be able to make win, place, show, exacta, and trifecta wagers on six steeplechase races at Far Hills, N.J., on Oct. 17 as part of an effort by the National Steeplechase Association to package 11 races into what it is calling the U.S. Steeplechase Championships, according to officials of the association.
Takeout for win-place-show bets will be 16.8 percent. Takeout on exactas and one daily double linking the first two races will be 24.8 percent, and takeout on trifectas will be 27.8 percent.
Wagering will be limited to the Far Hill races because of a concern by the NSA about the familiarity of bettors with the types of races being offered on the Virginia card, which includes races over timber and a race called a steeplethon, according to Lou Raffetto, the chief executive officer of the NSA. This is the first year that the NSA has packaged the races together and offered bets on them.
Universal Sports - coverage at 11:50 AM EST
Again to find NBC’s Universal Sports (listed as “US” on my cable listings) on your cable package try this search feature
Well, looks like the impending rains have put a damper on our racing already. We decided last night to scratch the steeplethon horse because of the footing. We’ll see where he goes next, possibly PA.
HRTV
Well, I don’t know how they can do it, and I do not really trust the TVG or HRTV tv guides, [as TVG advertised the Arc, but it was shown live on HRTV, go figure…] but HRTV is proclaiming that they will be showing the steeplechase races live tomorrow!
Does anyone know anything abouut that?
hmm the video isn’t coming up on universal sports, anyone else having trouble?
ETA: nevermind, I guess I’m too impatient, it’s working fine now
HRTV
They did just announce that they will be televising the Far Hills Grand National. No mention of any of the other races though.
The races in NJ have a live video feed going on right now on the Gold Cup website:
http://www.vagoldcup.com/main.cfm
First race is getting ready to start!
Don’t know if they’ll switch to the GC races here in VA at Great Meadow.
Sounds like they will be switching over to Great Meadow with the live video. First race at GM will be in another 10 minutes (1:10 pm).
So glad I opted to stay home instead of trek down to The Plains! It looks just as miserable there, as it does at home:eek:
Steppenwolfer well beaten, was out of gas a half mile from home when they quickened.
Btw, FANTASTIC coverage, great camera work, M. Johnson calling the races!!!
Kudos to the NSA!!!
You The Man, wiped out and lost his jock, yet still got up to follow the field at a sensible pace, taking most of the jumps til he veered off towards the end…:sadsmile:…God I love horses.
The more I hear Mark Johnson, the more I like him.
Can’t believe the weather is nicer here at my house than there.
What fun! Kudos to the production crew, the NSA, the horsemen, the horses, and NBC US.
super coverage
Yes, super super coverage! I hardly left the computer at all! I hope they continue this type of coverage for future races! Big thumbs up!
[QUOTE=Mali;4443803]
Yes, super super coverage! I hardly left the computer at all! I hope they continue this type of coverage for future races! Big thumbs up![/QUOTE]
Ditto! I was watching from the video feed on the VA Gold Cup website, and it was fantastic. However, I did consider turning it off after seeing those horses fall in the first (Gold Cup) race. The footing was obviously pretty slick. The NJ race grounds seemed to have a slight bit better weather and footing.
I was thinking, at the time, how horrible the weather was, but I just came in from the barn, and it’s much worse outside now. I’m just glad Mother Nature held off on the heavier rain until evening.
Gold Cup races were terrific, made only more so by hte live feed from Far Hills. The only way we stayed sane at IGC was to see that it was even worse weather in NJ. God, I was freezing by the first race.
Superb racing – Jeff Murphy owns Great Meadow. What a wonderful rider he is.
Saw TexAng but no one else. ??!! We’d already written off GlimmerG. as a phantom but wonder where you other Va. peeps were? (Snug in bed with someone you love (or at least someone you like) at home, I hope.)
We spent a lousy weather day here in NJ, watching the steeplechases! It was great coverage, especially considering the bad weather. The switching back and forth between the 2 venues went very smoothly. We get the US sports channel over-the-air, with our digital converter box. Earlier this year they were airing grand prix jumping, and also dressage. It is really nice to have a channel that will air equestrian sports, finally. The steeplechasing made me so happy I will quit complaining about the endless hours of bicycle races they usually show…:winkgrin:
As Hunter’s Rest said, the races were great, despite the cold and wet. But yes it was better than Far Hills!
Was great fun to see HR and watch the races. I LURVE Jeff Murphy! 
I really truly had a great time, it was awesome to back in my beloved NoVA.
Great to see you HR and talk a bit.
We had a horrible day ourselves.
It was great to see Jeff get both rides for Jack, and WIN! Skillfully ridden on both Major Malibu and Seeyouattheevent.
If someone did a rain dance to result in Saturday’s wretched weather I’d appreciate it if you’d send me their name and address as I’ll be sure to return the favor sometime To those whom I didn’t get to meet maybe next year a plan can be made.
It truly was a cold and wet day but those who came made the most of it which is what matters most. We parked in Section 9 but had opted for Member Hill tix the day before so we were fortunate to see the saddling, presentation, and go by the more corporate tents. Clearly on a perfect fall day of 70-degree temps you can see why it pulls in 25k+ Although a lot of very pricy tents, reserved spaces, et al were in large part embarrassingly (IMHO) empty.
I suppose in any other year the Member Hill upsell would be beneficial however after the first race we retreated to our corner of the world never to return. We brought our boxed lunch from Forlano’s - yum, yum! Plus we had meet some folks from the Inn who each year have a railside tent and then met others in from Baltimore who were a hoot. I managed to get several good shots with my camera despite getting a bit soaked and chilled to the bone. Luckily a couple bottles of wine and a nice prosecco helped ward off whatever Mother Natural wrought.
In regards to the first race with the horse vanned off is he ‘ok’? The tarp screen was up and seeing him hobble on the equine ambulance didn’t look too good. I happened to watch the tv version on my DVR last night and it wasn’t mentioned.
After seeing on of the tv show from home late last night I will give props to Universal on the tv broadcast for doing a good job on what is a tough day of sport to coordinate for the first time and with poor weather.
