Why no talk about the breakdowns at Santa Anita this weekend?

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by kgar311

Bowed tendon? wow hmmm do we believe everything we read? Ive never seen a horse pull up like that for a bowed tendon.

The horse certainly did not look like he broke a leg. It's usually not too hard to tell when a horse breaks a leg. When they break a leg, they usually can't put any weight on the leg.

This horse (Grazen) actually bowed both tendons.

[kgar311]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

The horse certainly did not look like he broke a leg. It's usually not too hard to tell when a horse breaks a leg. When they break a leg, they usually can't put any weight on the leg.

This horse (Grazen) actually bowed both tendons.

So I ask again, isnt the softer, cushioned, poly surface suppose to prevent this kind of stuff?

[GBBob]

Originally Posted by kgar311

So I ask again, isnt the softer, cushioned, poly surface suppose to prevent this kind of stuff?

It has nothing to do with if it's softer or not. It's how the horse's hoof interacts with it versus dirt.

And you can run an unsound horse on a bed of feathers and it will still break down.

No one claimed that it would eliminate injuries. You make it sound like there was a money back guarantee or something. I hate poly a little less than most here, but am not blind to it's issues. But to call it out as the sole reason a horse breaks down is not correct.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by kgar311

So I ask again, isnt the softer, cushioned, poly surface suppose to prevent this kind of stuff?

The synthetic surfaces out here in California have not lived up to expectation. They have had a lot of problems with the synthetics here. The track at Del Mar was terrible this meet. Every trainer I talked to was having problems at Del Mar. The track at Hollywood this past meet was not good either. They did some work on the track at Hollywood in late August or early September and everyone seems happy with it right now. I'm hopeful that the track at Hollywood stays safe when the meet starts in November.

I've heard mixed things about Santa Anita at the present time. I guess it's all relative. They say that the track is much better right now than it was a couple of months ago. A couple of months ago, they actually had to close the track for about a week in August. They were getting a ton of soft-tissue injuries. They did a lot of work on the track in August and it is better now but it's still not great. Hollywood is much better than Santa Anita right now.

In hindsight, I wish they didn't put in the synthetics here. Don't get me wrong, they needed to do something. The tracks were really bad here at the time and they needed to do something. They should have probably just forced each tracks to put in a new base. Most of these tracks had a base that was 40 or 50 years old. There were holes in the bases of the tracks. You will obviously have an uneven surface if you have holes in the base. They could have just put in a new base at each track and then put whatever surface they wanted on top. That is what they probably should have done.

Even though they have had major problems with the synthetics out here, that doesn't mean that synthetics are all bad. I think the track at Arlington has been a huge success. I believe field sizes have gone way up. The horses are staying much sounder and there are fewer breakdowns. I haven't seen the actual numbers but that is what I have heard. Cannon Shell would probably have more info on the numbers.

So to answer your question, there are supposed to be fewer injuries on synthetic but I don't think it has really worked in California. It has worked in other places. I'm not really sure why. Some people believe that the track crews out here simply do not know how to maintain the synthetics. The maintenance of a synthetic track is totally different from the maintenance of a dirt track.

[MISTERGEE]

didnt 2 more horses suffer fractures on Sunday in the Norfolk

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by MISTERGEE

didnt 2 more horses suffer fractures on Sunday in the Norfolk

I hadn't heard that. Do you know which horses?

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by MISTERGEE

didnt 2 more horses suffer fractures on Sunday in the Norfolk

http://www.drf.com/news/article/107843.html

The two that deadheated for 4th suffered condylar fractures.