Lava Man... The Last Big California Horse

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by SentToStud

Enjoy him while you can. Notwithstanding whether or not he wins HOY, I figure this is the last horse of any consequence that California racing will produce.

Between a lack of horses overall, the inability to fill n1x races going 2-turns -- a basic staple of quality racing, a collective head-up-their a ss steward mindset, the soon-to-be demise of Hollywood Park and finally the move to running races on plastic in peraps the worlds most perfect climate all adds up to the end of Cali racing as we once knew it.

Within two years, California will be known as a nice place to develop young horses and that will be it. You are going to see (actually continue to see, as it is already happening) a mass exodus of quality 3 year olds early in their sophomore years as well as a continued thinning of the older divisions.

Enjoy Lava Man as he is the last California-based horse that will ever have a shot to be Horse of the Year.

California racing doesn't seem to have a bright future.

Originally Posted by 2Hot4TV

California racing doesn't seem to have a bright future.

Oh no!
Where else will TVG be able to do a remote from ? --->

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by The_Guy_Smiley

Oh no!
Where else will TVG be able to do a remote from ? --->

Virtual Reality will take over. Just on big cartoon.

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by 2Hot4TV

Virtual Reality will take over. Just on big cartoon.

Mark my words.

California racing will turn into a good place for turf horses and Cal-breds. Nothing else.

If they have the bad sense to run a Breeders Cup on that junk, it will be a joke. Every horse that's won a $50k stakes at Turfway will enter and probably run well.

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by SentToStud

Mark my words.

California racing will turn into a good place for turf horses and Cal-breds. Nothing else.

If they have the bad sense to run a Breeders Cup on that junk, it will be a joke. Every horse that's won a $50k stakes at Turfway will enter and probably run well.

Most things in California just doesn't roll over and die even though I would like to see Rap music go on life support. Horse racing is still taking a big hit from Casino Gaming, which is growing as fast as LasVegas.
Turf racing? Maybe at Santa Anita and the winter meet at Hollywood only because of the other tracks having bad weather. The rest of the world wants that soft bog like turf that you just wont find in California.

They have made a stupid decision and its one that will doom them. The money is in the back end in ths game. Noone is gonna shell out big bucks for a sire or mare who wins a grade one on that stuff.
They really blew it. All they hadda do was truck in a good soli/and mixture and maybe lay down a good cushion. Then not bow down to certain trainers who say that they want the track sped up and not so deep. This is common sense folks and I just don't buy that climate or anything else couldnt be overcome. That excuse just doesnt hold water.
Saratoga's surface is currently the best one in NY right now and geez, they only race here 6 weeks a YEAR!!! Every year they take up the track and pile it up in September and every July they lay it back down and work on it. If they can take a surface up here only used for 6 weeks a year and make it that good, you can't tell me that they couldnt just mix up a new natural surface out there and maintain it.
The decision to switch to that stuff will be the knockout punch on Cali racing. Its gonna be a turf and Cal Bred haven like the previous poster said.

Originally Posted by 2Hot4TV

I would like to see Rap music go on life support.

I second that emotion.

[King Glorious]

Finally, I'm glad to see some people that understand that California racing is in it's dying days. I've said on another forum that Polytrack will be the end of it as we know it. One of the unique things about California racing was that we have a style and pace that's distinctly California. Now all of the soft-hearted folks have taken over and their crying has got them to move to this Polytrack stuff. I understand that it's never a good thing to have horses breaking down and for the owners it's really got to be a blow. But that's part of the package that u know u are going to have to deal with when u set up shop here. If u don't like it, move your operations to Keeneland or Turfway. I believe that u have to train hard and race hard here in order to be successful and when u do that, there will be more injuries. Maybe since I'm not an owner or as emotionally invested in these animals as some others are, I don't share the same sentiments. I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings but this is just how I feel. I feel that they are moving to homogenize the product here and I am not happy about it at all.

As for Lava Man, I really think he's a good horse. But I don't even know how good because the product here is so watered down, we can't see him face good competition. I mean, Ace Blue and Good Reward have been the runners-up in his last two. We got all excited about Perfect Drift coming out here but as much as I admire their sportsmanship in their scheduling and as much as I've come to appreciate that the horse gives his all everytime, the fact is still that he's won ONE grade one race in 40 starts and six seasons of racing. So beating him in a grade one race is really not that big a deal. Someone tried to tell me that I should have been excited over Lava Man's win in the Pacific Classic. Why? If he's anything at all, wasn't he supposed do to that? Would u get excited watching Roger Clemens strike out Class A level hitters game after game? If it wasn't for Lava Man, the state of the game in California right now would be embarrassing. Actually, even with him, it still is.