The Official Del Mar Meet Thread. The Good-The Bad-The Ugly.

[Andy Asaro]

Originally Posted by cj

The track is noticeably slower this year than it was last year. I think that is intentional helping.

Nobody has invented a safe turf or synthetic surface either. Horses die and get injured if they race. It is part of the game. It is never going to go away.

Pretty sure it's the base that causes the breakdowns. Don't know how they can monitor it but they may have to dig it up every couple of years. Or they can make both surfaces a couple feet higher. The high tides in conjunction with rain erode the base IMO.

[Andy Asaro]

Week Two Comparisons.

Up from 2016 but about even with 2015

[Andy Asaro]

Twitter

[Andy Asaro]

Twitter

Excerpt:

Jeff Mullins on Tuesday transferred his well-regarded 2-year-old Tatters to Riches to San Luis Rey Downs for a workout and then shipped the colt back to Del Mar the same day. Mullins said his stable has seen soft-tissue injuries this summer. He described the track as “deep and loose.”

[cj]

Originally Posted by Andy Asaro

https://twitter.com/racetrackandy/st...91267903864832



Excerpt:

Jeff Mullins on Tuesday transferred his well-regarded 2-year-old Tatters to Riches to San Luis Rey Downs for a workout and then shipped the colt back to Del Mar the same day. Mullins said his stable has seen soft-tissue injuries this summer. He described the track as “deep and loose.”

Think I mentioned it earlier, too lazy to look, but track has definitely been slower this year.

[theiman]

Surprised no mention of the DM Turf course.
Rails at zero for the first week and then the next 3 weeks(including this coming weekend) the rails have been at 30' for 5 days, 24' for this week, 18' for 2 days and 12' for 3 days.
One might think that after 4 weeks, of a 7 week meet, the rails might be at zero for more than 1 week of the first 4.
Perhaps there is a problem with the inside of the track. I dont recall the rails extended as much as this in the past.

[Psychotic Parakeet]

Twitter

How often does this happen? Jockey didn't make it to the track to the ride the horse, no one else wanted to ride the horse, so he was scratched.

__________________
"And there they go! It's Toupée going on ahead, Long Underwear has fallen behind, Toothpaste is being squeezed out on the rail as Banana joins the bunch, and Cabbage is trailing by a head."

[Andy Asaro]

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...815-story.html

Excerpt:

As one owner told me last week, “This isn’t California racing.” He meant that California racing is all about speed. Speed has been muted in this meet because Del Mar suffered a rash of fatal injuries last year, and it was a public relations nightmare.

So far this meet, there has been one fatality on the dirt main track (and one on the grass). There also have been slower-than-slow times, but at least it has been consistently slow, morning and afternoon.

Some trainers like the track, and others hate it. There have been multiple soft-tissue injuries to horses who have been sent to the farm and whom you won’t see again at the meet. A few owners won’t let their horses run.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Andy Asaro

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...815-story.html

Excerpt:

As one owner told me last week, “This isn’t California racing.” He meant that California racing is all about speed. Speed has been muted in this meet because Del Mar suffered a rash of fatal injuries last year, and it was a public relations nightmare.

So far this meet, there has been one fatality on the dirt main track (and one on the grass). There also have been slower-than-slow times, but at least it has been consistently slow, morning and afternoon.

Some trainers like the track, and others hate it. There have been multiple soft-tissue injuries to horses who have been sent to the farm and whom you won’t see again at the meet. A few owners won’t let their horses run.

I really hate horsemen. Truly do. They remind me of the merchants in "Jaws" who just want to keep the beaches open.

I'm still somewhat sekptical about Del Mar's new track. It looks like positive variance to me. But if they have indeed solved the problems by creating a dirt track that doesn't result in 15 horse deaths a summer, that's an amazing result and to be praised and emulated.

Indeed, it's exactly what the horsemen said they wanted when they were all whining about Polytrack, which was also saving horses' lives.

It sounds like in fact, what they want is an unsafe track where their horses can run fast times if they manage to survive. And that's just sociopathic.

[Ruffian1]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

I really hate horsemen. Truly do. They remind me of the merchants in "Jaws" who just want to keep the beaches open.

I'm still somewhat sekptical about Del Mar's new track. It looks like positive variance to me. But if they have indeed solved the problems by creating a dirt track that doesn't result in 15 horse deaths a summer, that's an amazing result and to be praised and emulated.

Indeed, it's exactly what the horsemen said they wanted when they were all whining about Polytrack, which was also saving horses' lives.

It sounds like in fact, what they want is an unsafe track where their horses can run fast times if they manage to survive. And that's just sociopathic.

Try not to.

Most horsemen do not think like this jack ass does. And yes, there are plenty of soft tissue injuries because the surface is deeper (instead of that brick road they ran on for years) as the article says.
Gee, ground breaking info there.

Plenty more running down ( friction burns on the backs of ankles),as well I am sure. But the horses will get used to the surface and corrective shoes and bandages on race day will fix running down .

And by the way, if anybody can get the memo to the asshat speaking in that article, those soft tissue injured horses are ALL on a farm and resting and 90% will just fine with 30-60 days off. And all are alive. Horses are NOT put down for soft tissue injuries .
Can't say the same for those that snap and shatter bones and end up being put down out of public view. What a pleasant experience and sight that is.
But then again, it's just not as fun unless they run 9 and change is it? He needs to stay anonymous. And I don't care who he is. He wouldn't want his competitors to know he was a complete idiot now would he.

[GMB@BP]

I think watching and handicapping on this track sucks this summer. I have bet 3 races total.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Ruffian1

Try not to.

I should try harder. Your point is well taken. And I understand they aren't all like this guy.

On the other hand, what this guy is saying is not that different than what a lot of horsemen, including some speaking on the record, said about Polytrack. Tons of soft tissue injuries (and here, my biases as a lawyer probably kick in as well, because we all know that "soft tissue injuries" in personal injury cases are rife with exaggeration and sometimes outright fraud), and they didn't care that the death rate was down.

In other words, I don't think this guy's views are an isolated instance, either. He's probably parroting what a number of people are saying on the backstretch about Del Mar's new surface. He just was dumb enough to say it to a journalist.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by Ruffian1

And by the way, if anybody can get the memo to the asshat speaking in that article, those soft tissue injured horses are ALL on a farm and resting and 90% will just fine with 30-60 days off. And all are alive. Horses are NOT put down for soft tissue injuries .

The problem with soft tissue injuries is that the vast majority of such horses come back at a lower class level and then we get to watch a game of "hot potato" between horsemen as the horses slide down the class ladder. And some of those aren't even afforded rest in the first place.

In short, not a pleasant experience or sight, either. Just a longer, drawn out process.

The drop off in fatalities should be commended, but swinging the pendulum from one imbalance to the other doesn't benefit the big picture (i.e., short fields, bad public image) for horse racing in the long run.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Spalding No!

The drop off in fatalities should be commended, but swinging the pendulum from one imbalance to the other doesn't benefit the big picture (i.e., short fields, bad public image) for horse racing in the long run.

I think the biggest medium term threat to the sport is animal rights. Of course, we may not get to the medium term if current trends worsen, major tracks close, and the horse shortage gets worse.

But if we do, the thing that could really kill the sport is a tide of public opinion on the subject of horse fatalities. And these things can happen quickly. Look how fast gay marriage happened, or look at the current controversies over confederate flags and monuments and how quickly they development. Some high profile horse gets fatally hurt in the stretch of the Kentucky Derby, the footage gets shown over and over, and then suddenly the media is full of stories about the fatality rates at racetracks. And the public just turns away. It can happen really quickly.

So if we want to see the sport thrive, we simply have to get the fatality numbers down. It doesn't solve the problems of the sport, but it would eliminate one thing that could absolutely destroy it.

[Dahoss9698]

I think the main has been pretty kind to speed.