More Injuries at Santa Anita

[Pointgiven3]

When is California going to realize that synthetic surfaces were a BIG mistake!!!!!!

Two more horses injured during the G1 Norfolk Stakes on Sunday.

Linked: http://drf.com/news/article/107843.html

[Srotagtbs]

Blame stronach

[PeteMo]

When is California going to realize that synthetic surfaces were a BIG mistake!!!!!!

Two more horses injured during the G1 Norfolk Stakes on Sunday.

Linked: http://drf.com/news/article/107843.html

If its that obvious why did Meydan, the home of the Dubai World Cup just install Tapeta? Darley and Godolphin own the best and most expensive horses in the world, why would they run over this surface when an expert like you says they are not safe?

[Pointgiven3]

The proof is in the pudding - four horses injured this weekend with one being catastrophic!!!!!!

At best, this stuff is no more safe than traditional dirt.

[Lurker]

The proof is in the pudding - four horses injured this weekend with one being catastrophic!!!!!!

At best, this stuff is no more safe than traditional dirt.

So whats your point, did you really love those hard sealed speed favoring concrete tracks the west coast was famous for?

[WhipNRide]

So what is the diffirence between horses breaking down on the synthetic and horses breaking down on dirt . People blame both surfaces but I believe its about time people start blaming themselves.....to many horses are still sore just like they were are dirt they are still breaking down and dying and the thing that stays the same is the people who are supposed to be the caretakers of these animals. Not one trainer ever says well I pushed the envelope with such and such horse , he had problems but I kept training him just as hard working him every 6 days and running every 2 to 3 weeks. Its high time the people who are closest to the horses own up to their own neglegence.
Nobody mentions the 6 horses that died at Fairplex in two weeks and the who knows how many that were pulled up and hauled off.

[LuckyDuck]

Thanks for posting, it's nice to hear from someone who is on the track every day.

I'm wondering what the rate of SA breakdowns per starter are, compared to say Belmont Park? Just seems like way too many for opening week and a lot of these aren't low level claimers

[Clockerbob]

http://www.horseraceinsider.com/blog.ph ... -the-game/
racefan says:
03 Dec 2008 at 01:51 pm | #
I am a former (recent) thoroughbred horse trainer, and about a year or so age when the industry and public began to view steroids as the big enemy, I began wondering why nobody says anything about all the sore horses, some probably with tiny fractures the don’t radiograph, having their joints injected with acid and cortisone, often time within 48 hours of a race, after entries are drawn. These are the horses that are running and breaking down...................

abe lincoln says:
03 Dec 2008 at 01:59 pm | #
I trained thoroughbreds briefly in the late 80s/early 1990s and still work in the industry, but not on the backside.
I also owned and claimed horses for myself.
I used h-acid/cortisone combinations back then for various joint ailments, used steroids to keep fillies eating, and never gave either one a second thought.
Why?
Because when the horses got sore and didnt respond to the therapeutic use of both substances the horses were given time off. Not run sore, not heel nerved, not cobra venomed.......

[WhipNRide]

http://www.horseraceinsider.com/blog.ph ... -the-game/
racefan says:
03 Dec 2008 at 01:51 pm | #
I am a former (recent) thoroughbred horse trainer, and about a year or so age when the industry and public began to view steroids as the big enemy, I began wondering why nobody says anything about all the sore horses, some probably with tiny fractures the don’t radiograph, having their joints injected with acid and cortisone, often time within 48 hours of a race, after entries are drawn. These are the horses that are running and breaking down...................

abe lincoln says:
03 Dec 2008 at 01:59 pm | #
I trained thoroughbreds briefly in the late 80s/early 1990s and still work in the industry, but not on the backside.
I also owned and claimed horses for myself.
I used h-acid/cortisone combinations back then for various joint ailments, used steroids to keep fillies eating, and never gave either one a second thought.
Why?
Because when the horses got sore and didnt respond to the therapeutic use of both substances the horses were given time off. Not run sore, not heel nerved, not cobra venomed.......

Rode alot of sore horses in my career as a jockey , 13 years at cheap tracks with cheap horses and I can count on one hand how many horses I rode that had to be destroyed......these trainers most likely did alot of things people wouldnt like but the one thing they didnt do was keep pounding on them when they were sore , they walked them , they ponied them and they jogged them and only tracked them a few times a week. They didnt work in between races very often and they darn sure didnt work every 6 days.
As Kenny Rogers would say , you gotta know when to hold em and when to fold em.
Its about time this industry takes responsiblity , be held accountable , they all want to stand up and be cheered when they win a race well stand up and be accountable for when things go the other way.

[Roys]

Good post Whip. I couldn't agree more.