My Prediction for Santa Anita

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

One issue that could be a concern with synthetic tracks is the long term health risks of swallowing rubber and synthetic fibers. The chances are that most come-from-behind horses are going to swallow some dirt whether they are on a synthetic track or a natural track. I can't tell you what the long-term health consequences are of swallowing rubber and synthetic fibers but it seems like it certainly could not be good.

Well they won't be the first animal on the track to swallow a rubber.

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

Originally Posted by Pillow Pants

Well they won't be the first animal on the track to swallow a rubber.

jamie sanders?

[Rupert Pupkin]

Here is the latest update. As I said earlier, they are optimistic that the polymers developed by the Australian guy will allow the track to drain. He did a demonstration yesterday for some owners and trainers and they were impressed.
Even if this stuff works and the track does drain properly, I still think the track is awful. It wasn't great at Oak Tree but it was definitely better at Oak Tree than it is now. As bad as the dirt track was at Santa Anita the last few years, I still think it was better than what they have now.

Here is the link to the story with the latest update:

http://www.drf.com/news/article/91578.html

[The Bid]

Rupe, thanks for posting that

Why is the guy fixing cushion track a representitive of proride?

What significance does a bottle of water on a small isolated area of racetrack have with an inch of rain on a mile of racetrack?

Its pretty obvious once it rains out there you guys are doomed. Hopefully Santa Anita moves quickly to install a highgrade dirt once racing is cancelled again.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by The Bid

Rupe, thanks for posting that

Why is the guy fixing cushion track a representitive of proride?

What significance does a bottle of water on a small isolated area of racetrack have with an inch of rain on a mile of racetrack?

Its pretty obvious once it rains out there you guys are doomed. Hopefully Santa Anita moves quickly to install a highgrade dirt once racing is cancelled again.

To answer your first question, the people from Cushion Track tried to fix the track and they were not successful. They worked on the track for over 2 weeks in December to try to make it drain and their efforts failed. So I guess they talked to this guy from Proride and he thought he might be able to fix it, so they are giving it a shot.

To answer your 2nd question, in theory it shouldn't matter the size of the area that they test. If they pour an inch of water over a 50 square foot area or a 200 square foot area, if it drains then it drains. If it doesn't, then it doesn't. But as I said before, even if this new liquid solves the drainage problem, the surface is still horrible. It is rock hard underneath and loose on top. Alot of horses aren't handling the surface but worse than that, they are coming out of the races with injuries. At Del Mar, there were alot of horses that didn't handle the surface, but at least the surface was pretty safe. Most of the horses were coming out of races in one piece which is more than I can say for Santa Anita.

[The Bid]

Thanks Rupe

There is cause for concern anytime 12 claimers are breaking the sound barrier.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by The Bid

Thanks Rupe

There is cause for concern anytime 12 claimers are breaking the sound barrier.

Yes, I agree 100%. At Oak Tree they were running very fast too but the track seemed to have a little more bounce to it than now. But even though the track looked alright at Oak Tree, it wasn't alright. One of my trainers had two different horses win and both horses came out of their races with fractures. In both cases, the fractures weren't discovered until a few days later. When they run that fast, something has to give. When they are running that fast, you know that the track has to be hard underneath.

And both of those horses were really good horses and really sound horses. They weren't claimers. They were both stakes horses.

[Riot]

Here is the latest update. As I said earlier, they are optimistic that the polymers developed by the Australian guy will allow the track to drain. He did a demonstration yesterday for some owners and trainers and they were impressed.

This is pretty interesting stuff, the website for ProRide: www.prorideracing.com

They installed it last year at a TB training facility in Louisville.