NYRA responds to horse safety concerns at the Saratoga Race Track:
http://news10.com/2017/08/09/nyra-re...ga-race-track/
According to the video Saratoga averages between 9 and 16 fatalities per year.
Also, according to the video, clay was added to the dirt surface this year.
I read an article at the Timesunion.com site back in early July that said more cushion and more clay had been added to the dirt surface this year.
NYRA upgrades track surface in advance of Saratoga racing season:
http://www.timesunion.com/local/arti...g-11270686.php
Quote:
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McKenna, who would not disclose the cost of the upgrades, said this year's maintenance included regrading and updating the inner and outer rail drainage ditches at both tracks. NYRA also added cushion to the main track only with a combination of sand and clay.
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I mention clay because when I first started betting horses in the early 1980's I lived about 5 miles south of Turf Paradise -- and would bet live on track several days a week.
Back then the dirt surface at Turf Paradise contained a lot of clay -- and the slightest bit of moisture in it seemed to wreak havoc -- both with the horses and with the times of the horses.
To this day, whenever I hear the words clay and dirt surface in the same sentence -- rightly or wrongly:
My alarm bells go off.
-jp
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