Starting gate stuck

[cnollfan]

Oaklawn, 9th race 3/13/08: At what point should the announcer notice that the gate is stuck in a two-turn race and alert the jockeys/fans? He didn't mention it today until the horses were already on top of it.

[bigmack]

Cue track announcers that will say it has something to do with binoculars.....Hit it fellas

http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/67/86/24618667.jpg

[Hank]

He is focused on the field using 10 power binoculars,he would not notice the gate until the stretch. not his fault IMOP

[jballscalls]

Cue track announcers that will say it has something to do with binoculars.....Hit it fellas

http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/67/86/24618667.jpg

:ThmbUp: Can i please defend him mack??

[bigmack]

:ThmbUp: Can i please defend him mack??
Sure, live it up.

Hey, what gives with Stabone? Still rockin' and how'd the name come about?

DG: Favorite music?

JB: Mostly rock type stuff, Tool, Alice in Chains, Mudvayne, and my band Stabone!! I have cd’s available!!!

[russowen77]

It wasn't close to being trouble as far as horse safety went. The jocks on the lead stood up as soon as they started the stretch. It did look wierd. There was a lot of horses in the race.

[kroebuck67]

To be honest (and I'm not saying this for spite, because he's okay with me) Terry Wallace has been slipping a lot this year, IMO.

[jballscalls]

Sure, live it up.

Hey, what gives with Stabone? Still rockin' and how'd the name come about?

DG: Favorite music?

JB: Mostly rock type stuff, Tool, Alice in Chains, Mudvayne, and my band Stabone!! I have cd’s available!!!

haha, that was my band in college. it was a blast, we actually all got together for dinner and a jam session a week or so ago. But Stabone as we know it, is pretty much dead. No real internal tensions, just kinda tough when one lives in seattle, one in tacoma, and one in ohio.

As far as the name, we were all growing pains fans growing up, Mike Seaver's best friend was Boner Stabone. so we just used the last name. there you are :)

[Shenanigans]

The jockeys would have never heard the announcer. It is the job of the outriders to alert the jockeys. Thankfully Calvin Borel saw it and alerted the jockeys.:ThmbUp:

[The Bit]

Sounds worse than it really was I guess. They jockeys have the length of the stretch to pull up.

[JustRalph]

what race was it, I want to watch the replay.

[The Bit]

9th race

[ponyplayerdotca]

Go to this link:

http://www.calracing.com/replays.php (http://www.calracing.com/replays.php)

(You have to register with an ID and password for free).

Log in once you've done that. On the left, the screen tabs, you'll see DATE, TRACK, and HORSE.

Click HORSE. Wait till the SEARCH function loads. Enter one name of any horse from the 9th at Oaklawn today (I entered FRENCH KISS).

When a button appears saying FRENCH KISS, click it.

A menu of the last few races for that horse should appear. The top one should be race 9 at Oaklawn with the March 13, 2008 date.

Click that button and the race replay should load.

Give it a try. It did look a little weird to say the least.

[JustRalph]

Wow! That was wild. Knowing there was a problem in advance made me kind of nervous wondering how far down the stretch they were going to get.

Borel looked like John Wayne trying to get the cavalry stopped in the middle of a charge.......he seemed very poised for the conditions.

[v j stauffer]

The first race on opening day of the tent season at GP the same thing happened.

Fortunately in this case the stewards were directly next door and Jeff Noe came into the booth and right up next to me. The horses were at about the 1/2 mile pole and the outriders on their way to warn them. Had the judges not been so close I could have very well kept calling until the horses started pulling up at the head of the stretch oblivious to the fact that the gate hadn't moved.

Most pulled up well in advance. One bug boy, can't remember who, was down and riding and didn't notice until midstretch.

By that time they had moved the gate just enough for one horse to get by. Very close call.

Had we been in a regular press box it's more likely that the stewards might have tried to call me. In which case I probably would have just taken the phone off the hook and continued calling.

VJS

[jma]

Wow! That was wild. Knowing there was a problem in advance made me kind of nervous wondering how far down the stretch they were going to get.

Borel looked like John Wayne trying to get the cavalry stopped in the middle of a charge.......he seemed very poised for the conditions.

Nice job by Borel in the stretch.

Very strange to hear Wallace continuing to call the race for at least five seconds after the horses pulled up. I guess it never occurred to him what was going on, but at least no one got hurt.

[Shenanigans]

Sounds worse than it really was I guess. They jockeys have the length of the stretch to pull up.

You didn't watch? Horses were scattering and few bumped into each other. Horses are taught to roll at the top of the stretch. Some horses are hard to pull up coming down the stretch because they know that's where they are suppose to run. Luckily in this instance, all riders were on horses that could be pulled up.

[ryesteve]

You didn't watch? Horses were scattering and few bumped into each other.
I think people might say "I expected it to look worse" because the similar incident at Horsemen's a couple summers ago, which did look way, way worse, is still relatively fresh in our minds.

[Shenanigans]

I think people might say "I expected it to look worse" because the similar incident at Horsemen's a couple summers ago, which did look way, way worse, is still relatively fresh in our minds.

True, but if it's watched, it looks like by the time they were getting the horses pulled up, the gate was a little over 1/8 mile away. Horses can cover an 1/8 quickly.;)

[Spendabuck85]

"We had a tractor malfunction," said David Longinotti, assistant general manager at Oaklawn. "We told it to go, and it wouldn't go. We'll obviously completely check out the tractor tonight, and hopefully we won't have any more problems with it in the future."

Guess they should do away with their voice activated tractor. Surprised they don't have a backup tractor on the track.

[BillW]

Surprised they don't have a backup tractor on the track.

They probably used it in the 10th. Bringing it out, getting it hitched up and towing the gate off the track in under a minute is another story. :)

[boomman]

"We had a tractor malfunction," said David Longinotti, assistant general manager at Oaklawn. "We told it to go, and it wouldn't go. We'll obviously completely check out the tractor tonight, and hopefully we won't have any more problems with it in the future."

Guess they should do away with their voice activated tractor. Surprised they don't have a backup tractor on the track.

The tracks that I have worked at over the years ALWAYS have a "back-up" tractor in place in case this happens. In fact, I believe it's as much a part of the rules in most states as the requirement of always having an ambulance on the track before a race can be run. It really looks to me like somebody "dropped the ball" here, and look for a back-up tractor to be in place in future Oaklawn Park Racing. As for as "cueing the announcer" to defend Terry, I didn't see the race, but it certainly looks like he was so focused on the race that he didn't see this happen, and having called races for over 25 years, I can certainly attest to that happening with me. In fact, I had a rabbit run between horse's legs once at Fair Meadows in a quarter horse race, and didn't notice it until I saw the replay:D

Boomer

[ryesteve]

True, but if it's watched, it looks like by the time they were getting the horses pulled up, the gate was a little over 1/8 mile away. Horses can cover an 1/8 quickly.;)
True, but in the Horsemen's incident, there WAS no pulling up... most of the horses squeezed through the gate and the outside fence at full speed.

[46zilzal]

Our crew brings over an old, but reliable tractor, they then crank it up and leave it running belching out smoke (as it is a diesel) UNTIL they see Carl drive the regular truck off the track with the gate. The truck has a large hook on the front bumper so the tractor can attach to it just in case. It has been used ONCE in the last 20 years when the truck's rear wheels began spinning on a very "off" track.

That gate is heavy.

[Greyfox]

It really looks to me like somebody "dropped the ball" here, and look for a back-up tractor to be in place in future Oaklawn Park Racing. :D

Boomer

:ThmbUp: Where was the back up tractor?
I watched the race at our track without sound. I watched it later at calracing.
The announcer hadn't picked up on the problem until after the horses were stopped. It made me wonder as to whether or not he was making his calls off of a TV monitor instead of the oval. He's awfully late with the call.

[46zilzal]

Just got an e-mail stating that the $35,000 purse will be evenly distributed to all participants. I participated and only got my wager refunded.

[Marshall Bennett]

Use the purse money to purchase a new tractor !! :cool:

[cnollfan]

Just got an e-mail stating that the $35,000 purse will be evenly distributed to all participants. I participated and only got my wager refunded.

Yes, but your participation doesn't preclude you from participating in the 10th at Oaklawn yesterday or any other race you might want to bet on. The horses, having run six furlongs of a mile race, are on the shelf for a couple of weeks minimum.

[46zilzal]

I liked the 10th, 2nd call maidens triumphed.

[Pace Cap'n]

Use the purse money to purchase a new tractor !! :cool:

You'd still be about a race and a half short.

[Toss_DeLoser]

From another site.


"I was there and I am impressed with what happened.

1 1/16 mile race, so the horses broke almost directly in front of our box (some of you know where it's at), and as the horses rounded the first turn, we noticed a plume of white smoke come from what appeared to be the tractor. ALMOST immediately, the track crew started up the 2nd tractor and backed it up to hitch up to the first, non-working tractor. There was no panic by the crew, and a guy with a rake even went to the near side of the gate to rake the tire tracks when/if they were able to move the gate.

As the horses neared the 2nd turn, it became apparent that the 2nd tractor was not going to be able to pull the first, non-working tractor and gate out of the way. It appeared that the wheels on the first, non-working were locked up and the tractor's wheels were digging in to the apparently, freshly laid sand just inside the track, on the 'driveway' of the tractor.

Horses were not quite to the head of the homestretch when 8-10 redshirts (the gate crew) started SPRINTING towards the head of the homestretch and the still-racing horses. Waving hands, and whistling and yelling, the redshirts were able to get the attention of the jockeys on the lead horses, and in turn the rest of the field. By the time the horses reached the gate, they were all at a slow gallop and able to easily avoid any trouble.

Terry Wallace's call of the race was a classic, as he was unaware of the potential trouble, I'm sure due to the fact that he was dedicated to the race through his binoculars. The race was declared a non-race, and all betting interests were returned.

No one was harmed, and I believe the gate crew did an amazing job of keeping their cool and doing everything in their power to get the gate off the track. I do feel badly for jockeys, trainers, and owners, but it was truly a unique event. "