That’s the LA Times for you. Can’t be bothered to cover the sport unless something like this happens.
Is Jane Smiley still relevant to anything?
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Thought the Paulick Report article was very informative. I liked the Q&A section with Dr Bramlage. Learned some interesting and good-to-know things on his opinion on the various drugs and training impact and why training a 2yo isn’t such a bad thing (if it’s done properly).
The LA Times OpEd I could have done without. Not much useful information and in a few spots close to what I thought might be non-factual information.
While I don’t agree with the choice of Jane Smiley I think that the LA Times has done an overall good job of reporting on this.
Edited to add the following disclaimer.
By “this” I was referring to the reporting on the entire situation, not specifically the JS editorial, in case that wasn’t clear.
Jane Smiley may claim she had her conscience raised but the unvarnished truth is that she was an utter failure as both a breeder and an owner. As near as Equibase can tell, she had a single horse, Ned Page, who ran 5 times in maiden claimers and never in the money. Ned Page is the product of Waterwheel and she took a lot of heat for that because she dropped her off at Barretts auction for a low bid and never looked back.
Her actions scream “hobby owner” and I don’t blame her for walking away because she had such little success. But I don’t get where she gets off implying that she is holier than the rest of us who persevered and won a few races with our homebreds. It just leaves a bad taste.
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“Reporting” someone’s opinion is not the same as taking the time to gather and research FACTS and apply them to the current situation.
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By “this” I was referring to the reporting on the entire situation, not specifically the JS editorial, in case that wasn’t clear.
No. Not in horse racing certainly. And not in much else either.
Princess Lili B broke both her front legs this morning at SA. This is just a shame. The news piece said there would be a corporate announcement.
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This is absolutely insane. In over 20 years of training at some pretty low level tracks I never saw anything like this. You could count the number of horses who broke down in the morning on one hand. I know what it’s like not to have other options of places to train your horses which is the reason I don’t train anymore so I know it is easier said than done but there is no way in hell a horse of mine would set foot on that track. They would be on a plane or a van to somewhere less terrifying.
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I do not envy SA dealing with this.
I read the article on Paulick Report.
“Hundreds of horses have worked over the last three or four days with no incidents,” Ritvo said.
Wednesday, yesterday, 112 horses worked safely over the main track, 84 on the training track (which has not incurred any fatalities.) Training was re-started on the main track on Tuesday (with no stats in the PR reported).
This filly was in a low risk category. She was reviewed using SA’s new protocols for timed works. Other horses had been denied works and she was approved. Jockey said she felt fine until she went bad.
SA is now in an unenviable position, as I knew would happen, with the first breakdown after the training moratorium on the main track. Is this breakdown because of an issue with the track or in spite of it? At some point, a breakdown post moratorium would happen. It was inevitable; part of the racing business.
Having said that, I’d be working my horses at Los Al or San Luis Rey or GGF. :sigh:
After reading this article, written before today’s fatality http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/wgoh/archive/2019/03/13/struggles-at-santa-anita-by-lenny-shulman.aspx I’m wondering what medications are allowed before breezing or a work and which (if any) of the horses involved had pain meds or muscle relaxers on board.
Does Santa Anita have this information?
I saw an article that stated all they are doing in terms of checking the horses out before they train, it’s very intense and includes 24 hour notice before the horse can work so they can check the horse’s past performances and vet records to look for red flags. So yes, they have all that information
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Do you think that giving medicines for pain before a work could be an issue?
I haven’t seen any information regarding the medication status of the horses that have died, which is understandable from a bad publicity point of view, but it would be interesting to know if this might be an issue.
If you are asking me, no I do not.
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How does a horse break both front legs? I can’t even picture that happening.
Yes, I want your opinion :yes: as well as the opinion of other people who have first hand knowledge of race training and its common practices.
I wasn’t aware that it was allowed to have a medicated horse galloping or working on the track, so you can see how little I know.
Is bute the usual choice? I’ve seen suspensions for Robaxin but they were race day infractions. Are the medications allowed in training pretty much all the common equine, vet prescribed, drugs?
Part of the problem with racing is there is no national governing body so medication rules are left up to the individual jurisdictions to decide for themselves. Having never raced in CA, I have no idea what they allow but I would imagine, bute, banamine and/or robaxin is allowed out of competition. It’s just that I don’t think any of that stuff makes that much of a difference. If you have ever had a horse with an abscess you have seen that even high doses of bute barely make a dent in that pain. You could give the whole bottle and not mask even the smallest fracture.
I assume it was like Eight Belles where she broke the one and slammed the other down in an attempt to catch herself
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Apparently SA thinks it is the trainer’s fault. Way to deflect the blame there Stronach! I hope no one ever races another horse there again.
https://www.santaanita.com/press-releases/an-open-letter-about-the-future-of-thoroughbred-racing-in-california/
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I was at Santa Anita this morning to watch work outs. My horse was working 1/8 mile behind the filly that was injured. Luckily, I was stuck in traffic and arrived 10 minutes after it occurred. The feedback from the riders ( at least those from our barn) was that the track felt fine. There are 1800 horses on property, which is a lot of horses out galloping and jogging, etc. I cannot imagine that if it was the track, Dennis Moore , would not have found an issue. He is one of the best in the industry. Certainly, the heavy rains played a major role in what has happened this winter.
The mood on the backstretch is quite gloomy. We need to remember that so many people–grooms, riders, jockeys, trainers, even the valet parking attendants, clerks, management, etc --all depend on the track to make their living. They are doing their best to care for the horses and prevent these accidents. They are worried.
If we support horse racing, we need to support Santa Anita to work through this, not pile on. Because “there but for the grace of God go I” . ALL racetracks have these injuries, this is just an anomaly in rate this winter. But, if the animal rights groups shut down racing here, they will be headed for other racetracks next , because we have injuries across the industry. AND in upper level eventing at a high rate as well. And other horse sports are not without issues (lots of drugs in the hunter/jumper show world as well). I support Santa Anita, its trainers, management and employees to work through this and make improvements to better the industry.
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