Del Mar... NO MORE POLYTRACK

[randallscott35]

It adds up. A horse like pioneer of the Nile should only be seeing my tool shed these days. Slopped up slow derby second and marginal shredded tire running success. Maybe pony rides.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

It adds up. A horse like pioneer of the Nile should only be seeing my tool shed these days. Slopped up slow derby second and marginal shredded tire running success. Maybe pony rides.

Uh didnt Pioneer of the Nile just sire 2 Derby prep winners on the dirt?

Breeding is about genetics, not track surface, not medication. A horse by a "turf sire" or out of a "dirt" mare is more likely to share the physical attributes that their parents had which will drive their ability to preform on certain surfaces but as evidenced in a million cases, it doesn't limit them to success solely on that particular surface.

[randallscott35]

Yes. They can all throw something that can outperform on a given surface. See boundary and big brown. Still think syn form is useless for breeding purposes

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Yes. They can all throw something that can outperform on a given surface. See boundary and big brown. Still think syn form is useless for breeding purposes

Is European form useless as well because they often run the wrong way on waterlogged bogs which is as foreign to American horses as synthetic surfaces?

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Is European form useless as well because they often run the wrong way on waterlogged bogs which is as foreign to American horses as synthetic surfaces?

Turf is a real surface. Always has been. Now you are arguing for the sake of it.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Turf is a real surface. Always has been. Now you are arguing for the sake of it.

I'm not arguing at all. Just pointing out the folly of believing that synthetic surfaces have any effect on the breed. Your hypothesis is has no basis. Because a sire or dam won on synthetics has no bearing on their ability to produce talented progeny.

[Stickhorse]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Now you are arguing for the sake of it.

No he is arguing because Pioneerof the Nile is quality thoroughbred regardless of surface.

Okay you don't like the synth surface but to relegate all that had success over it to your tool shed is pretty silly.

[Cannon Shell]

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...uyaRZ0.twitter

"Del Mar is going back to dirt and you ought to be at
least a little bit upset. It's hard to say you really care
about the safety of these animals if you're not."
-Bill Finley (aka GOD)



Personally I have mixed feelings about synthetic surfaces drawn from the actual experience of training and racing over several of them. They are certainly useful when you get a ton of rain. They are certainly crappy when you dont. They are at times uneven and biased like every other surface. They cause a lot of foot issues along with soft tissue injuries. The stats that lead Finley to bemoan that the majority of people with an opinion (both bettors and horsemen) don't prefer them are not entirely kosher. Being that Woodbine, Del Mar, Hollywood Park, Golden Gate, Arlington Park and Keeneland along with Presque Isle and Turfway are the only tracks that make up the synthetic stats (I know SA briefly, did i forget anyone?), it is hardly an accurate representation of American dirt racing. Golden Gate has a miniscule starters per race number. Only Turfway races in the Winter. Hollywood, Del Mar, Woodbine and to a lesser extend Arlington have top grade horse populations especially compared to all dirt Penn national, Turf Paradise, any Texas track, any Ohio track, Suffolk, any WV track, any NM track, Timonium, etc. Just using raw data without regard to the class of horses, weather conditions , etc makes the number quite flawed.

But hey Bill says you are a bad person for being happy that a top meet would bow down the the wishes of its horsemen and bettors...

Of course he lets the tracks, Del Mar and Keeneland (who just said they would remain on poly), off the hook because he might have to grovel to them for advertising money...


ps- I rarely bet synthetic races either