[cbiscuit]

Can someone please tell me why EVERY grass race is off turf? to incl Glens Falls!!! What, they want to preserve track condition for Opening day '14?????? I'll never understand this...NEVER! Dont give me that safety bs, don't buy it. I'd rather land on soft wet grass vs wet hardpack all things considered even. I feel like a shtheel complaining about this but I was up til 1:00 capping. Weatherwise, prob best Sar meet ever so i hate that it is finishing this way. Glad I didn't head out there like I was planning on earlier.

anywaywas going to suggest 20-1 shot in R5 but now may get 8-1 in the mud vs. 6 others #10 Original Kitten
intriguing that Hushion running a KittensJoy in the slop

[JakeLc]

it's not about falling and landing on wet grass try riding a horse at full speed and see how much traction you get and how safe it is for horse and rider

[ukbro00]

Like it or not, it is all about safety.

Saratoga got almost 2 inches of rain in 48 hours. The course was not safe.

[str]

I know that you were upset after spending so much time handicapping and were just blowing off steam but... Unless you have seen a train wreck on soggy turf, people assume that it would not be that big a deal. I probably felt the same way.
The horse below raced at Laurel in the G.1 D.C. International back in the 70's. The turf was soooo soggy they NEVER should have run on it but horses had gathered from around the world and back then, you just did not cancel. It was a different world. I will never forget watching a horse fall, I think a German horse fell 1st but not sure and then the horse below fell over him. The horse slid down the backside about a 1/16th of a mile. Really! It was like a slip and slide that day. It happened about the 5/8s pole. I will never forget Jumbo Jet !

Anyway, hope you made a few bucks at the Spa and best of luck in the future.


Jumbo Jet - Only horse to win four MRA Classic Listed races in one season
and the first to contest an international race

The mighty Jumbo Jet has long been regarded as one of the best racehorses to have graced the Malayan horse racing circuit. He was so successful in the early 70s that he even enjoyed a cult status among people who did not follow horse-racing, a little like a Rocket Man of that era. His biggest achievement was to scoop up four feature races within five months in 1972. The Ivan Allan-trained New Zealand-bred began his winning streak with the Tunku Gold Cup in January, followed a month later by the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Cup held in front of Her Majesty herself. Three months later, Jumbo Jet nailed the Singapore Derby in spectacular fashion after hopelessly missing the start before taking out the Perak Derby a month later. Jumbo Jet was the first horse to contest an international race when he flew to America for the US$150,000 Washington Invitation. Ridden by English legend Lester Piggott, he looked a chance when he was brought down by a fallen horse.
He was never the same after the fall.

[mikemca]

What I don't get is why Ireland,England,France, and Australia can run on any ground but if the course is on the soft side of good they think about taking races off here in USA.

[cbiscuit]

What I don't get is why Ireland,England,France, and Australia can run on any ground but if the course is on the soft side of good they think about taking races off here in USA.

BINGO!!! THat is exactly what I am talking about. I know the argument for taking it off the grass in the USA but look at the history of racing in Europe and the incredible amount of races run on the "Sf" going. Unless the stats have changed, Europe is considered too have far fewer mishaps and injured horses.
BTW, I ve seen some pretty hideous spills on muddy and dry fast tracks as well with mulitple horses going down in a tangle. I don't doubt that there comes a point where the turf can be in such a state that it is not safe but NYRA has a history of going to the mud once the grass is anything beyond dew-y.

[str]

I think a lot of it has to do with the actual water table under each turf course. Because Saratoga and Laurel and probably plenty more have ponds in there infield, the water table under ground is typically at that height. I can't speak for Saratoga or other venues, I just never paid much attention to it, but for Laurel, it was always unable to hold any amount of water because of this. That compounded with the fact that Laurel was built on a swamp and is the lowest point within 10 miles in every direction, rain and turf never work out well there . I would assume that Europe with all it's wet weather has enough sense to build there tracks without a lake inside it but... I dont know.

These days, it seems that they come off the turf or cancel the whole card if somebody farts. Just was not like that when I trained.
Too be clear, I am not bashing at all. On the contrary, I feel your pain and hate it when they call the races or come off the turf but I cant think that there was any reason on the last day of the meet except safety. Like you stated, what are they saving it for, they have 10 months to get it right.

Anyway, I thought I would mention the water table because it really does effect the amount of rain a turf course can handle.