Arizona racehorses are dying at a record rate. The question is: why?

[GMB@BP]

Originally Posted by Clocker

I have been playing TuP the last couple of years around this time of year because they race on M-T-W and because they rarely if ever cancel a card because of bad weather like the northern tracks do.

On the rare days when it does rain, they do what other tracks usually do, move races off-turf and run everything on the dirt. I think there have been a few days this year when the track condition was "muddy-sealed".

its certainly been a wet winter so far here.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Clocker

I don't think the locals are at the top of the concern list for management.

Especially during bad weather in the northern states, TuP lives on M-T-W racing. Yesterday, Monday, the on-track handle was $44,029. That's all bets, 8 races.

The off-track handle was just a hair under $1.5 million.

What about the horsemen there...don't they bet anything? Are they betting online?

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

What about the horsemen there...don't they bet anything? Are they betting online?

The trainers all lose their money in the Indian casinos and poker tables....None of them have a dime to their names and owe the bookies more than they can steal...

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

What about the horsemen there...don't they bet anything? Are they betting online?

I'm sure that on-track handle includes them. I was there in early spring last year, and the place was a ghost town on a Tuesday afternoon. They don't charge admission on weekdays, so there is no head count, but I doubt there were more than three or four hundred people there. Club house admission was free on week days also. Best as I remember, there were 2 pari-mutual clerks working the grandstands and 3 in the club house. Close to post time, the lines at those windows were some times as long as 3 people.

[Clocker]

A post on the Turf Paradise web site concerning this issue.


http://www.turfparadise.com/latest-n...s-injury-spike

[AskinHaskin]

Originally Posted by spiketoo

Arizona racehorses are dying at a record rate. The question is: why?

The question doesn't need verbalizing.


A horse entered at Rillito on Sunday has officially worked out exactly once since 2010, having not raced since (')t(h)en either.

Why would anyone have to ask... ??

[chadk66]

reading that explains a lot. I had no idea they didn't inspect every single horse by the state vet the morning of the race. I have never ran a horse in my life that didn't have a state vet inspection the morning of the race. They come in, look the horse over and make you jog them. I'm not sure if this is a TuP only issue or if this is something that has become a national trend since I quite training. That's insane.

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by chadk66

reading that explains a lot. I had no idea they didn't inspect every single horse by the state vet the morning of the race. I have never ran a horse in my life that didn't have a state vet inspection the morning of the race. They come in, look the horse over and make you jog them. I'm not sure if this is a TuP only issue or if this is something that has become a national trend since I quite training. That's insane.

What would it cost the track to do those inspections? They say that they now do 15 a day. They run 8 races a day, probably average 8 horses per race, so around 50 more inspections, 5 days a week.

[chadk66]

Originally Posted by Clocker

What would it cost the track to do those inspections? They say that they now do 15 a day. They run 8 races a day, probably average 8 horses per race, so around 50 more inspections, 5 days a week.

it's nothing. back in my old training days two state vets did every damn horse in a matter of a few hours in the morning. and the races had a hell of a lot more horses in them than they do now. It literally takes five minutes a horse to check them out.

[AskinHaskin]

Originally Posted by pandy

Turf Paradise... probably the fastest track

Zero chance of that, and not really even 'close' (while perhaps still second-fastest).

[Afleet]

The win by the gray son of Disco Rico shattered the previous six-furlong North American turf record of 1:06.76, set by Pure Sensation in last year's Jaipur, a race in which Disco Partner finished second, beaten a neck. It is the fastest six furlongs on any surface in North America, eclipsing the dirt record of 1:06.49 established by Twin Sparks at Turf Paradise in Arizona on Nov. 21, 2009. (The Equibase chart reported the time as a world record.)

https://www.paulickreport.com/news/t...r-record-time/

this is smokin:

Six And One Half Furlongs
I Keep Saying
5
124
1:12.94
Emerald Downs
July 27, 2014

https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqb...trk=TUP&cy=USA

[Fager Fan]

Originally Posted by Clocker

What would it cost the track to do those inspections? They say that they now do 15 a day. They run 8 races a day, probably average 8 horses per race, so around 50 more inspections, 5 days a week.

Doesn't matter what the cost is anyway. It should be done regardless, and done well.

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by Fager Fan

Doesn't matter what the cost is anyway. It should be done regardless, and done well.

I agree, I'm just trying to understand the track not doing it on its own, and I don't see why they can't. Ending the bad PR has to be worth something to them.

The track says it is working with a local vet school. Surely they could bring in some people from there, even final year vet students, and pay them to do inspections under the direction of the track vet. Students would be happy for a few bucks and the experience and the addition to their resumes.

[lawmaker1]

The Turf Paradise situation is a perfect example of why horse racing is a dying sport. I was really dismayed to see some comments here that completely overlooked the fact that unhealthy horses were being raced to death!Their only concern it appears was they would have one less place to bet if racing was suspended at the track. Where is the empathy for the horses!

Like most of you, I have been betting horses for many years. We are all getting older and if horse racing is to survive after we are gone, we must get the younger generation interested in the sport. These are young people who have deep interests in the health and welfare of animals. Do you think they would want to get involved in a sport that allows horses to be so badly mistreated.

Voters in Florida approved the closing of greyhound racing last November. We all had better hope that horse racing is not next.

[AskinHaskin]

Originally Posted by Afleet

The win by the gray son of Disco Rico shattered the previous six-furlong North American turf record of 1:06.76, set by Pure Sensation in last year's Jaipur, a race in which Disco Partner finished second, beaten a neck. It is the fastest six furlongs on any surface in North America, eclipsing the dirt record of 1:06.49 established by Twin Sparks at Turf Paradise in Arizona on Nov. 21, 2009. (The Equibase chart reported the time as a world record.)

https://www.paulickreport.com/news/t...r-record-time/

this is smokin:

Six And One Half Furlongs
I Keep Saying
5
124
1:12.94
Emerald Downs
July 27, 2014

https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqb...trk=TUP&cy=USA

It isn't clear which way you're leaning here, but Twin Sparks was assigned a "105" Beyer for that win, and I Keep Saying was assigned a modest "89".

That is to say that Twin Sparks would have had to run 6 1/2 furlongs in perhaps 1:11 3/5 in order to match his (career best) Beyer over the EmD surface on the same day. The funny part is, he may have...


And recognize that you are comparing (??) a 2x stakes winner with 4 additional stakes placings and a trio of Allowance wins to a horse who lists just 2 optional claiming wins and 5 claiming wins. The only stakes-placing by the latter was when 3rd in a 5-horse field at 4-to-5.