Quote:
Originally Posted by pandy
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.
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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.
