Tough Beat?

[cj]

I would think this has to count as a tough one in the 5th at Cnl yesterday. Horse was beaten a nose and a neck:

SIERRA HOTEL, wide on the backstretch, circled horses entering the far turn to gain a clear lead, drifted nine wide to avoid geese entering the stretch and finished gamely after relinquishing the lead in midstretch.

[JustRalph]

I had the same problem yesterday. I had to stop my truck about 2 blocks from the house as a group of geese crossed the road from one pond to the next. I don't remember all these damn geese being around when I was a kid here in Ohio. Now they are everywhere.........?

[GaryG]

Be kind to geese Ralph....love your avatar.

[Overlay]

Reminds me of an old newspaper photo I saw one time of horses approaching the finish line at Aqueduct, and the photo finish camera picking up a seagull in flight as it broke the beam just ahead of the horses. I think the caption went, "And the winner by a beak is..."

[Murph]

The 2nd thoroughbred season (1995) at Hoosier Park a race leading mare was knocked nearly offstride after being struck by a goose near the 1/4 pole. 5 or 6 large geese had taken off from the infield retention pond and the lowest flying goose hit the horse square in the shoulder.

Comment line in the next program and the charts read "Hit by a goose at 1/4 pole, faded." I laughed outloud the night that happened and again when she returned to race. Doubt I will ever see that again.

Murph

[Zman179]

The 2nd thoroughbred season (1995) at Hoosier Park a race leading mare was knocked nearly offstride after being struck by a goose near the 1/4 pole. 5 or 6 large geese had taken off from the infield retention pond and the lowest flying goose hit the horse square in the shoulder.

Comment line in the next program and the charts read "Hit by a goose at 1/4 pole, faded." I laughed outloud the night that happened and again when she returned to race. Doubt I will ever see that again.

Murph
Just watch the races at Philadelphia Park. There have been many encounters there with geese, especially on the turf.

[Murph]

I don't recall the geese being such a problem back in the old leadshot days. ;)
Murph

[RXB]

Same with crows, Murph. (They don't interfere with horses, but they interfere with peace and quiet. Back on the farm in my childhood, we blasted 'em. No problem.)

At Hastings, there is occasionally a problem with geese that like to hang out around the infield pond and then wander onto the track. I remember several years ago, they put a couple of plastic alligators into the pond to scare the geese away. The geese were nowhere in sight in April and May. By July, they were wandering cautiously in the infield. By October, they were sitting on top of the plastic alligators.