Aqueduct- No we dont
 

Cancelled their Friday card in anticipation of very cold weather. You would think this is coming off the "icy atlantic" but no its coming from Canada.

Timbo,

It's the high wind warnings that have them more concerned even than the cold.. That from NY Post's John DaSilva... It would be like the flying nannies scene in 'Mary Poppins' if the jocks start getting blown about!

In that case.....they should run 12!

LOL! These jockeys have to be crazy to ride in NY during the winter. I dont blame them at all for calling it off. I wasnt going to play tomorrow anyways, greatly looking forward to Sunshine Millions day on Saturday.

They agreed to ride in NY in the winter. Ten years ago they didn't cancel like they do now.

I was there for a day at Penn National last year with 30-40 MPH winds. Horses were running down the lane like a bunch of drunken sailors.

They should do away with racing during the week in the winter in NY. Just have it open on the weekends. Seriously.

How about not at all? The on-track/NYRA phonebet handle doesn't justify keeping it open. The inner track is a pretty miserable experience.

Strangely... it's my most successful meet year in and year out, probably because I have the control to not bet unbettable/no opinion races like I do at Saratoga.

That's exactly right. They are cancel happy these days. i don't think they should've cancelled on the hot day in Toga either.

That's exactly right. They are cancel happy these days. i don't think they should've cancelled on the hot day in Toga either.

I totally disagree. As someone who does a lot of physical activity outside, it was very dangerous for horses to run in that weather. Even more so than humans. I doubt anyone suffered with a rare cancellation at Saratoga, even those who traveled on bus tours to get here unserstood the severity of the situation. It was dangerously hot that day.

Tim,

Many of the trainers including Mott said they had run in heat like that many times before and they were lost as to the reason not to. They could've run that day. It was in the mid 90's. They run in similar heat in other parts of the country all the time.

The heat index was like 115. It wasn't safe to run.

Well Mott would certainly know more than I regarding horses running. But I think it had as much to do with the humidity and quality of the air than the temperature itself.

My doctor is an active marathon runner and a very good one and he told me not to even think of running outside that day. I know horses and people are different but I heard from some very knowledgable exercise jockeys that it was too dangerous to have racing that day.

Tim,
One of my partners is an exercise rider at AQ, Bel, and Sar.
Just imagine getting out of bed at 4 AM, bundling up as best you can, face mask, and riding one of these at almost 40 mph...into the wind.
Man, it's plenty cold here. Lucky the wood is firing in the stove and fireplace.
I'm not thinkin' of the horses...those folks that ride em earn every single penny!
DTS

The insurance thing is a huge issue, yes.
But I would suggest next time they make a video to show how iunfortunate the jockeys are and show it on HBO...Dont have a jockey narrate the thing driving around in his 60K Mercedes SUV.

Thats like a homeless person asking for money wearing a 2K Calvin Klein suit...

Stupid. Doh!

Mera,
My partner got pinned to a wall while he was tacking up one about a year ago. Took him six months for his back to be good enough so he could get back up on one. Insurance? LOL!
Some of the backstretch people are bigger dreamers than me, a little breeder.
There just has to be more that motivates these folks than the big dollars...cause, between you and me, it ain't there.
I guess it's the "love". BRRRRRR!!!!

Rand,

It must not occur to you that there was a possibility that patrons would have come to the track that day.. Some of them are 'older'.. Some of them would have DIED...

Cancelling was the responsible thing to do...

Ask Hooves and Joey about the day.. We had lunch by the BBQ with Shrek, Donkey, See-Ack-Ahh, Ken Cook and Sonny Taylor...

It was like HELL those few days..

yes , im living in the south and it was like africa hot...the heat and humidity was un bearable..i think gary lost 5 lbs..eating..lol

I'm sure he's gained it back by now. :D

what does steve say...you cant stop em ....you can only...

Hey I was in Jersey that day and it was hotter here. I realize not everyone would've gone to the track but technically they didn't make up that day. Much of the handle for Toga is simulcast and that wouldn't have been affected. Also, the horses and jockeys are the most important aspect and from everything I can gather, most of them felt running was the correct decision. I'll defer to them.

Heat Index of 115*F. They run at Lone Star during the summer and they're alright. It's hotter than Hell in late July there everyday.

They run at Lone Star during the summer and they're alright

You sure about that? I saw the movie Deliverance.

"Your not alright Spider"

Rand..

'Most' of the trainers and jockeys? The opinion was mixed... Some said run.. some said don't.. There was no majority either way..

Every track on the Eastern Seaboard was CLOSED.. There is the matter of how it looks that NY is "willing to endanger the horses, riders, employees and patrons" when most every other track within 500 miles wasn't..

And by the way, 5 races off the lost 9 race card was made up with 'extras' between then and the end of the meet, so the 'lost handle' element was reduced to about 4 races..

Let me put it another way, every other racetrack affected by the heat cancelled, so how would it have looked for everybody's favorite whipping boy ( NYRA ) if they were the only ones to run?

And, furthermore, how would it have looked had something heat related and bad happened?

Perception is often as bad as truth, and this is certainly true in our game, thus sometimes these decisions are far from black and white.

And, by the way, I like to spend my days at the track, and I was in Saratoga that day, and it was f'n HOT!

Streve, as was said by a previous poster, horses run in that kind of heat routinely in other parts of the country. With precautions taken, they could've run. I love Nader and the lot there, so I'm not throwing stones, but I do trust in the judgment in some of the best trainers and jocks in the country....Still, they run harness horses in Toga in Feb at -5 degrees. So 22 in NY on a Friday doesn't strike me as a reason to cancel. Even with some wind built in.

The jockeys are the reason for tomorrow's cancellation....not NYRA. The simple fact is they could not be relied on to race and it was unfair to expect people to bring their horses to the detention barn, at the time the temperature would have been at its coldest, and then have them not even race.

The decision was made out of fairness to everybody BECAUSE of the unreliability of the riders. As opposed to Saratoga, where it was correct to cancel, I think tomorrow's cancellation is a mistake. It is winter racing in the Northeast, at a racetrack just off the bay, you can't cancel when it gets cold.

if they run n bad conditions , trainers will scratch their horses and you'll have 4-5 horse fields.

I live in Illinois. if you don't like the weather , wait . it will change. It is hard to get climatized. The heat kills. The extreme cold.. reduces fields and the ones that run risk injury.

I have experienced heat stroke/exhaustion thought I was going to black out and die. I've seen horses doing some strage things after the heat gets to them. This one at Oaklawn was doing sumersaults. Have you ever seen something that big going head down and rolling around over and over.

3yo Fillies
 

Just hope this help fills the 2/11 overnight state bred sprint stake...Not that Albertrani was hurt by the last one not filling..Looks like Street Sass is the only one that would have gone in allowance company tommorow

I have a solution. Race the horses with no jockeys. The horses can handle the cold weather, they love it. If the jockeys cant take it, let them have a day off. Just slap the numbers on there and let them race. They'll find their way to the finish line and the results wont be much different. Contessa's horses can do just about anything these days.

They will set track records for every condition!

this is not true...it has been scientifically proven that even cantering in sub freezing conditions can damage a horse's airway...

"Our data show that exercising in cold air can provoke airway changes in otherwise healthy horses and may in fact be a part of the cause of the eventual development of chronic airway disease in equine athletes," explained lead researcher Michael S. Davis, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM.

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle....her%20exercise

Pais,
I agree with you on that. Thanks for posting it.
To me, they run best at about 55 degrees...maybe even a little lower.
When it's a lot lower, it can do some damage.
On a side note, do you know what a leather saddle feels like when it's less than 20 degrees? Yikes!
Makes "warming the buns by the fire" take on a whole new meaning.