Can someone help me here?????

[wac]

I would be interested in knowing what the per start/fatality is at Sar this year. With so many races off T I wonder how many starts there are as related to past. I’m sure someone can pull the numbers

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by wac

I would be interested in knowing what the per start/fatality is at Sar this year. With so many races off T I wonder how many starts there are as related to past. I’m sure someone can pull the numbers

337 races; 2,555 starters (12 fatalities; 5 turf/7 dirt)

8,700 times workouts (4 fatalities)

[cakes44]

Optics are terrible. It is what it is.

[57rick]

The casual fan doesn’t want to hear “ everything is being done” and “ the horses are treated like royalty” when they’ve tuned in 2 weeks in a row with a casualty near the finish line. I know I’m not going to convince anyone I know otherwise. Not that it’s any less tragic, but these breakdowns weren’t at a 2’nd race track with 8 or 9 year old horses running.
I feel everything is being done to prevent catastrophic breakdowns and casualties. Because of human nature, I’m sure not every trainer at Saratoga doesn’t try to get an edge.
I have no answers. Like some, I didn’t bet the rest of the card on Saturday or the card on Sunday. I needed time to process, mourn and express myself. I’m a gambler, not a horseman. A line I live by, from the New York movie Pope of Greenwich Village is “ Let’s stick to what we know here” ( making cheese is what I know&#128514. I know I enjoy handicapping immensely and putting my money on my opinions. I’ll be back at it on Thursday for Toga and Kentucky Downs. I don’t like Wednesdays card.
In closing, no one (yet!) in my small circle of friends has asked or suggested that I give up what I enjoy because of recent events. When it’s been brought up on the past, I’ve allowed anyone to speak their mind to me. I don’t have to defend what I do or the sport. My reply to anyone that has suggested the sport is inhumane or cruel; I don’t argue. I simply say “ horses will break down and I’ll be at it again soon” Anything further, it’s “ what I do isn’t your business “ and “ if you know how to fix what’s wrong, you fix it”. Like everything else in life, everyone has an opinion and they think they’re right.
“ if loving you is wrong, I don’t want yo be right” Luther Ingram
https://youtu.be/F9vEKTRLnUI?si=mwcbUWU64BuL7uOg

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by 57rick

The casual fan doesn’t want to hear “ everything is being done” and “ the horses are treated like royalty” when they’ve tuned in 2 weeks in a row with a casualty near the finish line. I know I’m not going to convince anyone I know otherwise. Not that it’s any less tragic, but these breakdowns weren’t at a 2’nd race track with 8 or 9 year old horses running.
I feel everything is being done to prevent catastrophic breakdowns and casualties. Because of human nature, I’m sure not every trainer at Saratoga doesn’t try to get an edge.
I have no answers. Like some, I didn’t bet the rest of the card on Saturday or the card on Sunday. I needed time to process, mourn and express myself. I’m a gambler, not a horseman. A line I live by, from the New York movie Pope of Greenwich Village is “ Let’s stick to what we know here” ( making cheese is what I know&#128514. I know I enjoy handicapping immensely and putting my money on my opinions. I’ll be back at it on Thursday for Toga and Kentucky Downs. I don’t like Wednesdays card.
In closing, no one (yet!) in my small circle of friends has asked or suggested that I give up what I enjoy because of recent events. When it’s been brought up on the past, I’ve allowed anyone to speak their mind to me. I don’t have to defend what I do or the sport. My reply to anyone that has suggested the sport is inhumane or cruel; I don’t argue. I simply say “ horses will break down and I’ll be at it again soon” Anything further, it’s “ what I do isn’t your business “ and “ if you know how to fix what’s wrong, you fix it”. Like everything else in life, everyone has an opinion and they think they’re right.
“ if loving you is wrong, I don’t want yo be right” Luther Ingram
https://youtu.be/F9vEKTRLnUI?si=mwcbUWU64BuL7uOg

F U have a nice day 361 horses a year die and support 100000 jobs. Cost of doing business Have a nice day. Ok I get it but if we had tapeta it would only be 251

[wac]

thanks for the info Steve. Still just hard to stomach. It "seems" like so much has gone wrong at Sar these last few weeks and on the 2 biggest days. Just feel so bad for the connections. doesn't seem fair.

[freddymo]

I loathe tapeta it's boring and the racing sucks. Fewer horses will break down on tapeta. Steve or whoever wishes to comment?

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by 57rick

The casual fan doesn’t want to hear “ everything is being done” and “ the horses are treated like royalty” when they’ve tuned in 2 weeks in a row with a casualty near the finish line. I know I’m not going to convince anyone I know otherwise. Not that it’s any less tragic, but these breakdowns weren’t at a 2’nd race track with 8 or 9 year old horses running.
I feel everything is being done to prevent catastrophic breakdowns and casualties. Because of human nature, I’m sure not every trainer at Saratoga doesn’t try to get an edge.
I have no answers. Like some, I didn’t bet the rest of the card on Saturday or the card on Sunday. I needed time to process, mourn and express myself. I’m a gambler, not a horseman. A line I live by, from the New York movie Pope of Greenwich Village is “ Let’s stick to what we know here” ( making cheese is what I know&#128514. I know I enjoy handicapping immensely and putting my money on my opinions. I’ll be back at it on Thursday for Toga and Kentucky Downs. I don’t like Wednesdays card.
In closing, no one (yet!) in my small circle of friends has asked or suggested that I give up what I enjoy because of recent events. When it’s been brought up on the past, I’ve allowed anyone to speak their mind to me. I don’t have to defend what I do or the sport. My reply to anyone that has suggested the sport is inhumane or cruel; I don’t argue. I simply say “ horses will break down and I’ll be at it again soon” Anything further, it’s “ what I do isn’t your business “ and “ if you know how to fix what’s wrong, you fix it”. Like everything else in life, everyone has an opinion and they think they’re right.
“ if loving you is wrong, I don’t want yo be right” Luther Ingram
https://youtu.be/F9vEKTRLnUI?si=mwcbUWU64BuL7uOg

Racing doesn't and will never get it. I loathe HISA; I loathe Tapeta racing. I like racing on dirt. I don't care that 1.7 in a thousand fall and die. The difference between me and most is I am willing to deal with horror. The cheats are the issue, not the racing surface. It's a brutal sport. Jocks are going to be hurt or worse. Gorgeous animals are going to be hurt or worse. Either embrace the brutality or move on. This isn't for you. Nothing about this sport is humane. Nobody trains a horse to run 37 MPH for as long as it can just because. They do it for money. They do it because there is the possibility of making a lot of money for an animal that, in some cases, can cost peanuts.

[Kitan]

Originally Posted by freddymo

The cheats are the issue, not the racing surface.

I would be interested to know what the breakdown/fatality rate is for dirt races in Japan, where they do a lot of dirt racing (and exclusively so on the NAR circuit) but "cheating" is minimal. (Genuine question, not being disingenuous as I do not know the numbers)