CHARLES TOWN - ANOTHER LOOK?

[sstacy19]

Liberty is it just me or do you DO THE ATTACKING???? Go race there and find out for yourself.. Nice that you answered my PM what were you feeling to stupid to do so because I actually had horses there???? Leave stellaspeed alone she does have inside info on that particular horse, and leave the vet alone as she is a one man operation at a death track. And to tell Wilf he is full of venom? You obviously do you know him then. Keep your post to yourself and stop trying to start a war, go to charlestown and break your horses down but do not come back crying to us about being right.
stacy sliwinski
fatchancefarms

[liberty]

Stacy, I have raced at Charlestown and will race there again in 2005. I do not remember receiving a private message from you. If you want to send it again, I will answer any germain, constructive question that you pose.
When I responded to your thread, I was suggesting that the track condition be handled between the horsemen's organization and management and not with the outside media. What is so wrong with that?

I don't think that responding to your other emotional assertions will add any benefit to this thread.

Oh yes, I am not a member of Charlestown's track management.

[Laurierace]

Roguelet: You should be nervous. This is simply problematic of an underlying management problem. You can defend the Vet all you want but the truth is that there is more than enough time from barn to post to determine if a horse is sound to run. This Vet shot from the hip before the 6th race and this well conditioned and well prepared horse lost. In the 7th race, a horse went down injurying the rider. I guess your defense for the Vet is that she can't catch everything. This vet needs to be supervised or fired. I wonder how much this vet would scream if we deducted the cost training et al from her salary of each sound horse she scratched based on a cursory gate exam that proved wrong. There are a good percentage of horses going down at CT. This horse had a chance to show and at the very least finish the race making the time/money invested into a training lap. Not only was the betting public robbed, but the owner/breeder, rider, and trainer were robbed also. Further, it appears that CT is not doing anything about the problems with the track subsurface. For my money, this is like the trainer who doesn't know how a horse got the milkshake. CT will act like there is no problem until something castrophic happens. The bottom line for them is their $ drawn at the end of the day. If we've made you nervous, I glad. That is the intent of this thread. You need to be educated on what is going on and investigate further. I, for one, have filed a citizen complaint against this vet w/the WV Racing Commission. Let's see if I get a reply. Sincerely, Shammy

Sorry, I am just now seeing this thread. I would have chimed in a long time ago otherwise. The only good thing about Charles Town is their state vet. She is the ONLY one who truly cares about every single horse who sets foot on the track. She catches as many as she can, but some do get past her. Some also break down even though there was nothing visible. Do you realize that CT has ONE!!! state vet? One. Even ratty Penn National has three on duty each racing night. Its not a one person job, period. We are fighting for more funding so they can get her some help, but so far have been unsuccessful. You need to file a citizens complaint about that, not about the vet.
Speaking as an owner/trainer/breeder I can tell you I would rather they scratch my sound horse 100 times before they let my sore horse run just once. I think any true horsemen would feel the same. The only way one of my horse's is going to go to the post even remotely sore is if I miss something. It doesn't happen very often, but I like that there is one more pair of eyes looking after my horse when it matters the most.

[roxie901]

If interested update is available down in the Stable Watch area.

[BJ]

I have always thought that the trainers were 90% of the problem. I have been a licensed trainer for 25yrs and seen some of the dumbest stuff you can imagine. If the track is bad, if the horse has problems if theres any doubt then the buck stops here. Thats our job and if Charles Town or any other hole in the ground is conducting racing in an unfit manner then tell them to go sit on a chili and move on or if you are stuck there < God help you> then scratch the poor beast and wait for the weather to change . Its always seems like the first casualty is the animal and God help the poor guy on its back.

I love the way you think and put same into words

[BJ]

wilf, exactly.

The problem is that Charlestown, by virtue of being a Racino, has an incredible purse structure. Trainers and owners of all ilk wish to race there, and yes, often the horse is the one in peril. Additionally, because the "real" money is tied to something other than the racing, the racing (and the horse) will always be destined to be a secondary consideration...

Would that be called greed? And isn't that what all of racing is destined for with so many tracks now having slots? Is that not what is behind the rush to breed any horse that can qualify as a thoroughbred, to get in on this madness?

Where have all the horsemen gone...long time passing...

[30west]

Bringing back an old thread, but i have been at CT since 1999 and had to reply at this. No matter what peep's say about our state vet, she has a tough job on her hands and must protect each and every jockey. I would much rather have her scatch one of my horses, than own a horse that breaks down and jockey get hurt or even death on one of my horses. Thank you Dr. Hunt!

[KamiBrooks]

deleted, just realized how old the thread is

[mightyhijames]

i've been told that all horses entered are required to be vet-checked pre-race or they will be scratched. i don't know when this procedure was put into place but it must be fairly recent.

and a bit off topic, what's the opinion about the track surface at delaware? we sent three horses over one day and two came back w/fractures. bad luck or is the surface lacking? i've heard that they don't maintain the track properly.

[Shammy Davis]

Wow, talk about deja vu. Interestingly enough I filed a complaint w/the WV Racing Commission and this incident was investigated. No errors on the part of the state VET at CT were found by the commission. With that being said, I make no apologies for the thread, because I believe it is the responsibility of any horseman involved in the industry to question professionals who they believe may have acted erroneously, unprofessionally, or criminally. In this case, the VET was absolved of error or wrong doing. That the issue was resolved fomally is good for the industry, the tracks, the state, the public, and in this particular case the state VET at CT. If a similar incident occurred tommorrow, I would do the very same thing. I agree w/30west's comment:

No matter what peep's say about our state vet, she has a tough job on her hands and must protect each and every jockey.

But having said that, if a horseman negates his or her responsiblity to question the actions of officials at the track, then for sure the health and well-being of an entire industry is in jeopardy, not just one jockey on one horse in one race on one particular day at one small track in WV.

[Blue feather]

Shammy, I raced at CT when this thread was originally posted. I had similar experiences with the State Vet. I recall a race where she scratched a horse at the gate and two others broke down in th same race. There was much talk on the backside by the horseman about their frustration with situations that have been discussed in this old thread. I haven't raced at CT in a while so I don't know if anything has changed. I'm in agreement with you. While I agree her job is difficult given what she has to work with, I don't believe the consequences of an inadequate system should fall on the horseman.

[griff]

What do you think it would cost to put in Poly Turf at CT?

griff

[HR LLC]

Griff,
As you know CT is owned by Penn National. They will not bear the expense of polytrack. Especially since the table games bill was voted down.

[griff]

Nope, did not know that.

Too bad as, from what i hear, this is one track that would really benefit from polytrack.. There's a trainer just south of CT in VA that had it put in on their 3/4 mile training track, which i believe is about the same as CT's racing track.

Seems straing that a trainer will spend a half million for a training track that CT [Penn national} will not fund at the track where this trainer's horses are going to run. I also know of another trainer that trains at Bowie and runs at CT because of the sorry track conditions at CT.

griffr

[ruaff]

PENN has been a fantastic STOCK to own over the last 18mos or so - up somewhere like 50%. Perhaps because the investment in their racing plants is severely lacking. Presque Isle which is owned by Mountaineer, but I believe under the Penn HBPA will install Tapeta - IF the horsemen like the surface maybe they will be able to get it installed at Penn.

I live 30 minutes from Penn and 1 hr from CT and gladly drive 2 hrs to Delaware for the races