Breakdown of Pacific Classic

[ratherrapid]

Rokeby. i keep remembering Pine Island. Where did she race? ur favorite trainer once trained a filly named "Open Mind", which crossed my mind as I was reading your latest post and wondering what Saratoga has to do with Delmar polytrack. On the off chance that your stats are correct, it seems they are identical with this year's Delmar main track. I wonder if vladmir cerrin is bitching and complaining this morning.

Seriously, whether to go artificial or whether artificial is working seems to me two different issues. Given the Delmar breakdown record from 2006 to 2007, that seems a bit of an eye opener, and u know I'm other than one to blame track surfaces since its much more fun to blame the trainers. I just wonder whether we're hearing both sides of the story on the Delmar polytrack.

As to Arlington--Midwest--i've yet to train on poly, though i'd look forward to it to be able to make some intelligent comments. take ur word for the present, but, might like to hear more specifics. there were 5 breakdowns. do we blame those on the poly or on such as Richard Hazelton who's horses are lucky to see the track once or twice a week.

[bdw0617]

Richard Hazelton

I kinda liked richard

[ratherrapid]

ya. nice fellow~!

[Rokeby Forever]

Rokeby. i keep remembering Pine Island. Where did she race?

Pine Island, as crooked as could be, won the Alabama at Saratoga and didn't limp off the track afterward...she broke down at Churchill.

Seriously, whether to go artificial or whether artificial is working seems to me two different issues. Given the Delmar breakdown record from 2006 to 2007, that seems a bit of an eye opener, and u know I'm other than one to blame track surfaces since its much more fun to blame the trainers. I just wonder whether we're hearing both sides of the story on the Delmar polytrack.

I would guess that we're not hearing both sides - there's a very knowledgable poster here that works at Del Mar...and she reports what isn't reported. I'll trust her first hand experience over track press releases.

Could it be that California has so much invested in these new surfaces that the state's racing can't afford any bad press about them?

As to Arlington--Midwest--i've yet to train on poly, though i'd look forward to it to be able to make some intelligent comments. take ur word for the present, but, might like to hear more specifics. there were 5 breakdowns. do we blame those on the poly or on such as Richard Hazelton who's horses are lucky to see the track once or twice a week.

I'd like to hear more specifics, too...including training injuries (or no training injuries), and so forth....what I wonder: What if Arlington Park hired an independent surveyor to ask 100 backstretch people (trainers, exercise riders, grooms...) what they thought of the new surface, with names withheld? If 80 out of the 100 disapproved of the surface, would we ever hear about this survey from Arlington management?

Why compare Saratoga to Del Mar? Saratoga's surface is as safe as can be. Why not stick with what we know works, as opposed to installing new stuff that two or three horses in a race will like and seven or eight will hate? That's not racing!

[Tucumcari]

Tucumcari, do you have any thoughts about the surface being installed at Santa Anita?[/quote]

We like it better. Which is odd as I thought it was the worst of the three California is choosing to use. Hot feet, but tears them up less for whatever the reason

[MidwestTrainer]

Rokeby. i keep remembering Pine Island. Where did she race? ur favorite trainer once trained a filly named "Open Mind", which crossed my mind as I was reading your latest post and wondering what Saratoga has to do with Delmar polytrack. On the off chance that your stats are correct, it seems they are identical with this year's Delmar main track. I wonder if vladmir cerrin is bitching and complaining this morning.

Seriously, whether to go artificial or whether artificial is working seems to me two different issues. Given the Delmar breakdown record from 2006 to 2007, that seems a bit of an eye opener, and u know I'm other than one to blame track surfaces since its much more fun to blame the trainers. I just wonder whether we're hearing both sides of the story on the Delmar polytrack.

As to Arlington--Midwest--i've yet to train on poly, though i'd look forward to it to be able to make some intelligent comments. take ur word for the present, but, might like to hear more specifics. there were 5 breakdowns. do we blame those on the poly or on such as Richard Hazelton who's horses are lucky to see the track once or twice a week.

There have been now 11 or 12 breakdowns in the races, I'm not sure how many. A lot of horses have blown up ankles, two of mine included, that were fine when the went up to race. I know of one in the morning that shattered both front sesmoids. I am not there, so I don't here about every breakdown that occurs in the morning. Most of the breakdowns have occured in the last 4 weeks.

[Maven]

We've been working our horses on the turf at Arlington, for what it's worth. We're very conservative owners and we have conservative trainers, and there were a few questions about the dirt track we had and they were not sufficiently answered.

[ratherrapid]

seems they have 11 or 12 breakdowns at Arlington every year irregardless, but i find it interesting to hear from a trainer who has horses there. My concern about poly was the foot fall, possible lack of frog and sole support, and the horse having to push harder to go through it. that brings us to the tucumcari "change of surface problem" for those horses that try to race over a new surface without adequate conditioning to the surface.

By Rokeby, Arlington back stretch would be crying bloody murder by now Can we please hear from you Arlington grooms, please. Legals only!

Rokeby I'm unable to get it. Here everybody is crying for years for a decent concussive surface and now that it's here, all we get is complaints.
,
Did the poly crowd in England just con our track supers, or is this surface what it's cracked up to be in England. What's the deal?e Anybody on the back stretch supporting poly???

I've watched that Pacific Classic over and over. That looks like a surface I can train on without having to worry about a catastrophe with every step of my horse. Looks to me like it favors "trainers" as compared to con-artists who keep chickens in small cages (see "dirt road to the derby"). And, Rick Arthur is thrilled.

Sorry, unable to get that same feel for the Saratoga sand. Nor do I buy your thesis that horses there all stay sound. Photos of PI show her straight as an arrow with long pasterns. She was how long at Churchill, and how long at Belmont and Saratoga? Were I to export a surface it would be the red clay at OK City, but, i'd like to see all the stats on poly first.

[Rokeby Forever]

Did the poly crowd in England just con our track supers, or is this surface what it's cracked up to be in England. What's the deal?e Anybody on the back stretch supporting poly???

England is a turf racing country...what do Brits know about non-grass surfaces, anyway?