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Post by Evelyn on May 25, 2014 12:19:55 GMT -5
Will this improve safety? Hope so!
Santa Anita to Replace Dirt Track in July
Santa Anita Park has announced that it's one mile main track will undergo a major renovation beginning July 11 following conclusion of the Southern California facility's first spring stand.
The renovation will result in the track transitioning to a single-source material consisting of highly coveted El Segundo Sand, a natural soil that will ensure balanced drainage during periods of wet weather and a uniform, safe cushion year round.
"Beginning July 11, we're going to take out the existing surface and go down to the base of the track," said Dennis Moore, Santa Anita track superintendent. "At that point, we'll survey the existing base and ensure we're meeting all specifications relative to slope and grade.
"We're going to be moving 20,000-plus yards of material and we anticipate this process is going to take about four or five weeks," Moore added. "We're very fortunate to have been able to locate this soil which is currently being excavated due to construction projects over at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). El Segundo Sand is naturally occurring and we won't have to mix it with any other material, which is best-case. The best surfaces around the country are all made of naturally occurring soils that are indigenous and not made by man."
One of America's most highly respected track superintendents, Moore was hired by Santa Anita following a highly successful run at Hollywood Park, which closed Dec. 22. He also oversees a newly converted one-mile oval at Los Alamitos Racecourse, and has built and maintained track surfaces the world-over for the past 40 years.
The material, which is currently being trucked from LAX and kept in Santa Anita's Infield parking lot adjacent to its hillside turf course, is in the process of being screened. It will be ready for installation upon the removal of the existing main track.
Santa Anita's current meet will conclude June 29. The track will be closed to training from July 10 through the conclusion of the final weekend at Del Mar Aug. 30-31.
Santa Anita's 2014 fall meet opens Sept. 26. It will be highlighted for an unprecedented third consecutive year by the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2014 15:02:48 GMT -5
exactly what safety issues are you insinuating need to be improved?
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Post by Evelyn on May 25, 2014 15:56:49 GMT -5
Dammit Wiz - I'm not "insinuating" anything. Why do you always turn everything I say into some sort of negative thing? You really don't know how to simply read without injecting your argumentative, confrontational biased BS. Are you hoping to turn this into another of your East/West things - like you've done with countless other threads? Because that wasn't my question at all. I'm always concerned about the horses, not just cashing a damned bet.
So - Explain why they're changing the track?
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2014 18:02:57 GMT -5
no ev, but the way you say things and post things, and based on your past, that is exactly how it appears. I don't know why they are changing, but your post makes it sound as if YOU think it is being done because of safety issues. why is that the first and only thing you think of and point out in your post? I don't know and you don't know either. but this is the kind of things that are killing the sport.......... people and their automatic knee jerk reaction to assume the worst possible scenario and/ or reason for them doing something. santa anita changes its dirt and you assume it is for safety reasons. chromes owners want to use the nasal strip and you assume there must be a way to tamper with it and turn it into a PED. chromes owners say pimlico did a better job of making them feel welome (which a lot of people will agree with) and you assume it must be because the owners wanted someone to run bets for or carry his mother to the shitter!! why is it always a hidden agenda or reason? casting doubt over things is not good for the sport.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2014 18:24:10 GMT -5
"The renovation will result in the track transitioning to a single-source material consisting of highly coveted El Segundo Sand, a natural soil that will ensure balanced drainage during periods of wet weather and a uniform, safe cushion year round."
Apparently the current track has a mix of materials, this would make it more uniform by using a single type of material.
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Jon
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Post by Jon on May 26, 2014 1:19:10 GMT -5
Sounds like it's being done for drainage. SA has had drainage problems over the years. As to the f'ing nasal strips, I agree that because the owners/trainer made such a big deal out of nothing - if it's simply a breathing strip like humans use - it does sound as if there's more to the story. O'Neill didn't make a big deal about it. Why would anyone pass up a TC chance by threatening to scratch the horse because of a damned breathing strip? Found this within a recent Washington Post article: "Why are nasal strips banned in New York but allowed everywhere else? According to a 2012 New York Post article, it’s because they give a horse an unfair edge. According to Dr. Ted Hill, the Jockey Club steward at the NYRA tracks, studies have shown that equine nasal strips can be performance-enhancing by reducing fatigue and possibly preventing bleeding, claims the company makes on its website, flairstrips.com. If that’s the case, Dr. Hill said, then how do you regulate them? For example, what if it’s raining and the nasal strip comes off in the post parade? “Do you scratch him?” Hill asked. “Does he run for purse money only?” full article: www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/05/19/why-cant-california-chrome-wear-nasal-strips-at-the-belmont-stakes/Glanced at flairstrips.com and this is their current claim:'FLAIR Strips are self-adhesive strips that promote optimum respiratory health of equine athletes at all levels by reducing airway resistance and providing improved airflow when your horse needs oxygen most. "FLAIR Strips provide benefits for all horses including intensively trained horses as well as for horses that only exert themselves during occasional weekend competitions or trail rides. During exercise when horses begin to breathe hard the soft tissues overlying the nasal passages are sucked in, reducing the airway diameter. This reduction in diameter causes greater resistance to airflow into the lungs. FLAIR Strips gently support the soft tissues over the nasal passages providing reduced airway resistance during exercise. By reducing airway resistance during exercise, FLAIR Strips help prevent fatigue related injuries, help protect the lungs from injury and bleeding and promote optimal athletic performance."Is Flair the brand being used? The real question is can anything be enough for this horse to get 1 1/2? |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on May 26, 2014 1:23:16 GMT -5
OK - my apology that the strips stuff probably belongs on another thread but I drove back from Maine earlier and am tired LOL
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2014 4:41:49 GMT -5
every argument people keep coming up with makes no sense. all I hear are "what ifs". prove something if they are PED's!! even this idiot being interviewed makes no case for them being PED's. just because something improves a horse doesn't make it a PED. like I have said, if you want to label nasal strips as PEDs, why not blinkers or shadow rolls? I still cant believe people are still questioning this. and to answer your question about why is it a big deal, once again............... if a horse had won 6 in a row since blinkers were put on and then went to a track where they said, "sorry, you cant use blinkers here", would you not throw a fit?
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2014 7:43:40 GMT -5
All these people trying to justify the use of nasal strips keep digging the hole deeper. So, if they're used to reduce bleeding, why is California Chrome racing on Lasix? Isn't the only reason for using Lasix to reduce bleeding? So anyone using nasal strips (which do more than just reduce bleeding) should NOT be permitted to use Lasix too?
I still say, regardless of the use of them, the rule, or whatever, the owners acted like little schoolyard babies - "if I can't make the rules I'm going home".
What the authorities in NY should have done was to announce that they would eliminate the ban and give a date when that would happen, most logically the start of the Saratoga season. To change it less than three weeks before the Belmont Stakes is ludicrous. What does that do to the connections of horses that haven't been using it? I know they can use it, but do they know that the strip would help their horses, too? Not necessarily.
All around it was done very poorly by everyone involved.
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Post by Evelyn on May 26, 2014 9:39:45 GMT -5
It was handled poorly George. The controversy occurred before any action was taken. Blinkers do not affect the internal system of a horse. As to your question Wiz? If that's the rule, that's the rule. Lots of trainers ran horses in NY without strips, and didn't carry on like this. O'Neill didn't carry on like this! Why is this damned strip so important - if it's just a strip?
Wiz - As to your previous post. the only "knee jerking" is your post. You really need to re-read my posts! Judge Wiz, I plead not guilty to your accusations and offer my posts as proof that you have misconstrued them - again LOL
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