Penn National emergency shut down

[Tom]

Got a bad track that needs fixing......

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/46813.htm?id=46813



Hmmmmmm........why wait so long?

[njcurveball]

Totally agree Tom! :ThmbUp:

Horsemen would never do this, but how can trainers justify running on a track labeled so bad they have to close.

The unexpected shutdown of the Pennsylvania racetrack is believed to be due to track conditions that have resulted in a high number of recent catastrophic breakdowns, based on information from horsemen.

[takeout]

Hmmmmmm........why wait so long?
Good question.

Keeping a decent track surface must rank only slightly ahead of doing anything meaningful for the bettor. It seems bunches of horses have to be killed before most tracks even consider it.

I remember talking to a trainer at Charles Town years before the fiasco that was their “redo”. He only had a few horses but did have one good one. The track had been extremely bad for about a month or more and the kill pile was staying higher than usual. He told me he wouldn’t chance working his horses out on “that track” much less running on it. Said he was going to have to leave and go elsewhere, which he did. It was YEARS later before the infamous “redo”.

[jotb]

Good question.

Keeping a decent track surface must rank only slightly ahead of doing anything meaningful for the bettor. It seems bunches of horses have to be killed before most tracks even consider it.

I remember talking to a trainer at Charles Town years before the fiasco that was their “redo”. He only had a few horses but did have one good one. The track had been extremely bad for about a month or more and the kill pile was staying higher than usual. He told me he wouldn’t chance working his horses out on “that track” much less running on it. Said he was going to have to leave and go elsewhere, which he did. It was YEARS later before the infamous “redo”.

Your trainer friend did the smart thing. They put down the new track and it still has it's problems. Poor drainage is one problem. Just the other day it rained and 3 days later the track is still muddy. I couldn't believe how much water was on that track the 2nd day after it rained. My suggestion to handicappers when the track is wet would be not to play because the track surface is not honest at all. If the track comes up muddy and you see a horse that had won in the mud over the same surface there is a high percentage that the horse will not take to the mud again to the point that the horse will finish dead last. The surface plays very weird when the rains come. The only horses that win are the ones that take to the surface for that given night.

Joe

[jotb]

Got a bad track that needs fixing......

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/46813.htm?id=46813



Hmmmmmm........why wait so long?


Hi Tom:

The article said that all training will be suspended. Where will all this horses go to train? At least when CT closed to resurface the track horses were able to train at Shenandoah Downs (which is no longer there). I feel sorry for those trainers and owners. Never a dull moment in this industry. On another note, today will be the last day for the people at Pim.

Joe

[RichieP]

My suggestion to handicappers when the track is wet would be not to play because the track surface is not honest at all. If the track comes up muddy and you see a horse that had won in the mud over the same surface there is a high percentage that the horse will not take to the mud again to the point that the horse will finish dead last. The surface plays very weird when the rains come. The only horses that win are the ones that take to the surface for that given night.
Joe

Thanks Joe. I appreciate the heads up. :ThmbUp:

[Tom]

Thanks, Joe.....my records show I am not doing anywhere near as well at Penn as I used to.

[PennNational11]

This is both interesting and sad. I have actually spent most of the summer at Penn National, though they list August 7th as some sort of "day when it got really bad" and I have not spent much time there since that day. Through most of June and July, though, things seemed okay. It's also sad for the track because they have put A LOT of money into fixing it up over the past year.
Hopefully the repairs to the track will solve whatever problem they are having and the entire operation will be on solid footing headed into November......