Well, this isn't good...

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

If I'm going to claim a horse for $5,000 I want to win as many open 5K claimers with him as possible...

I get all this, but that isn't the way the game was supposed to played. You didn't expect to lose 5k horses because they were legitimate $5k horses. People claimed horses because they thought they were undervalued, not valued just right. Slots changed all that, and the horses get the short end of the stick.

This isn't a new thing as you know. The purse/claiming price ratio has been a problem for a decade, but it is mostly at places where nobody notices outside of us diehards. It was never going to fly in New York when horses started breaking down.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

I get all this, but that isn't the way the game was supposed to played. You didn't expect to lose 5k horses because they were legitimate $5k horses. People claimed horses because they thought they were undervalued, not valued just right. Slots changed all that, and the horses get the short end of the stick.

This isn't a new thing as you know. The purse/claiming price ratio has been a problem for a decade, but it is mostly at places where nobody notices outside of us diehards. It was never going to fly in New York when horses started breaking down.

I hear ya.

But hey, they're about to have legal prostitution over by Fort Erie. http://www.goerieblogs.com/news/writ...on-in-ontario/

We already have slots, table games, even Pai-Gow at Presque Isle Downs ... how long until prostitution becomes the new slots?

[Cannon Shell]

The jail rule is really not going to do very much in terms of stopping breakdowns and in some cases actually can be a contributing cause. Lets not forget that a guy dumping a horse off the claim is 1st trying to dump the horse and secondly trying to earn some purse money back. Just delaying that 25 or 30 days doesnt really help the horse unless there is a new 30 day cure that has been developed. What some trainers do when they claim a bad one with a jail rule in place is simply walk the horse for 3 weeks, maybe pony without a rider on it for a few days and then drop the horse in. Because they have been given a short break often the horses start to feel better, act a little less sore and are able to pass the vet exam. Then because they are feeling better, may warm up ok and the jock lets them run. However often the underlying issue wasnt actually healed and as the horse puts forth effort the leg comes apart.

This isnt to say that this wont happen if the rule isnt in place either but relying on rules with little regard to the individuals who are calling the shots is misguided.

I agree that purses for lower level races can be out of whack but lets not forget for those who dont pay the bills that you have to give owners a reasonable chance of getting some return.

[cmorioles]

Cannon, I don't disagree with any of that. However, the point would be to stop those with the specific intent of flipping a horse quickly for less money and trying to win a purse. It makes it a bigger gamble, less chance for success with more expenses.

No doubt it won't change anything for those that take a horse for more upstanding reasons that comes back bad.

[GenuineRisk]

it's an upsetting article, but I had to laugh at the angry commenter who said they were "finding out" who the main sponsor of the Kentucky Derby is so they could "boycott their product." Le sigh.

[Danzig]

my first snort at the article was when they quoted maggi moss. hell, she acted as one of asmussens lawyers, and then wants to sound like it's all about the horses. anyone can talk the talk.

not sure what the answer is, except, once again, to beat the 'run the trainers at fault' out of town on a rail. tarred and feathered if need be. tracks like to offer higher purses to keep big fields. owners like them because maybe they won't lose as much money this year as last.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

it's an upsetting article, but I had to laugh at the angry commenter who said they were "finding out" who the main sponsor of the Kentucky Derby is so they could "boycott their product." Le sigh.

They'll find out that the race horses are treated a lot better than the chickens, I'd guess, and then give them another thing to protest.

[Calzone Lord]

Some of the comments so far...

Bravo to The New York Times, Joe Drape, Walt Bogdanich, Rebecca R. Ruiz, and Griffin Palmer for exposing this grotesque, sadistic business. This is our bullfighting. It should be banned.

We need to ban or highly regulate greyhound and horse racing.

Equine vets MUST STOP SUPPLYING THE DRUGS, SYRINGES, and know-how. No more handing out bottles of drugs to trainers. Maybe if the DEA got involved the vets would listen.

The Times exposure of this scandal is admirable. What sort of society are we that we permit this cruelty while spending millions on the prosecution of Barry Bonds? We are a nation of misplaced priorities, and this is yet another example.

If horeseracing cannot be conducted in a humane and transparent manner, then it may have outlived its social usefulness. Regulate the activity or terminate it.

I rode horseback with my friends in Arroyo Seco Canyon growing up. Reading this article has led me to decide that I will never set foot on a racetrack again. This is a crime, and the people who do this should be in jail. Something must be done immediately to save these innocent horses.

Horse racing is not intrinsically evil. Our high stakes system has made it evil through misbreeding and drugs.

Reform the ages at which horses are allowed to race. The present standards are killing and maiming horses. These beautiful creatures don't deserve that treatment.

For all but the most expensive and pampered horses, racing is a horrific experience.

Thank you to the NYT for exposing this practice in such irrefutable detail.

Effectively this bottom-feeding activity where horses' lives are thrown away for the entertainment of apathetic gamblers would be priced out.

Also, I'm finding out the main TV sponsor of the Kentucky Derby, so I can contact them to boycott their product.

What happened to the Sport of Kings? It's now the Sport of Thugs, apparently.

Remember Barbaro? The horse whose hind hoof/fetlock was shattered coming out of the gate? He was at top of the charts based on the stud book, but you could see just by looking at him that his delicate legs and tiny hoofs (almost "en point, like a ballerina)

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

Cannon, I don't disagree with any of that. However, the point would be to stop those with the specific intent of flipping a horse quickly for less money and trying to win a purse. It makes it a bigger gamble, less chance for success with more expenses.

No doubt it won't change anything for those that take a horse for more upstanding reasons that comes back bad.

I understand but we are only talking 25-30 days versus what? 15-20? Perhaps if there were more thorough investigations done when there is a breakdown trainers would be a bit more careful.

[Sightseek]

I never heard the story about Star Plus and the lenghts that Earle Mack went through to get him back.