[NoChanceToDance]

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
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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Dickinson said: "The science behind the dirt track is over 100 years old and hopelessly outdated.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."