Tracks closing due to heat....there has to be a better idea.
 

I’ve seen this happen at Saratoga as well. Has any track considered changing starting post time to early morning on these predicted hot days ? It seems like a pretty easy solution. The temperatures usually don’t get dangerous until early afternoon. Huge loss to shut down for the day for all connections involved.

I really don't know what the temps were with this week's closings, but some of the days I've seen tracks shut down had temps in the mid 90's, with high humidity, but I still don't understand why they would not race. I've been to Saratoga many times in similar weather and I never saw any problem with any of the horses. Of course, not every horse was on lasix years ago, which might complicate things.

Horses basically jog around the track a few times and race for 90 seconds. I don't understand how a powerful animal like a racehorse can be threatened by running for 90 seconds on a 95 degree summer day, which is just normal summer weather. And it's not like there's no water around. If an athlete is well hydrated, performing for 90 seconds shouldn't be an issue. If the horse was out in a field it might run more than that.

I think it's just to ward off animal rights criticism.

Saratoga has closed due to heat twice in the last 16 years.

Clearly this is a major issue. Westernmassbob, on the case again!!

I certainly didn’t say anything about it being a major issue. What is an issue is that 1 days loss of purse money or work for all the connections can be devastating. Probably more so for those barn workers etc. I feel there can be alternatives like adding racing dates or changing the post time like i suggested. Instead of just thinking of yourself all the time TLG, why not offer up some suggestions ? You are quick to critique everyone on here but offer no suggestions or ways to make things better. I don’t know if your truly a narcissist but you definitely come across one on here.

Or maybe human rights criticism? Heck the jockeys are basically racing dehydrated on a normal day....I can only imagine the effect the high heat index has on them. In any event racing in extreme temperatures isn’t safe for man or animal.

I think tracks canceling due to heat is the right decision, not for PR reasons, but to actually protect the human and equine athletes - and for that matter, spectators, especially at the bigger venues!

Right now in Chester, WV, it's 90 degrees and the real feel is 99 - at 7:40 p.m.! These are not conditions that horses at Mountaineer are at all used to being in, much less racing in. In this track's case, it was right to cancel. There was no other time the track could have possibly rescheduled to.

Regarding NYRA, I'll continue to be a defender of them here. Are they perfect? No, but no organization is, and I believe they do it better than most.

Obviously, no track wants to cancel a card for any reason. They're voluntarily choosing to forego profits that day.

I agree these cancelations, just like cancelations due to lack of entries, can be especially hard on the horsemen and horsewomen, particularly backstretch workers. The solution is not to continue to run in dangerous conditions, but rather for tracks and others to offer ancillary support services like what Saratoga BEST does.

You should have been at MTH for Maximum Security's Haskell in 2019. I left for awhile because I couldn't take it anymore and then went back later after freshening up. It was brutal.

Why would you need to think hard about something that hardly ever happens?

I enjoyed his completely lame cheap shots directed at me. At least he was honest for once. Moronic, but for him....honest.

I was always curious why we have day racing during non winter months. More customers are available in the evening. The evening air is kinder to the animals. Maybe it harkens back to the days of day baseball due to lack of lights.

Night racing does very minimal handle.

Gaslighting......another sign of being a narcissist.

“The solution is not to continue to run in dangerous conditions, but rather for tracks and others to offer ancillary support services like what Saratoga BEST does.”

I’m a very big supporter of the Saratoga BEST program which is available at their other tracks as well. It would be nice if there was financial burden relief assistance incorporated into that program. Maybe there is at some tracks...just haven’t heard of any. I would support them as well.

And the horseman hate it

Yeah, that too:-)

Can't really blame them.