The general issue is integrity and safety of the horse and rider. American horse racing does have a bad reputation for lack of safety and the over use of drugs. Full disclosure of any horse at auction must be enforced and the sooner the better.

Coolmore and Darley are not American based outfits...

Personally I dont care what the euros or others think. They have no problem coming over for our races and the big money purses. They have no problems coming over and buying our breeding stock and yearlings. Sheik Mo has no problem since he is focused so much on the American market in recent years in both breeding and racing. They have no problem taking our money for their castoffs especially the ones who need medication like Lasix. They have no problem when so many of their riders (ex boys/girls) come over here looking for better opportunites. They never particularly cared about dirt racing until now.

Maybe they should look into their own system of racing outside the top stakes where 1/2 the field isn't even trying in order to get a lower handicap. Our leading jockey is not on trial for race fixing. Maybe they should try to fix their own house where maidens run for crap purses. Maybe they should have theri own Breeders Cup and do with it whatever they want. Run it on turf, dirt, poly, fibresand, whatever.

Remind Jim Bolger that we dont need them, racing in this country did just fine pre breeders cup and pre polytrack.

I have no problem with the european tracks, horses, or horseman. As a matter of fact I like going over there and love Newmarket. But they have no right to tell us what to do or how to do it if they participate in a few select events a year.

By the way will Mr. Bolger be boycotting the Dubai festival because of that dreaded dirt?

1 breakdown BC weekend...a euro (non drug) horse...


Does everyone think drugs in horses is a new thing?

I still don't get what it has to do with George Washington. He is not part of the inferior product you are speaking about I assume, after all he was bred in Ireland. Our top horses by and large all had very solid healthy campaigns. Heck this year it would look like we're the model to follow, not to denigrate. I'm not saying there isn't a big problem, for sure there is. I don't know what the answers are to that though.

I would be more inclined to take it seriously if the remarks weren't made just after the superior euro's were shut out at the breeders cup by our inferior product, it just has the sound of sour grapes to me. It sounds like an attempt to blame America for this. maybe i'm reading to much into it but thats what I hear in those words.
Why was this the moment for Mr. Bolger to offer remedies for US racing?
Did he speak to the issue that George Washington didn't seem to belong in the race? was he really prepared for a 10F dirt race? I said over and over before the race that I didn't understand why the horse was running. It was the wrong distance, wrong surface, and the horse was obviously not currently at a competitive level with our top dirt routers.

Okay if we are to listen and take this seriously, are you in favor of running all future Classics on polytrack?

it just bothers me for anyone to use a particular breakdown to try to prove a complex point. what immediate conclusions should Americans have made about euro racing when Horatio Nelson was fatally injured in the Epsom Derby last year for the same connections? it was on turf and i guess no drugs were involved.

Jim Bolger is a nut case
 

Irish Trainer: Breeders' Cup Shouldn't Be Run on Dirt

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=41736

Yeah lets keep listening to the Brits. Before you know it we'll all dress like this...

Lets not run the triple crown on dirt either. Give me a break.

If GW won the race, the Brits would still be drunk

That was never going to happen.

first of all big difference between brits and irish!! Bolger had said this before but obviously with the heightened media attention on dirt surrounding GWs passing, his comments and opinions have been re-raised. Its a controversial view and I dont neccessarily agree with it, but I certainly believe that he has every right to say it. Furthermore, Bolger has long campaigned for outriders at races over here, like ye guys do...

Each country has their own specific problems regarding racing and I think nations can learn from one another to try improve racing as a whole.

This will stir the pot even further, but as many of you won't read Racing Post, i thought i would post it here. I'm sure this will also get some strong opinions from both ends of the scale......


by Andrew Scutts
.

MICHAEL DICKINSON leapt to the defence of Monmouth Park on Tuesday, while at the same time expressing "my wish that last Saturday is the last time the Breeders' Cup races will be run on dirt".

George Washington's death due to injuries sustained in the Classic, the second lowest Breeders' Cup attendance and a 43.5 per cent reduction year-on-year in on-course wagering, conspired to leave some observers questioning whether the event had lost its lustre.

Dickinson, the legendary British jumps trainer who moved to the US 20 years ago, has patented Tapeta - Latin for 'carpet' - an artificial surface which competes for business from racecourses and trainers with Polytrack and Cushion Track, among others.

His call for the end of Breeders' Cup races on traditional dirt surfaces must be viewed within that context, but his opinions on the dangers of running on a dirt track following heavy rain are widely held, including by Kempton's clerk of the course Brian Clifford.

Dickinson said: "The science behind the dirt track is over 100 years old and hopelessly outdated. It is well documented, by numerous scientific papers, that wet dirt tracks cause more injuries.

"This is reinforced by trainers' daily habits. On a typical US track, after rain there can be only four horses working. On day two of a sloppy track, there can still be only four horses working, but if day three is dry there will be 300 working.

"Some have suggested that racing on the sloppy dirt track last Saturday was not visually thrilling but, even more important, the betting handle was down by a huge amount. It became more of a guessing game."

Dickinson, though, suggested events at Monmouth Park constitute a one-off blip in the 24-year history of the Breeders' Cup.

He said: "No dirt track can be good after three inches of rain. Anywhere, in fact - Cheltenham, Ascot or Newmarket - is going to be a mess.
"Monmouth tried hard and put a lot of money into it, so you have to feel sorry for them. Only last week it was said we'd had the driest October in the US since 1923.

"Their track superintendent, Bob Juliano, is a good friend, and he did the best job possible underdeplorable conditions."

Dickinson added: "It was suggested that had it not been the Breeders' Cup, racing would have been cancelled, but that is not true - America races on sloppy tracks all the time. Only on very rare occasions do we cancel racing because of sloppy tracks."

Next year, the Breeders' Cup will be staged at Santa Anita, with the seven 'dirt' races to be run on a synthetic surface - Cushion Track - for the first time.

In July, the Breeders' Cup board will evaluate responses from racecourses interested in staging the 2009 and 2010 meetings, following their issuing of request for proposals (RFP) earlier this year.

The RFP was sent to leading venues in the US and overseas, though William Farish jnr, Breeders' Cup chairman, said lastweek that he "couldn't envision holding the Breeders' Cup overseas".

George Washington's ashes are to be buried at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky, according to trainer Aidan O'Brien.

He said on Tuesday: "The last 48 hours have been very tough on everyone. Obviously, losing George was very sad, and a big blow to us all. Conditions at Monmouth Park were completely against our horses.

"Excellent Art and Achill Island both ran good races to finish second in the Mile and the Juvenile. We knew the weather and the ground wouldn't suit Dylan Thomas in the Turf, but we let him take his chance."

.........what a disgrace.

You have to give Aiden O'Brien credit for coming over here. Those guys are real sportsman. Rarely do you see top american horses go over there, which is sort of sad.

However, you can't really knock dirt for the problem. If 5 or 6 horses brokedown that day then you have an argument, but one horse brokedown and that is just a very sad reality of the sport. Horses breakdown.

The fact is horses really aren't meant for racing on dirt or synthetic tracks. But maintaining a turf course is expensive and america decided they like dirt racing and that is what is primarily bred for.

The important thing is that horseman are constantly looking for ways to make racing safer for horses.

As for the in the sport, it is a problem because like anything you will eventually have unsound horses ting the breeding sheds, which we already see. It just means horses today are more fragile and can't run as frequently.

The ONLY ones to blame for the death of George Washington are his connections. A classic winning miler in europe, who was sterile, by the way, had absolutely nothing to gain by running in the classic. Especially not on dirt sloppy, or otherwise. Bad judgement by O'brien. Even worse was the jock continuing to beat the tar out of him when he was spinning his wheels going nowhere.

The connections got what they deserved (poor performances due to greed/arrogance). The only unfortunate part is that it came at the life expense of a super horse.

How dare they lash out at every one and everything associated with American racing and the Breeder's Cup. That outfit busts up more expensive horseflesh than anyone. Talk about living in denial.

Why does someone have to be to "blame"? Accidents do indeed happen, catastrophic injuries do occur in a split second, out of nowhere, with no warning. The horse had a cannon bone condylar fracture as the original injury - that's consistent with an accident.

Ask his connections, they are blaming everything/everyone else.

Where? (I'd like to read it)

I don't think anything or anyone is to blame.

Yes, in hindsight the Coolmore team shouldn't have run George OR Dylan, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

What this has raised is the safety of dirt when it becomes very wet. It certainly has opened my eyes. I didn't realise that when it got so sloppy that horses were basically running on the hard base below the actual 'dirt' surface until it was said by the vets who went to the aid of George Washington.

George Was 'climbing' because of the horrific kickback there was on Saturday. Because of him 'climbing' he was more than likely hitting to ground much harder than usual. This may have led to the build up of his injury, it may not. But it certainly couldn't have helped.

Rain is an external constraint, it's out of our hands, but if it rains THAT much on a dirt track, it can become dangerous. I think that is the main cause for concern.

we already have owners who are afraid to run a horse more than a handful of times, and now every time a horse has an accident, they have to get the finger pointed at them for doing what the fans want?? how the hell does that make sense?
every year horses who generally run on turf attempt the dirt, here, dubai and elsewhere. sometimes they win, sometimes they lose, sometimes, sadly, they break down.
anyone remember electrocutionist? how about moon ballad? giant's causeway, arazi, jo'burg, etc, etc...
one horse out of the almost two hundred included in the two days of bc racing has an accident, a bad step, and the blame game begins. absolutely ridiculous. as fans, many of us who've followed this for years, we ought to know better. we know how up and down this game is, yet 'fans' come on here and play this game. and then we're horrified when non fans call us out, and ask how we can be fans of such a 'cruel' sport. and then we join in with the same bs.
is it painful when a horse is lost? absolutely. but this does nothing to improve ANYTHING. that track didn't cause this. a bad step. nothing more. we've seen days of beautiful weather and a fast track, and have had more horses lost in one race than in this two day event. hell, two horses last year in the distaff alone had an injury, one fatal. considering the elements faced in those two days, i'd say those horses did pretty dammed well, a testament to their fitness.

Your writing style has gotten to be eerily like Hooves....

really?

almost afraid to ask, but is that good or bad??

THe best Aussie and NZed horses are never going to come for the BC in late Oct/early Nov. That is when the Spring Festival is taking place in Melbourne - do you think they will choose to fly thousands of miles, put up with the time and season change to gamble on the BC when they could be running in some of the most important and remunerative races on their calendar? We're talking Melbourne Cup, Cox Plate, Epsom H, not to mention the Victoria Derby and Oaks. (Their 3yos won't come anyway because they are just barely 3 - official birthday 1 August.) Would a US owner skip the Met Mile to go run in the Doncaster H in the Sydney Autumn Carnival?

The BC is a 'World Championship" in name only. It's PR, plain and simple. It's not even a North American championship, since horses can be excluded for not being nominated or having a non-nominated sire. Real championships take everybody who qualify on equal terms.

I was paying attention when the BC idea was being kicked around and the original idea was to put up a big enough purse that top horses, especially 3yos, would have an incentive to stay in training into the fall, or come back for another year. The insane inflation of stallion values was driving earlier and earlier retirements and this was designed to be a solution. But some framers feared that stallion owners who knew their stallion's foals were never going to be 10f dirt runners wouldn't nominate, so lowering the pot. Thus, the additional races were devised, which ended up rewarding owners for buying 2yos who won't train on at 3 and horses who run out of gas after 6f.

Not good or bad but eerie...

sometimes when i type tho, my fingers can't keep up with the thoughts in my head, so i have disjointed or run on sentences at times.

i think i have a.d.d. too, so that doesn't help!

GW
 

I join the many who are sad to see a champion go down in less than ideal circumstances. He was special last year and watching his replays as a miler had me hoping he could come back and maybe regain his form after 3 races.

Plenty of blame and second guessing to go around

Just watched the replay, the jockey on GW did a terrible job. He was riding him hard halfway through the race and even though he was hopelessly out of it he continued to push him. I'm not advocating pulling a horse up unnecessarily but that was ridiculous. The horse was obviously spinning his wheels, not handling the track.

this is exactly my thinking, and I don't hear many people or commentators talking about it. When you watch the replay, as soon as they show the field on the backstretch you see Kinane urgently scrubbing on the neck of GW, agressively pushing him on, seemingly with no reaction. in fact, shortly after that Curlin and Street Sense go by him like he was standing still.
Then on through the final turn every horse had passed him save for one, Diamond Stripes who was also hopelessly out of it at that point. As they enter the turn Denman days "George Washington is done, and so is Diamond Stripes". However even though it looked to Denmans eye that he was done, when GW comes to the top of the stretch at least 20 lengths behind the leaders, you can see he is STILL being ridden hard while it looks like like Diamond Stripes is not being pushed anymore since his day was essentially over. For what reason was GW still being hard ridden at that point when he was hopelessly out of it? why wasn't he wrapped up early on after it was clear that he wasn't going to be competitive in any sense of the word. wouldn't it have made sense just to wrap him up and let him gallop home?
don't horses continue to try to follow the riders commands even when they may have nothing left?

it just really irritates me to read all of the euro criticism of the US, drugs, dirt racing, etc, all of it because of the tragic demise of GW, when in my view this horse was not spotted well, mishandled, and apparently ridden to exhaustion on a surface he had never raced on before and at a distance that looked to be beyond what he was comfortable with.

imo at the point when he had no reaction on the backstretch and was being passed after asking him for run, he should have been shut down and as someone else put it "allowed to gallop home to retirement".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDTB2vehFa4

RIP champ.

Thanks Cajun. That was a awesome tribute. Ditto : RIP Champ.