The last race at Santa Anita earlier today
 

8-to-5 favorite Tropiluk not only broke through the starting gate -- but also hit the back of his head on the top of the starting gate as he was in the process of rearing up and breaking through the gate.

They swung him around quickly -- had the vet look at him -- and within less than 2-minutes of breaking through the gate he was involved in a horse race. He finished a long way last in the field of 10.

Riveting, I know.

Sounds like PG had a bet on him.

And in other riveting Santa Anita news ... I guess Maclean's Music is out there with Asmussen and getting fairly close to being ready for a workout.

Brad Free claims his setbacks were all minor things... and said the stable is hopeful he will be another Majestic Perfection.

Perhaps most riveting of all ... I found this old Summer Olympic pic saved on my computer.

Difficulty of 2.8:

That article also tried to tie in Curlin with that debuting Smart Strike, Welter Weight.

Apparently, it's slow but can really run.

That was an odd comparison. Didn't Majesticperfection make about 5 total starts, winning but one race of consequence, before fracturing a leg?

I'm not sure that's something to aspire to...

sounds like they do the nfl concussion test.

It's hard to see -- but it always looks like the vets just examines the legs and motion of the horse after they break through the gate. And it always seems like they are in somewhat of a rush to do it ... probably because the rest of the field is stuck in the gate.

It takes an extreme amount of force to break open a starting gate. And though race horses are exceptionally strong bodied animals -- a shot to the mouth and face probably causes them pain and discomfort.

This example yesterday was much more extreme than a typical horse breaking through the starting gate ... because this one yesterday cracked the back of his head on the top of the gate as he was breaking through.

In the short time it took to hustle him around, examine him, and re-load him -- his odds only jumped from 7-to-5 to 8-to-5. I didn't even have time enough to log-in and bet against him.

He ended up finishing 10th beaten 25 lengths at 8/5 odds going just six furlongs. People have to realize that the outcomes of horse races are literally determined by fractions of a second.

I believe a break through leads to an automatic scratch in the UK...someone was telling me that the other day.

Happened at either Lingfield or Southwell the other day.

I think they should unload the rest of the field from the gate when it happens.

It gives the bettors more time to do what they want. And I think it's fair to everyone... even though it will cause a delay.

It's especially fair to the horse who probably feels like he just got hit in the mouth with a club.

no doubt the track is not interested in people rushing to the windows to cancel those bets. so obviously the easiest thing to do is say the horse is good to go and run the race. hopefully tracks will start taking things like that more seriously. a blow to the head as well all know is very serious-so the tracks need to recognize that. all the talk about horse welfare is only that unless actions back that up.
obviously the horse should have been scratched. once again, another rule that needs to be put in place-but who will make the tracks do so?

ntra is a useless group. i think the graded stakes committee really needs to exert more influence-put rules in place or you don't get grades? would that be enough impetus?

absolutely agree!

But they're just 1200 pounds of beast...

Actually its not that hard to pop the front doors of the starting gate open, they are held together with magnets.

Yes. It takes between 350 to 500lbs of force to break the gates open. I believe a horse leads with the face.

I have seen horses over the years win after breaking through the front of the gate... however, they are a lot more likely than normal to run dismally after doing it and even on the win-end they are bad bets. I always note it when I see it. Sometimes the chart callers don't even publish it in the result chart.

The last race at Santa Anita yesterday was a much more extreme example. That horse got TKO'd.

Horses only have about 10-15 seconds of anaerobic metabolic energy reserve they use during the massive energy push-off of the start. Breaking through the gate aggressively means they have used that up (as it is not replaced instantly), and have to go to aerobic metabolic energy creation vs. their peers at the start. Yes, a disadvantage, more pronounced in sprints.

The vets normally - should - check eyes, nose, mouth for bleeding and broken front teeth (common), look at the knees for laceration, etc.

Edit: I watch alot of Australian racing, and the vets take out horses at the gate constantly, very readily, compared to the US. They also back them out of the gate and look at them alot more, if the horse goes off in the gate, for example.

Oh my God. :D

that is a great pic! great work by CL, but i'm sure he likes the benitez pic a lot more.

This one seems to have slid under the radar around here....

http://www.drf.com/news/winning-hors...-lasix-mistake