Bay Meadows Breakdowns

[Playwithfire]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... PK0PL1.DTL

An article from the San Francisco Chronicle noting the increase in fatal breakdowns at Bay Meadows this spring season. As an owner who had a horse breakdown on BM's turf course, i'm glad this hasn't gone unnoticed. I love how weasel Jack Liebau blames the breakdowns on unsound horses.

`Liebau attributed many of the grass course injuries to having races on it for cheaper horses, which are less sound and more likely to get injured than horses running in higher class races.

"Our lowest level used to be $25,000 claimers, but now we run $6,250 claimers on it," he said '

Perhaps it was the fact they ran 3 races per day everyday for 2 months straight that helped cause the breakdowns. And they do that because its the only way they can get halfway decent fields, and get any kind of handle. SHoulnd' t turf be easier on unsound horses? Not saying that isn't a cause of it, i'm sure it is a contributor, but its amazing how he'll shift discussion away from the unsafeness of his course. Where else would $6250 claimers run? on the unsafe dirt?

[CA Michael]

Liebau is The Master of Obfuscation.

[Rokeby Forever]

And breakdowns so far at Hollywood...what to do about them?

[ratherrapid]

PlayWithFire: when your horse broke down, was there a reason you immediately blamed the track, or do you consider the track the only factor in breakdowns?

[zinn21]

They've been writing 6250's on the turf for years. That's not the cause.. It's a combination bad racetracks; bad economics and owners/trainers pressing their stock to do more than is reasonable.

If their was ever a recipe for disaster it's the current NorCal racing situation. You cannot continue to pressure fewer and fewer horses to run on bad racetracks and pretend that cheap horses are the culprit.

Get the purses up and safer racing surfaces and this endless cycle may end.

[CA Michael]

[quote="zinn21"]Get the purses up and safer racing surfaces and this endless cycle may end.[/quote]

Don't forget........breeding for soundness.

[ratherrapid]

CA, for future referencce just in case i ever decide to breed another horse, how do i breed for soundness.

[CA Michael]

rr, you seem much too intelligent to join the foolish band of us who like to wait around for years before we see any fruit of our breeding efforts. However, in the remote case you choose to, I would say to follow common sense! "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" is a truism that way too many breeders forget!

Use breeding stock that is well conformed; raced for a reasonable length of time with good success; produced by sire and dam lines known for throwing tough horses.

Amazingly, the current market seems to turn away from the tougher lines in favor of those with blazing speed and low durability. Such is the mindset we face today. If you breed to race you're in a much better position to thumb your nose at 'fashion' than market breeders. I breed to race and sell, but I try to follow my own rules about breeding for soundness as best I can. You won't see me breeding to Mr. P or Storm Cat line horses with only a few starts, no matter how much speed they showed. If I have an exceptionally sound racemare, with excellent conformation and tough pedigree I may bend the standard a bit, but I always ask myself if I would be willing to race the foal if it RNA'd. I don't like the feeling of being stuck with a young racehorse whose biomechanics and genetics are telling it to break down early.

[Rokeby Forever]

Thank you, Michael.

But...when a 1,100 pounds comes down on offset knees and long pasterns, what can be expected? That's what people want, and no track, no matter how soft and cushioned, is going to keep horses like that sound.

[Danzig]

In addition to "breeding for soundness," when will people start realizing that a horse is not fully mature physically until around five years of age.

I went to OBS Spring looking to buy potential broodmare prospects who I could put on the shelf for racing purposes until Autumn of their three year-old season. It made me sick looking at May babies who had breezed :10 and change wearing a full set of toe grabs while having a majority of their heels cut-off.

And nobody better dare post the standard argument of "these people with more money than brains pay a tremendous sum for these babies, therefore they need to get an immediate ROI." Anyone who subscribes to this moronic justification has neither any respect for the nobility of the thoroughbred nor the sanctity of the sport. If they want an immediate ROI, they should go buy a freaking apartment complex.

That is just my opinion, I may be wrong (but I highly doubt it.)

[Indychase]

What I found interesting is the article said Santa Anita had 28 breakdowns this season. It didn't seem that bad to me, and I was watching most days. But that's bad.

[Tucumcari]

Thank you, Michael.

But...when a 1,100 pounds comes down on offset knees and long pasterns, what can be expected? That's what people want, and no track, no matter how soft and cushioned, is going to keep horses like that sound.

Don't feed the animals....

[Tucumcari]

One could conside the fact that no matter which surface they run on when a horse that used to run in upper to mid level claiming races and has a progressive drop to the bottom level, it likely has some physical issues that keep it from being competetive at a higher level. People drop and run "bad" horses because they don't have to exert themselves as much and they can hold together better. Sad but true. And eventually something gives.
Turf in California isn't a deep lush surface that offers some cushion. It's short and suprisingly firm.

[zinn21]

And the political shell game continues:

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=38864

[ratherrapid]

rr, you seem much too intelligent to join the foolish band of us who like to wait around for years before we see any fruit of our breeding efforts. However, in the remote case you choose to, I would say to follow common sense! "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" is a truism that way too many breeders forget!

Use breeding stock that is well conformed; raced for a reasonable length of time with good success; produced by sire and dam lines known for throwing tough horses.

Amazingly, the current market seems to turn away from the tougher lines in favor of those with blazing speed and low durability. Such is the mindset we face today. If you breed to race you're in a much better position to thumb your nose at 'fashion' than market breeders. I breed to race and sell, but I try to follow my own rules about breeding for soundness as best I can. You won't see me breeding to Mr. P or Storm Cat line horses with only a few starts, no matter how much speed they showed. If I have an exceptionally sound racemare, with excellent conformation and tough pedigree I may bend the standard a bit, but I always ask myself if I would be willing to race the foal if it RNA'd. I don't like the feeling of being stuck with a young racehorse whose biomechanics and genetics are telling it to break down early.

ahhh! here's the post. i had lost it. txs very much for your rundown. actually, I did once breed my own much on the lines you described. it's good though to read some reaffirmance of this and that we are without any magic bullet. i quit breeding when i realized it's easier and cheaper to stand in line at Kee Sept.