What's wrong with that?
If they're there to work it's the optimum. What trainer wants to work their horse in all that traffic? Obviously at least one doesn't.

who would that be? pletcher?! lol you might want to re-read TAP's comments. he only suggested that the derby horses get the track to themselves after the renovation break. he certainly didn't suggest anything as ludicrous as having only three horses at a time on the track to train.

Were you there? Seriously, go ask him what he'd prefer, or any other trainer there. I'll give you odds.

i'm sure they'd prefer to be able to do their job as well as they can, without every aberration being blown out of proportion, followed by reporters asking stupid questions, and internet posters making ridiculous suggestions on how to handle something that is the exception, not the rule.

Ok, I'm gonna say this realllllll slow. If we had every horse go out on the track by themselves,so they dont get hurt, and there are 500 horses that need to work that day? How many hours do you think that will take???? Say each horse needs 10mins of "alone time" on the track, then mulitply that by 500!!! Yeah thats 83 hours....and I may be wrong but I think there is only 24hrs in a day. :zz: See why were all alittle :rolleyes: to your bright idea????

If they want to be "alone" they can move to a private facility. If TAP wants his horses working alone he can build his own place and train them 'round the clock so no horse ever hits the track when another is on it. Trainers sometimes have lives away from the track and want training hours to actually end. Dark days mean that you get a break from the 5am to 6pm schedule.

If you want total privacy, build and maintain a training center.

Race horses can't be trained very safely in the heat, humidity and direct sun of late morning and afternoon.

That is why they are trained in the cool of the dawn and early morning hours.

It's not because all racetrackers love getting up at 4-freakin'-am every day of their lives; nor because afternoon racing is more important, leaving only the morning to train.

That's funny,they seen to RACE just fine in the HEAT, HUMIDITY, AND DIRECT SUN of late morning and afternoon everyday at CALDER.

Now we are getting somewhere.:D I stopped getting works notifications years ago, but 500 per day seems excessive.

"Just fine"? Sure, except when it's not and they get into trouble from the heat, and have to be cooled, jugged w/electrolytes and IV fluids, etc.

Horses are alot like people in that regard - rather susceptible to heat stress due to the electrolyte changes that occur with sweating to cool, and the way they breath.

And being Calder doesn't particularly matter, it's hot anywhere in the spring-summer-fall. Believe me, horses would prefer it to be about 40 degrees if they have to work.

The horses are not out for racing for the time and work they get in the mornings, either, are they?

There's no horse trainer in the world - any discipline - who would choose to try and train horses in sun, heat and humidity versus cooler, shadier, drier - the horses just can't do the same amount of work, they couldn't get the same amount of training in, and they have a definite risk of overheating.

At Rolex Kentucky last week, one could see the huge misting fans they have set up at the start/finish to try and lower the outside ambient temperature by 10 degrees or so. To try and keep horses from dying from heat exhaustion/heat stroke as they come off the course during the hotter times of day.

Racehorses are not immune to heat problems, and training all day long would certainly needlessly expose them to that - as they are during races on hot, dry, sunny summer days.