[ndjake]

There were 3 breakdowns over the past two days and one horse had a heart attack and died instantly on the track. The two horses who broke down on Thurs are both from the Catalano/Calabrese tandem. I asked my trainer about claiming the one in the 6th race (limited races/decent beyers and breeding, coming off a win at 10 dropping to 5). He indicated that he had asked the trainer who had the horse prior to Cat/Cal who said that both knees were totally shot and that the horse was actually vanned back to the barn following its win in the previous race so we luckily passed. Don't know the backstory on the other horse that broke down Thurs other than the fact that both of these horses were claimed. The sad irony of the story is that Cat/Cal claimed the horse that broke down on Friday. Unfortunately losers all the way around.

In talking to trainers they say that the poly has led to more minor injuries in the morning than they recall from recent years. Probably leading to some of the breakdowns as some trainers have a reputation for running sore horses.