Santa Anita gets 2008 Breeders Cup

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

Once again, I love horses and I care very much about their safety. Don't twist my words into something different.

Exactly.

Here's an interesting stat. "In 1960, before permissive medications became legal, the average american racehorse ran 11.3 times in a year. By 2005, that number had plummeted to just 6.4 starts per year."

The track cushion at major circuits is deeper today than it has ever been. Does anyone really believe this is so because dirt tracks are unsafe? Horses have been racing on dirt tracks for a long time. Who ought to be held accountable for this trend?

I don't know---it's just a little bit disconcerting to me when I hear "the welfair of the horse" being trumpeted by those most responsible for this trend....and used against bettors and racing fans who have every right to believe this artifical surface movement is moving way too fast.

When I heard an artifical surface was going in at Turfway, I thought it was excellent news. I don't like the way it's been shoved down our throats though. It would have been far more prudent to start off using the surface at cheap-to-mid level tracks in weather sensative parts of the country...and let all sides study them for a few years.

Two years ago, did anyone really think EVERY major track in Southern and Northern California would have an artificial surface?