Keeneland breakdowns

[cj]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/BUSINESS/71011060

[bigmack]

Far be it from me to be an advocate of poly but it seems paradoxical for ardent detractors to rally around these KEE happenings. Is it to say the surface is unsafe, that no surface is completely safe, the change to poly hasn't affected the # of breakdowns, the surface is not the culprit or that the change was profit driven? How bout all?

I think you have to wait until the end of the meet before you make a quick assessment. We went through the whole spring meet with no injuries. We had 1,100 horses here May, June, July, and we had no injuries at all.

[kenwoodallpromos]

The previous 2 meets were very safe on Polytrack, and the story says
"The injuries all occurred within an eighth-mile stretch after the seven-furlong chute and first turn meld into the backstretch."
This to me is a clue that there could be a problem in that location, especially because it is the start of the meet. I have seen SOCal problems turn out to be an equiptment problem. They should by all means try to narrow down if there is a common problem instead of automatically casting blame in 1 place which could be the wrong place.
Wouldn't paths of the tractor work meet at a place like the above? They could and should check the equiptment immediatedly.I think T's injury was blamed on a "bad step".
I do not like when they say "wait until after the meet".

[cj]

Far be it from me to be an advocate of poly but it seems paradoxical for ardent detractors to rally around these KEE happenings. Is it to say the surface is unsafe, that no surface is completely safe, the change to poly hasn't affected the # of breakdowns, the surface is not the culprit or that the change was profit driven? How bout all?

I agree, it isn't the surface. In 99% of the cases, it isn't the surface, whether dirt, turf, or rubber. But that wasn't the story being told the first year or so of rubber tracks.