crunk_o Twitter thread about the Santa Anita breakdown problem....

[clicknow]

Year round racing doesn't allow time for major track maintenance, which, given odd weather patterns during some years, become a necessity.

Instead of trying to fill fields and failing, having a 2-3 month breather at any race track is a good idea I think. Fixes a lot of problems.

[Tom]

SA doesn't run year round and did do major track maintenance before this meet, from what I've read.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Tom

SA doesn't run year round and did do major track maintenance before this meet, from what I've read.

Yep. This is the rainiest winter in a couple of decades. That is obviously the proximate cause here.

But of course, the deeper causes include the horse shortages, doping, the preferences of breeders, and the rejection of Polytrack.

[ReplayRandall]

Looks like everything is good to go.....for now.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ho...cid=spartanntp

Peterson and Santa Anita Park track superintendent Andy LaRocco tested soil samples and conducted a thorough examination of the track's cushion, pad and base. Peterson also used ground-penetrating radar to ensure uniform consistency throughout the one-mile dirt oval.
"The ground penetrating radar verified all of the materials, silt, clay and sand, as well as moisture content, are consistent everywhere on this track," Peterson said in a statement Wednesday. "This testing ensures all components, the five-inch cushion, pad and base, are consistent and in good order."

[dilanesp]

These hills are normally a dull tan.

[anotherCAfan]

#20 today

A local news station had a reporter outside the track, conducting interviews with fans. PETA chimed in.

This is not good...

[Someday Silent]

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert, but even though the track composition was tested and the base was examined and was supposedly normal... what about the earth underneath the track base? If you get enough soaking rain over a long enough period of time, you can have instability several feet down...which then works its way up. I'm only bringing this up because my hometown had awful rain 12 years ago which resulted in four sinkholes, damaged roads, collapsed buildings, etc.

Just a theory. I doubt trainers are training any worse or putting more drugs into their horses as opposed to last year, so the weather is the most sensible cause right now.

[stlseeeek]

But hey, at least those shitty bottom level maiden claimers went 1:09 flat for 6 furlongs.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by stlseeeek

But hey, at least those shitty bottom level maiden claimers went 1:09 flat for 6 furlongs.

Yeah, because everyone cares about that these days

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Someday Silent

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert, but even though the track composition was tested and the base was examined and was supposedly normal... what about the earth underneath the track base? If you get enough soaking rain over a long enough period of time, you can have instability several feet down...which then works its way up. I'm only bringing this up because my hometown had awful rain 12 years ago which resulted in four sinkholes, damaged roads, collapsed buildings, etc.

Just a theory. I doubt trainers are training any worse or putting more drugs into their horses as opposed to last year, so the weather is the most sensible cause right now.

I think this is very possible. Del Mar has had breakdown problems when the tides shift, and Santa Anita's synthetic surface was undermined by problems underneath.

[Jeff P]

Interesting article at Horseraceinsider --

Tuesday, March 05, 2019| By Mark Berner
Thoroughbred Deaths and the Enemy Within:
http://www.horseraceinsider.com/Insi...-enemy-within/

ELMONT, MAR 5, 2019--A protest scheduled for last weekend at Santa Anita Park, where 20 horses died in racing or training related incidents since its prime meet began DEC 26, was canceled by the organization that urged this call to action--People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, aka PETA.

PETA has “no problem with the racetrack,” said Kathy Guillermo, Senior Vice President, Investigative, Legal & Corporate Cases Media Office and a 30-year veteran of the organization. “PETA’s problem is with the trainers and medication.”

Of greater significance, those tethered to the sport should know this: “The goal of abolishing racing has been removed from the organization's mission statement and website,” Guillermo indicated.

On Sunday, Santa Anita cancelled Thursday’s racing, five days in advance due to impending stormy weather. Nearly a foot of rain has fallen in SoCal over the past two months. The track plans an 11-race card when it resumes racing Friday.

With PETA watching, The Stronach Group apparently decided to err in favor of caution.

A feared protagonist, it should be noted that PETA did not even have a racing agenda until Eight Belles broke down after finishing second to Big Brown in the 2008 Kentucky Derby.

The organization’s new mission seems to be that horseracing should clean its own house. As Walt Kelly parodied Commodore Perry in Pogo, “We have met the enemy and it is us." Guillermo agrees: “Horseracing is its own worst enemy.”

--and:

Tim Ritvo, TSG Chief Operating Officer, is focused on the issue. “We consider the safety and security of the athletes who race at our facilities, both human and equine, to be our top priority. All industry stakeholders including our company must be held accountable, and we are committed to doing just that.”

Toward that end, track representatives has been meeting with PETA, pledging to take definitive steps including extending the review of medication records to horses in training—and not just before races.

Research sponsored by the California Horse Racing Board shows why horses break down and found that the fault lies with the trainers and veterinarians who drug horses with a cocktail of anti-inflammatories, painkillers, sedatives and more to keep them running when they should be recuperating.

Since this practice masks soreness and injury, these injured horses are the most vulnerable to broken bones. Horses who require medication should not be anywhere near a racetrack.

PETA believes that horseracing has innumerable problems and, at bare minimum, all medications should be banned for at least one week before racing or serious training, effectively preventing lame horses from suffering further harm.

Meetings between PETA and Santa Anita officials are scheduled to continue in the coming days.

Imo, the bolded parts of the above quotes are well... interesting.


-jp


.

[Psychotic Parakeet]

Another one died this morning. It was a filly out of McAnally's barn.

[Jeff P]

DRF Live --
by Steve Andersen , Santa Anita | 2019-03-05
Santa Anita: Track cancels racing indefinitely:
http://live.drf.com/nuggets/47243-sa...g-indefinitely

Santa Anita has cancelled racing indefinitely to allow track consultant Dennis Moore to inspect a surface that has been plagued by a rash of equine fatalities in recent months, according to Tim Ritvo, the chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, the track's parent company.

Ritvo said racing will not be held this weekend, and declined to speculate on a date of resumption.

-jp

.

[Afleet]

Originally Posted by Psychotic Parakeet

Another one died this morning. It was a filly out of McAnally's barn.

didnt know Mcanally still trained; must be pushing 90 years old

[jocko699]

Originally Posted by Jeff P

DRF Live --
by Steve Andersen , Santa Anita | 2019-03-05
Santa Anita: Track cancels racing indefinitely:
http://live.drf.com/nuggets/47243-sa...g-indefinitely




-jp

.

I wonder if Baffert now tries to take either to the Rebel?