Another Sad Story From Del Mar, I have no comment but to cry what is going on.

[Igeteven]

Source nctimes.com

Link:http://www.nctimes.com/sports/equestrian/racing/article_e42d738d-6bab-5faf-adc1-20676ee71292.html


Home / Sports / Equestrian / Horse Racing
DEL MAR: Show goes on after track troubles resolved

BY JEFF NAHILL - Staff Writer | Posted: July 22, 2010 11:26 pm

DEL MAR -- Trainer Bruce Headley said two of his horses were hurt during Del Mar's morning training hours on Thursday before the Polytrack was shut down due to an uneven surface.

"I worked three horses first thing, and two of them got hurt," said Headley, who promptly scratched two other horses off Thursday's card. "I was scared to death to run them. I'm just not the trainer, but I'm the owner, too."

Headley declined to name the injured horses, but said both thoroughbreds would likely be out for a minimum of three or four months.

~Read the rest at the link above~

[onefast99]

Injuries can be avoided if the track supervisor does his job.

[WinterTriangle]

Seems like you or somebody has posted a number of "headly hates synthetics" articles, yet he got 2 places on opening day.

I guess my question is, if he really thinks it's dangerous, wouldn't it be an ethical consideration to continue to train horses to run there?

I know that if I felt THAT strongly the something was dangerous, I wouldn't continue to do it.

When I am training or even just petsitting client's dogs, I don't take them to premises that I KNOW or FEEL are dangerous to them. :confused: To do so would keep me up at night.

[Robert Fischer]

Seems like you or somebody has posted a number of "headly hates synthetics" articles, yet he got 2 places on opening day.

I guess my question is, if he really thinks it's dangerous, wouldn't it be an ethical consideration to continue to train horses to run there?

I know that if I felt THAT strongly the something was dangerous, I wouldn't continue to do it.

When I am training or even just petsitting client's dogs, I don't take them to premises that I KNOW or FEEL are dangerous to them. :confused: To do so would keep me up at night.

Good analogy, and to be fair to Headley he is balancing his livelyhood with caution(scratching the 2 thursday.)

However, knowing the fact that there is a new track super(Tedesco), who has aggressively altered the track in the last couple days(ADDED MATERIALS, WATER, TRACTORS), I don't think it is entirely clear that some if not all of the uneven surface issues aren't due to the maintenance of the track. :confused:

[garyoz]

Small fields make it more likely for the connections to bring home a check. That may be part of the risk/reward equation.

[lamboguy]

i am sorry to hear about his horses. but i learned the hardway myself, and figured out the problem. it is pretty simple, if you want to run on rubber you got to start training the horse on rubber to begin with. otherwise these injuries will alway's occur. the way i play the game i am not set up for the rubber so i will never attempt it again. personally, i think the rubber is not only unhealthy for the horses but for the humans that have to smell that crap going right into their lungs that either work there or attend the procedings in the afternoon.

there is no living human that has been able to present any facts on the benefits of running and watching horses run on rubber. however i know of a few humans that have made millions of dollars selling the stuff to suckers.

[joanied]

i am sorry to hear about his horses. but i learned the hardway myself, and figured out the problem. it is pretty simple, if you want to run on rubber you got to start training the horse on rubber to begin with. otherwise these injuries will alway's occur. the way i play the game i am not set up for the rubber so i will never attempt it again. personally, i think the rubber is not only unhealthy for the horses but for the humans that have to smell that crap going right into their lungs that either work there or attend the procedings in the afternoon.

there is no living human that has been able to present any facts on the benefits of running and watching horses run on rubber. however i know of a few humans that have made millions of dollars selling the stuff to suckers.

Good post, lambo...as for Headly...I would assume he was under the impression that the track was good to go...and he found out it wasn't...and it's a damned shame. I would think at least some trainers are caught between a rock and a hard place...they have to run their horses if the owners want them to...otherwise, I'd think that headly, and maybe some more, wouls simply not enter.
What a freakin' mess!!

[WJ47]

When I first heard about Polytrack years ago, I was under the impression that it was much safer for horses. As a horse lover as well as a horseplayer, I'm all for making changes that are safer for the horses and jockeys. However, it appears now that the polytrack may be even worse than dirt. I've been hearing that the polytrack has been giving some horses respiratory problems. These tracks should just go back to traditional dirt if there are no benefits. I try to play tracks that have traditional dirt surfaces; I don't know if its just all in my head, but I just can't effectively handicap the polytrack. The only track I play regularly with polytrack is Woodbine.

[joanied]

When I first heard about Polytrack years ago, I was under the impression that it was much safer for horses. As a horse lover as well as a horseplayer, I'm all for making changes that are safer for the horses and jockeys. However, it appears now that the polytrack may be even worse than dirt. I've been hearing that the polytrack has been giving some horses respiratory problems. These tracks should just go back to traditional dirt if there are no benefits. I try to play tracks that have traditional dirt surfaces; I don't know if its just all in my head, but I just can't effectively handicap the polytrack. The only track I play regularly with polytrack is Woodbine.

You and everyone else, including me:faint:

[fmolf]

i am sorry to hear about his horses. but i learned the hardway myself, and figured out the problem. it is pretty simple, if you want to run on rubber you got to start training the horse on rubber to begin with. otherwise these injuries will alway's occur. the way i play the game i am not set up for the rubber so i will never attempt it again. personally, i think the rubber is not only unhealthy for the horses but for the humans that have to smell that crap going right into their lungs that either work there or attend the procedings in the afternoon.

there is no living human that has been able to present any facts on the benefits of running and watching horses run on rubber. however i know of a few humans that have made millions of dollars selling the stuff to suckers.
finally somebody has said what the real deal with the poly is .....i suspect there is a small group of racings cognescenti laughing all the way to the bank as cal. racing struggles to get out from under the weight of an embarrassingly bad decision to install it in the first place!As far as Headley goes...what is the man supposed to do...move away from his home to run his operation at turf paradise or churchill or to the east coast?He has no choice but to train and run his horses over one of the cal. tracks so he figures i might as well do it at the one where i am racing...makes sense to me.

[5k-claim]

Source nctimes.com

Link:http://www.nctimes.com/sports/equestrian/racing/article_e42d738d-6bab-5faf-adc1-20676ee71292.html

~Read the rest at the link above~

You're right, that is a sad story. I saw a newsletter that was around one of the synthetic tracks that had a blurb promoting a meeting about the surface and how one of the local trainers owned (or had owned) a professional landscaping business and was going to share some ideas from his expertise on what could be tried to improve the surface. After reading that notice I felt two things: (1) that the trainer probably did have some good ideas that could help and (2) just how angry the whole "make it up as we go along" aspect of synthetics surfaces made me. I really can't stand that part. Horse racing was struggling enough already before it was turned into Guinea Pig racing.

My favorite line from the article is this one:

Harper said he didn't know if Del Mar would offer to pay medical expenses for the injuries.

Now there is an idea (although I am thinking more about the manufacturers).


.

[lamboguy]

it certainly is a sad story, i experienced the same injuries there last year with 2 real nice 2yo filly's. one of them won there and got hurt on the surface switch to churchill and i lost the poor thing. the other one got hurt at santa anita and i brought her back to florida and gave her some time from the injury, she went on and has run 9 races now. 4 wins, 2 seconds, a third and 2 4ths. she got claimed from me and it looks like she needs some time after a second yesterday in monmouth. she has earned about $80,000 as a 3yo. that is a good story, but most are not when you meet up with the rubber in california and canada.

[Igeteven]

it certainly is a sad story, i experienced the same injuries there last year with 2 real nice 2yo filly's. one of them won there and got hurt on the surface switch to churchill and i lost the poor thing. the other one got hurt at santa anita and i brought her back to florida and gave her some time from the injury, she went on and has run 9 races now. 4 wins, 2 seconds, a third and 2 4ths. she got claimed from me and it looks like she needs some time after a second yesterday in monmouth. she has earned about $80,000 as a 3yo. that is a good story, but most are not when you meet up with the rubber in california and canada.

:ThmbUp: :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp:

[BlueShoe]

The only track I play regularly with polytrack is Woodbine.
Many of us seem to agree on this. Just what is Woodbine doing right that all the other plastic tracks are doing wrong? If Woodbine is making non dirt work, it would seem logical for the other tracks to learn from them and adopt the same methods. What is Woodbines formula, is it the basic material composition of the track, maintenance procedures, or something else?

[thespaah]

Many of us seem to agree on this. Just what is Woodbine doing right that all the other plastic tracks are doing wrong? If Woodbine is making non dirt work, it would seem logical for the other tracks to learn from them and adopt the same methods. What is Woodbines formula, is it the basic material composition of the track, maintenance procedures, or something else?Could it be that the cooler weather in Toronto has something to do with it?
I have read that under intense sunlight and hot temps, the synthetic materials begin to break down and seperate.
I'd like to get a chunk of cross section of Poly, Pro-ride and Cushion along with the base material identical to that used on each track. Then take the stuff and do all kinds of tests to se what happens to it. Heat, water, cold, etc.
I bet that all kinds of chemical and physical changes take place. And few of them good ones.

[fmolf]

Could it be that the cooler weather in Toronto has something to do with it?
I have read that under intense sunlight and hot temps, the synthetic materials begin to break down and seperate.
I'd like to get a chunk of cross section of Poly, Pro-ride and Cushion along with the base material identical to that used on each track. Then take the stuff and do all kinds of tests to se what happens to it. Heat, water, cold, etc.
I bet that all kinds of chemical and physical changes take place. And few of them good ones.
its made from rubber, wax,old carpet fibers....etc...etc... heat is the number one enemy of both wax and rubber!wax melts and rubber gets all soft and very pliable...If they keep adding sand as needed they will have a dirt track by about 2020!

[carlonr]

Maybe Bruce should not try to make every horse he trains work 4f in 45 and change!

[duncan04]

Maybe Bruce should not try to make every horse he trains work 4f in 45 and change!


:ThmbUp: Couldn't agree more!