Turfway examines injury rise on Poly
 

with all the recent "Turfway" debate, I found this of interest....
http://drf.com/news/article/82379.html

Whoever thinks this stuff is as advertised is a buffoon.

Thanks for posting that Smarty.

So is the DRF, in addition to noting which horses receive bute or lasix.......going to start listing which horses receive Pam? Hillarious stuff.

Will P1 become the angle for poly?

The sad part is that according to the article they are "tilling" the track to bring up some of the old poly to the surface. The old poly is the same stuff they tried to cover up because it was bad in the first place.

The circus continues . . . what are they going to try next . . . chopping up old mattresses and adding that to the mix? Or maybe used sponges from car washes? Perhaps they could grind up some GI Joes and Barbi Dolls and throw that in too?

It's time these clowns got rid of Martin Collins LLC, put up some money, and hired a corporation with an R&D background to develop an effective artificial track. There are plenty of companys that would take the contract -- Goodyear, DuPont, you name it. Hire a real company with real scientists and engineers -- if poly had been developed correctly in the first place it wouldn't be having these problems today.

I agree with that. I still think that a new well cushioned dirt track would have been just as safe.

Shouldn't you do the research before you spend million of dollars and install a new track?

No...why would you do the research when Marty Collins and Keeneland said its revolutionary?

Just let them add some more spandex to it, thats all they need to do. They have some peabrains out there staring at it every morning trying to figure out the composition changes it needs. Funny thing is now they want the horsemans opinions on how to fix a track that no research has been done on. I suppose it will be the trainers/horsemen faults when the track fails because they FORCED TWP to take 4 inches of rug and tires off the top.

What a bunch of buffoons, its like a bad skit from saturday night live.

I liken Polytrack to the wheel, television, air travel, electricity, what a great invention it is.

It's like the Three Stooges running around -- except there are FOUR of them!

Keeneland and TWP havent opened the track to the horses the last 3 days. How can Arlington be dumb enough to install this stuff after all these problems. I talked to a trainer today over at TWP he said the horses look like they are coming over in highheels. Shits balled up 2 inches on their feet in the paddock.

Anyone know where I can order 30 yards of poly? I need to set up an iceskating rink for my kids

track at TP was only closed monday am

When i was in Tucson for the Racing and Gaming Symposium, Polytrack had an exhibit, as well as some other Artificial surface companies.

The Polytrack IMO was the worst of it all... it would clump up so easily and was impossible to get off my hands (the wax/sand) without a good scrubbing.

Some other artificial surfaces were much better in my opinion.

What was happening on your hands is happening on their feet. Bad clumping. Many problems

I know this subject has been beat to death here,but I wonder if this might help.In the winter,I put pads on my Draft horses to keep the snow from balling up on their feet.Works 100% A OK!I wonder if this would remedy the situation.Any farriers or trainers out there who tried this?You could put a very thin pad in between the hoof and the shoe to keep the poly gunk from balling up in there.Just a thought.

Don't worry, kids. Turfway has hired Mr. Quincy Magoo to lead the current team of investigators. The problem should be solved shortly.

"In the meantime, horsemen are spraying Pam cooking spray and other non-adhesive materials on their horses' hooves to attempt to prevent the balling up, 'but that only works to a certain degree,' said Maline."
That is my favorite part of the article.
Oh really, I thought Pam would have cured everything!

:D :D

Poly problems -- the latest
 

The tough part about this article is seeing the excuses that are still being offered for this defective surface. Going on two years and they are continually having massive problems with what was clearly touted as a "miracle surface".

Bid told us of a horse that had its eye knocked out by the kickback. This article clearly references injuries to horses from the kickback -- blood from the nostrils and cuts (can't all be EIPH now can it?). It's only a matter of time before a jockey gets his or her teeth knocked out by this garbage.

Here's the scoop:

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=37529

Pretty funny article really.

Ellison is still dancing around the issue.

Why didnt they change winter racing hours before polytrack? They werent worried about the welfare of the horsemen or horses then. All the sudden they want to make sure the climate suits the horsemen, please.

My favorite part of the article is when they say the track seems to react to colder temperatures. Gee, thats shocking, I thought it was all weather. The horses on stilts was pretty interesting as well. I wish they would have spoke a little about a horse losing an eyeball due to kickback. Maybe that will be in the next episode of as the polytrack turns.

Turfway Park This weekend
 

Since I am going to Indy for the Butler/SIU game on Saturday, it just dawned on me how close Florence, KY is to Indianapolis (125 miles, 75 minutes). It is possible I might be making an appearance. More to come later.

You better call ahead to see if they are going to run or cancel

was down there this past weekend scavs as we ran a filly with your boy mena on that ran 3rd sunday. the recieving barn was in horrible shape as the washracks were frozen and it was flooded. theres a theatre and alotta places to eat around the track like fuddruckers and some hotels right there but if youre lookin for a place to stay i highly reccomend the drawbridge which is a few miles from the track

oh my God, quote of the day man.

There are about 3 hotels right on Turfway road even, walking distance to the track.

Fudrucker's is ok, but i recommend Rafferty's :D

i ate@rafferty's when i was down there a few weeks back, good food and very large portions guaranteed you will walk out full. we used to have fuddruckers here in illinois years back brian as you know, not sure why they closed em all down=(

scav i might be down there with steve runnin a couple for another trainer this weekend, if we go ill give ya a heads up and we can meet up

lol you make it sound like a strip club

Go to skyline chili before you hit up turfway. It'll help you communicate with the locals.

Isn't that where you can get a 5-way? I had one once. Great!!

The term "all-weather" is becoming an oxymoron for Polytrack. Apparently its the "when the temperature is between 32 and 85 all purpose track". The folks at TP and Kee should've done their research; everyone knows the winters in the U.K. aren't as severe as here, and the summers aren't as hot, either.

Not so. When in Cincy (or Florence or Erlanger) you have to go to Skyline or Gold Star Chili.

Scav-

You can save yourself some driving time. Indiana Downs is open for simulcasting. Its on I-74 in Shelbyville. Its a lot closer to Indy than Cincy.

Is Trackside in downtown Indy still open?

i had it once, it was unusual, but i sorta got used to it in the end.

I forgot about that. Hoosier in Anderson is another option although I don't think there's a good way to get back to I-65 from Anderson w/out having to go back to Indy.

Really? Been good to me (so far)! :confused:

I am going to Butler University to watch the Salukis play, might cruise down Sunday morning to watch a couple races.

I just found out I am going to be in Richmond, the week of the 19th, and I might stay for the weekend and go to Derby Prevue day at Turfway on the 24th....not sure yet

So they serve plain with a side of plain? :p
Just kidding with you!

That's just it JJP -- they did zero research on it. And now Arlington and Del-Mar are moving forward -- and there is zero research on how poly acts in extreme heat. I know there were problems at TP during the summer training season.

This whole charade came about because the powers that be don't care about the handicappers, the bettors, and the fans. They could care less -- if they find a track surface that they think will be cheaper to operate they go forward with it and they say, "to hell with the fans -- the fans are gambling addicts anyway".

Poly was sold to tracks as saving $500,000 a year in maintenance. To the public they preached that it was "safer for horses". They didn't give a rat's ass about safety -- it was all about the bottom line and who cares if it inconveniences the handicappers and knocks horses eyes out.

The big event coming up is a lawsuit by a jockey or jockeys over lung damage from breathing pollutants. That is coming eventually and that may indeed be the end of horse racing as we know it in America.