Hollendorfer barred from Stronach tracks

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by moses

If it snows and the roads turn icy but I decide to drive 80 mph on the highway, spin out, and wreck my car...is that caused by man made error or negligence?

Saying it rained a lot doesn’t absolve people if they continued to field races on an unsafe surface. I don’t know all the facts with Santa Anita, but just because it rained an unprecedented amount doesn’t mean there aren’t people to blame in connection with the fatalities related to the racing surface over the winter/spring.

Exactly. There are people to blame. Track management is to blame. They don’t need to blame the horsemen. They didn’t need to blame track maintenance crews. They didn’t need to overreact with these new rules and safety precautions because the ones they already had worked fine. They simply needed to halt racing until things got back to normal. Which they did. Since that point, racing and training has gone back to normal and the number of breakdowns has decreased to levels lower than other tracks comparable activity.

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

Exactly. There are people to blame. Track management is to blame. They don’t need to blame the horsemen. They didn’t need to blame track maintenance crews. They didn’t need to overreact with these new rules and safety precautions because the ones they already had worked fine. They simply needed to halt racing until things got back to normal. Which they did. Since that point, racing and training has gone back to normal and the number of breakdowns has decreased to levels lower than other tracks comparable activity.

You don’t think some horseman were running horses they shouldn’t have?

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

You don’t think some horseman were running horses they shouldn’t have?

If you’re referring to physically shouldn’t have been running, I think that’s been going on since the beginning of time. If you’re referring to shouldn’t have run them because the track was compromised by the weather, that’s a different subject and one that isn’t and can’t be addressed by the new rules.

I don’t understand how they put together some committee, said committee allows a horse to run, horse breaks down, and you punish the trainer. Shouldn’t this fall on the committee?

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

You don’t think some horseman were running horses they shouldn’t have?

Hossy. Horsemen were being browbeaten into running. Threatened and motherphucked.

And note that there were horses on the grounds that would never have been given stalls by the previous racing department head. (Hammer).

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Hossy. Horsemen were being browbeaten into running. Threatened and motherphucked.

And note that there were horses on the grounds that would never have been given stalls by the previous racing department head. (Hammer).

I’m well aware Steve. I was the first (and only) person that was telling it like it is on that other board and was told over and over again I was wrong.

TSG is a train wreck and have screwed up at every step here.

I just think threats or not, if you know your horse shouldn’t be running, you don’t run. But that’s another discussion.

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Hossy. Horsemen were being browbeaten into running. Threatened and motherphucked.

And note that there were horses on the grounds that would never have been given stalls by the previous racing department head. (Hammer).

I had a feeling it was something like that. Pressure to run.

I'm confused, Steve. On one hand, they're pressuring to fill races which sure makes it sound like they're trying to stay afloat, but Santa Anita's also worth more as a real estate venture to TSG than as a wagering one from what I understand. The conspiracy theories out there contradict the implications of urging to run so which is it? Is TSG just bad at this, flailing around like someone trying to catch farts with a butterfly net? Or is there any sincere desire on their part to tank the track/Cal racing? Are people just seeing malice where there isn't any? (Although I'm sure genuine malice exists on PETA's part).