Abandoneer
 

never was extended until too late and Flores wrapped him up, looks like he liked the turf and took action like he would. Should be a great play back next time, just never got a hole to open

he came up lame, and was vanned off

beautiful :) DOWNWARD SPIRAL

I am right there with you brother.....painfull.

Honestly, and I am not sure what the hell happened, but about 10 racing days after that pick six hit, I haven't hit a single ticket at Hollywood, like they screwed with the track or something. Speed seems to be holding better then it did earlier in the meet, maybe because of the heat.

agreed - it has been almost two weeks without a hit for me. thank god they moved cali racing to del mar starting on Wed. Early in the meet is a great time to get healthy as underlays are everywhere.

yeah, but I think you really gotta sit tight for two weeks and see what the deal is, unless you take the calcalated risk that it plays exactly like Arlington/Turfway where closers have a shot.

Regarding these artifical surfaces, I really think that temperature, more so then adverse weather, plays a huge part in what bias presents itself.

The story circulating was that, because of the heat, there wasn't enough wax in the Cushion Track.

This makes it sound like it was playing closer to dirt, which might explain the injury to Abandoneer.

Again, these were just the circulating rumors.

I think you're right. These artificial surface tracks were installed to deal with rain and the problem of drainage. I think they're just finding out now about the problems that come with extremes in temperature.

It is patiences, that is all it is. People are so wound up now days that they expect change to happen within a snap of the fingers. Fact is that, and Arlington is a perfect example of this, that these artifical surfaces are helping the horses. The same trainers are at Arlington and I think they have only had 1 or two breakdowns this summer, compared to the 20 that they already had, that alone is proof that they work

You're right. But these new surfaces at Del Mar and Santa Anita will need to be fine-tuned. The same surface used at other tracks across the country will play differently due to different weather patterns. The track maintenance people will learn over time how to best care for each track, just as we handicappers will learn over time how to adjust our handicapping. It may take a couple of years to fully adjust.

The primary reason for switching surfaces was to cut down on injuries to the horses, not necessarily create a track that played "fair."