Governor CA calls to halt Santa Anita racing

[horsefan2019]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

The media has been complicit in the sense that a whole bunch of dying horses is a completely legitimate news story, which it covered

Do people in the industry seriously believe this stuff? That the public and the media is just supposed to ignore it when horses are dying on the track?

Well, considering that horses die all the time in previous years, and we have ridiculous claims from people who don't know anything about horses putting forth ridiculous claims like why can't they put a cast on an injured horse, yes, the media is sensationalizing this story. As somebody who is a local to the track, you should see the commercials that are promoting this story by the local news stations.

[GMB@BP]

Originally Posted by horsefan2019

Well, considering that horses die all the time in previous years, and we have ridiculous claims from people who don't know anything about horses putting forth ridiculous claims like why can't they put a cast on an injured horse, yes, the media is sensationalizing this story. As somebody who is a local to the track, you should see the commercials that are promoting this story by the local news stations.

yup...SA been racing over 100 years and we have a bunch of pols and peta telling racing how a track and horses being maintained.

just another government power grab, its not their horses, property or money.

[NorCalGreg]

As much as Jerry Brown was hated...He was preferred over this Newsom clown. Look what he did as Mayor of San Francisco.

I was talking with a guy from India who said CALCUTTA was similar, with the bums stretched across the sidewalk, the crack zombies everywhere, using the sidewalk for a toilet.

I kid you not---tourists are amazed this was, and is allowed to continue.

[MNslappy]

Glad I got to see Santa Anita while I had the chance a few years ago. I expect my son will only get to see it through YT videos and pictures. Pretty sad.

Pitchfork Nation is going to win this round. I'm not at all optimistic. Heartened to see the responses in this thread though, re: the mainstream media in 2019 and state government in California.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by GMB@BP

yup...SA been racing over 100 years and we have a bunch of pols and peta telling racing how a track and horses being maintained.

just another government power grab, its not their horses, property or money.

SA has not been open in its current form for 100 years.

And there's no rule in life that says just because the public ignored animal welfare in the past, it must do so forever. It was our sport's job to prevent horse deaths even when the public was not paying attention.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by Afleet

wish he would stop the typhoid breakout from the feces and urine in the streets

Guess he'll do anything to deflect from these types of problems.

Anyhoo...no politics in the horse racing section...this kind of topic doesn't quite relate to racing (typhoid, poop in the streets...etc...etc)

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by Afleet

wish he would stop the typhoid breakout from the feces and urine in the streets

California is the model for how people with good idealistic intentions can take a state or country that has every advantage you can possibly imagine and slowly turn it into a figurative and now literal cesspool.

[biggestal99]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

California is the model for how people with good idealistic intentions can take a state or country that has every advantage you can possibly imagine and slowly turn it into a figurative and now literal cesspool.

Did the governor remove the synthetic surface or did a private entity.

Allan

[johnhenry81]

California leads the league in expropriation as well...and how about them taxing that Jeopardy champion James Holzhauer who lives in Nevada? Isn't that taxation without representation? The guy was lucky to leave CA with a shirt.

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by johnhenry81

California leads the league in expropriation as well...and how about them taxing that Jeopardy champion James Holzhauer who lives in Nevada? Isn't that taxation without representation? The guy was lucky to leave CA with a shirt.

Many states do this. Many.
Anyhow...
Everyone hates California. Other tracks with mortality spikes in the past several years took far far less heat.
The irony will be if/when owners ship out of CA for tracks with equal or higher average mortality rates. What a "win."

[horsefan2019]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

Guess he'll do anything to deflect from these types of problems.

Anyhoo...no politics in the horse racing section...this kind of topic doesn't quite relate to racing (typhoid, poop in the streets...etc...etc)

I think the problem with that is that a number of political figures have injected themselves into the conversation, so you can't really discuss it fully without going into the politics as well.

[horsefan2019]

Originally Posted by elhelmete

Many states do this. Many.
Anyhow...
Everyone hates California. Other tracks with mortality spikes in the past several years took far far less heat.
The irony will be if/when owners ship out of CA for tracks with equal or higher average mortality rates. What a "win."

True, but where Santa Anita is located is within the boundaries of the 2nd largest TV market in the US. This makes them an easy target as well as being in a state with a large number of animal activists.

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by horsefan2019

True, but where Santa Anita is located is within the boundaries of the 2nd largest TV market in the US. This makes them an easy target as well as being in a state with a large number of animal activists.

I agree with those reasons. Anyone remember what the Aqueduct inner spike was from a few years back?

[Redboard]

Originally Posted by horsefan2019

I think the problem with that is that a number of political figures have injected themselves into the conversation, so you can't really discuss it fully without going into the politics as well.

Exactly. The CHRB should be the one issuing public statements(and they are), not the politicians. The seven members of the CHRB are appointed by the Governor of California. If he doesn't like them, he should fire them and appoint new ones.

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by jay68802

I would say B.

So it's a stretch to say Santa Anita has quite reached the point of "industry safety leader", but they have made a serious effort in the past month or so to decrease the breakdown rate, and have managed (whether it is 'randomness' or whether it is actually effective methods) to go through a significant stretch of time with dramatically safer racing and training.


The media and the governer should be praising them, not speaking badly and threatening them.

If Santa Anita continues their successful decrease in breakdowns, they should be forced to consult with other tracks, and share/teach with them some of their successful techniques.