Aqueduct can be pretty variable in general, in part because wind has a big effect on the one turn races, and there’s usually plenty of wind. Additional things that can make things tough are small fields and lightly raced horses, especially when the track is changing speed.

For some reason presumably Covid related, that was happening a lot over the last year, and there are times when you (meaning I) had no choice other than to leave a box. There were also lots of races where we assigned figures but there was enough uncertainty that I had to go back and review them. We have now gone back and done that and/or filled in most of the boxes.

That said, I haven’t noticed anything unusual about Aqueduct this year, but as you said, I take a somewhat different approach.

By the way, one other thing that can make things tough is when trainers are moving horses up, and there’s less of that recently, especially in NY.