Hollowood start pushed back

[docicu3]

For those known to take things to the post with their plays especially the pick 6 carryover be advised that Holloywood is scheduling first race post time at 400 pm.

First race post time 400 PM EST or 100 PST


DrDave

[toppled]

I just finished reading the DRF column on the problems with the Hollywood surface.  The article makes it appear that the track maintenance crew is overwatering and over harrowing a track designed to work best with very little maintenance and no or little watering.  Who puts a track in & doesn\'t properly maintain it?  Only in California?  

What they\'re doing sounds like someone who puts an astroturf of field turf football field in & then sends someone out with a lawnmower.  

[bobphilo]

Incredible. Some people cannot follow instructions, even when the instructions are DO NOTHING. The problem was simply resolved when the maintenance was kept the hell away from the track for a day.
Because of this stupidity a very promising colt is dead.

Bob

[Michael D.]

re pletcher\'s colt (from the DRF):

\"He had a condylar fracture, broke his pastern, and his sesamoids,\" said Justin Curran, who is currently overseeing Pletcher\'s West Coast string. \"I was supposed to work two more, but I called Todd and said I wasn\'t comfortable. The track is too quick. It\'s like a conveyor belt in the airport.\"


i wonder of the west coast speedball gang wanted the crew to quicken up the surface?

they can\'t be happy with the way artificial surfaces have been playing.

[bobphilo]

Michael,

You make a very plausable explanation for what\'s happening at Hollywood. Stupidity and greed - the leading causes of evil in both racing and life.

Bob

[richiebee]

One of the selling points of the synthetic surfaces has been that there is very
little maintenance required between races and between racing days. The Hollywood
track maintenance crew seems to be protecting their jobs if they are over-
maintaining this track. Most jockeys interviewed on TVG said that the
surface is best when left alone (not harrowed, not watered).  

I do no not understand the infatuation with fast final times in racing. Don\'t
racing fans get more enjoyment out of 6f in 1:11 than they do from 6f in 1:09?

Horses will regrettably continue to suffer catastrophic breakdowns on synthetic
surfaces; hopefully there will be less of them. The nature and condition of sur-
faces is only one reason why horses are injured. The installation of a safer
more forgiving surface will not prevent 2YOs in training being breezed much too
fast prior to sales, will not prevent horses of all ages being worked too fast
in general(they seem particularly guilty of this in California), will not
prevent older racers from being  brought to the track to gallop 5 and 6 days a
week between races when they have already reached a stage of muscular and
respiratory fitness. My feeling was always that once horses were fit, they
should be breezed and teased between races.

IMO a great deal of muscular/ skeletal damage is done in 2 mile gallops between
races, when horses hit the ground awkwardly while fighting the restraint of their
exercise riders. But a parallel can be drawn between the track maintenance crew
at Hollywood and exercise riders: If you are making a living galloping a horse
six days per week, you are not going to jump off the animal one morning and tell
the trainer that the horse is fit and only needs to be taken to the track four
days per week.

Speaking of breakdowns (and we speak of them too frequently), I do not get a
vote but my 3YO of the year would be Bernardini (even though it would be
unfortunate to reward trainer Albertrani for being overconfident and overly
cautious with his horse going into the BC). My Horse of the Year is Barbaro.
His survival against all odds is an inspiring story of heart, strength and
intelligence. Sadly the economics of racing and insurance dictate that many
animals who suffer injuries not nearly so severe are sentenced to a lethal
injection behind a hastily constructed barrier.

[TGJB]

Richie-- \"...fans get more enjoyment out of 6f in 1:11 than 6f in 1:09\".

That\'s exactly my theory of golf.

[richiebee]

TGJB:

    There is a sign in the halfway house at nearby Richmond County Country Club
(strangely, the halfway house is after the 10th, and not the 9th hole). The sign
is a reminder that \"Golf is like sex. You don\'t have to be good at it to enjoy
it\".

     Best holiday wishes to everyone over on Varick Street.

[P-Dub]

How true Richie..............I once played a \"round\" at a place that was suggested by a friend.  The rough wasn\'t cut, uneven greens, and the place stunk.  Sometimes the playing conditions are so bad,  you wish you had left your \"clubs\" in the garage.

[richiebee]

P- Dub:

   After 3 readings, I now realize that you are the ultimate master of the
\"double entendre\". Well Done!!

[Barry Irwin]

This mess is a result of a lack of leadership at Hollywood Park, where some trainers who rely on speed (both in the a. m. and p. m.) put some pressure on an employee (track super) and nobody in management stopped the guy until it was too late. Here California finally has a chance to change a downward trend and they let a few jerks gum up the works. Tail continues to wag the dog out west.

[sighthound]

I\'m most interested (regarding track maintenance) in what will happen at Keeneland.  I want to see what the times are coming out of the 2-year-old in-training sale works.  I wonder if any consigners will choose other sales to showcase their best due to poly.

[bobphilo]

The moral of the Hollywood debacle is that dirt maintenance doesn\'t make Poly faster, just less safe.
As far as the Keeneland sales, given the insane importance buyers give to raw times in the 1 furlong dashes in 2YO sales it\'s possible that some potential sellers may take their stock elsewhere.  
Speaking of fast brezzing, high priced horses, The Green Monkey is still not able to train and will be laid up for the year.

Bob