Another accident at Arlington

[Bigsmc]

Originally Posted by wac

I'll chime in here and probably get some heat but im sorry the track is really no place for small kids. Just to many bad things can happen like Sat. i was at CD on a Sat and something happen very similar and there was this family and the dad was holding the daughter who was crying her eyes out b/c she had "voted" on the horse that went down. It was truly heart wrenching and i left the track immediatley. I know that people think that to spur interest they need to bring kids to the track but im sorry i dont think there is any reason for a kid under 12 to be at the track. My future wife and i have discussed this and i told her no way would i take my kid till they are at least 12 and i can explain to them in a somewhat rational manner what has happened and that it is a tragic thing that happens but there is usually nothing that anyone can do. Just my .02

No heat from me, but you are wrong. My kids have been going to the track since they were still in the womb. They have seen horses break down, if you explain it to them properly before, during and after, you'll be surprised at how well they adjust.

You can't shield your kids from every bad thing in life. Horses breaking down are a horrible thing, but there are many many other horrors in life that you will end up explaining to your future kids. Tornados, hurricanes, fatal traffic accidents, someone choking or having a heart attack in a restaraunt, terrorist attacks, people going postal....**** happens in life. Hell, I can't even put the remote down when I am watching sports, I have to be prepared to change the channel at all times some of those movie trailers are over the top for a young child. The best thing to do with your kids is to talk to them, explain and teach.

I consider my kids much more well rounded and worldy than many of their peers because of their experiences at the track, around the horses, the good people that care for the horses, the employees of the tracks and the patrons that they have had conversations with. I can't imagine not taking them to the track and depriving them of a lifetime of memories on the off chance that they may see a horse go down.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by wac

I'll chime in here and probably get some heat but im sorry the track is really no place for small kids. Just to many bad things can happen like Sat.. My future wife and i have discussed this and i told her no way would i take my kid till they are at least 12 and i can explain to them in a somewhat rational manner what has happened and that it is a tragic thing that happens but there is usually nothing that anyone can do. Just my .02

Will you allow your children under 12 to have a pet?

[Scav]

Originally Posted by Bigsmc

No heat from me, but you are wrong. My kids have been going to the track since they were still in the womb. They have seen horses break down, if you explain it to them properly before, during and after, you'll be surprised at how well they adjust.

You can't shield your kids from every bad thing in life. Horses breaking down are a horrible thing, but there are many many other horrors in life that you will end up explaining to your future kids. Tornados, hurricanes, fatal traffic accidents, someone choking or having a heart attack in a restaraunt, terrorist attacks, people going postal....**** happens in life. Hell, I can't even put the remote down when I am watching sports, I have to be prepared to change the channel at all times some of those movie trailers are over the top for a young child. The best thing to do with your kids is to talk to them, explain and teach.

I consider my kids much more well rounded and worldy than many of their peers because of their experiences at the track, around the horses, the good people that care for the horses, the employees of the tracks and the patrons that they have had conversations with. I can't imagine not taking them to the track and depriving them of a lifetime of memories on the off chance that they may see a horse go down.

You forgot about math skills

[Bigsmc]

Originally Posted by Scav

You forgot about math skills

....reading programs, racing forms and color recognition. We worked on their colors during the post parade saddle cloth quizzes.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Scav

You forgot about math skills

At Sumwon's race at Arlington, I brought my 18-year-old nephew. His first time at the track. I gave him $100, and told him it was his for fun for the day, to wager.

He put $5 across the board on Sumon, and just took the rest home

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Bigsmc

....reading programs, racing forms and color recognition. We worked on their colors during the post parade saddle cloth quizzes.

Boy horses versus girl horses.

Stars, stripes, snips, socks, stockings, half-socks, anklet.

Near side, off side.

Bay, bay, bay, bay, chestnut, bay, bay, brown, bay, bay, bay, grey.

Legal vs illegal aliens ... whoops, never mind ....

[wac]

Bigs and Riot i agree with the fact that you can't shield kids from bad stuff i understand that and i agree that the track is fun place and you can see magical things happen there but i just dont see the reason to bring a 5 year old to the track. Just me. And yes i will allow them to have a pet and u know and i know that yes the pet will die and that will cause a lot of heartache. I guess its just the violence that happens when a horse breaksdown such a vivid thing to see in person and im 37 it still makes me upset and i'll stop betting for the rest of the day. Guess its just the way that I view breakdowns. Bigs it sounds like your kids have good heads on there shoulders but like i said just dont see any reason for a small child to see that. I know that bad things happen everyday and you can't shield them from everything. LIke i said just my opinion. Another way of looking at it is to maybe mark the time with my child as a reward and a way for me to show them that i think they are mature enough to go with "pops" to the track. cant believe i just referred to myself as pops. i dont know im not a parent so maybe im just talking out of my butt here.

[MaTH716]

Wac, I guess I could understand where you are coming from. Bigs hit it on the head, witnessing horses breaking down (also you make it seems like a daily occurance. It was 2 very unfortunate incidents that occured in the stretch {even worse}) is definitely on the bottom of the long long list of things you have/should worry about shielding your children from.
My son just turned 6 and I take him to Monmouth and Freehold all the time. He will make his first visit to Saratoga this summer. He doesn't get dragged there and when he's ready to go we leave. He enjoys seeing the horses in the paddock and watching the races with his daddy. He also likes to do all the kids stuff when they offer it on Sundays. I try to teach him little things about racing.
Thankfully I don't remember seeing anything tragic happen with him when we have been at the track. Unfortunately we have seen a couple of spills on TV and I'll admit that I really didn't explain it to it's fullest extent. Reasons being, I didn't know the full extent of the spill and more importantly I didn't feel the need of having the death/heaven talk with my son yet. He's pretty sharp and asks questions about heaven and his deceased Grandfather, so I think he has an idea. But I remember being afraid of death as a kid and I don't want my 6 year old to start asking questions or thinking about it now. It's one of those things I will worry about if it God forbid happens while we are there.
But to prevent my son from going to the track and spending the day with his father because of something that probably won't occur seems over the top to me. You will see one day, that there are just too many other real things that they need to be protected from. Instead of a nice day at the track with his old man.

[Danzig]

i'm not sure how many times my kids and i have been to the track...but we've never (thankfully) seen a breakdown. it's not that common, altho some would make it seem otherwise.
kids will react based on how mom or dad react. get hysterical and watch your kids fall apart. stay calm, explain there's been an accident and hopefully everyone will be ok, and the kids will stay calm as well.
now, i didn't take my kids to the track til they were older-but i would have taken them when they were younger with no qualms about their age.

we went to the atlanta aquarium a few years back. first thing, a hammerhead sought out and ate a dead fish. we thought it was cool to watch, but another lady was freaking out about it. she should not take her youngsters to the track.

[herkhorse]

kind of off topic, but my 3 year old was asking about filleting fish today, and when I tried to explain, she asked me if the fish liked it when you run the knife down their side

she has been to the track and loves it. Fortunately we haven't witnessed anything too bad, but she becomes VERY interested when a horse is injured and has to go to a horse doctor

life's a bitch, and no one wants their kids to grow up too fast. I'm with Bigs though- there are far worse things on T.V. commercials or movie trailers.

Saratoga is a great place for kids, lots going on and the horse racing is just a small part of the whole experience

[wac]

I appreciate eveyone's insight and its true that it doesnt happen everyday at every track. i dont know its just something that i feel strongly about. Math, i have seen your pix with your son at the track and it looks like you guys are having a good time. I just dont think i'll be doing it for a while. Heck im not even married yet. I guess i would just be worried about something happening and then the child would never want to go back being traumatized. Esp if its a girl and we all know there love of horses. IM NOT SAYING ANYONE IS WRONG AT ALL and im not questioning parents and there raising of there kids. Just saying i dont think its for me. Im glad that there is a forum where sane people can get together and talk about stuff like this. your insights are all very good.

[Indian Charlie]

I think maybe I understand the popularity of NASCAR now. You feel guilty when an innocent horse gets hurt, but when a car crashes, now that's cool!