Quote:
Originally Posted by davew
A 6 year-old (the grey #4 Jetovator) running in the Sensational Star stakes almost goes down when they first hit the dirt. It is almost like the first turn of a greyhound race, you hope the ones you bet on make it through without getting taken out of the race.
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This isn't going to be a popular opinion in the racing industry, but I think there's enough evidence that crossing over dirt AT TOP SPEED is really dangerous. Just watch horses do it- not only in the downhill races, but even in the 6f and 6 1/2 furlong flat races. When the horses cross that dirt a lot of them abruptly change strides.
There's nothing wrong with the SA hillside course, or its backstretch chute, for long distance races. When they cross the dirt in a 1 1/2 mile race, they do it running a 25 second quarter or something. It's no big deal. But when horses are sprinting, it's dangerous.
