As Dirt Track Looms, Santa Anita Synthetics Issue Rages On!

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As Dirt Track Looms, Santa Anita Synthetics Issue Rages On...


Excerpt:

Part of the selling of synthetics, wittingly or not, was done by Dr. Rick Arthur, a proponent who wields much influence as Equine Medical Director for the California Horse Racing Board. Arthur conducted studies he says indicates that all-weather surfaces are safer.

On the issue of synthetic tracks, horseplayer and activist Andy Asaro has been on the case of anyone and everyone in California who has the least bit authority, hoping to rectify what he has called racing’s greatest hoax; the selling of synthetics in the name of safety.


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Recently, data has started to accumulate indicating that Asaro’s suspicions might be more than simply the paranoid ramblings of some disgruntled horseplayer.

Asaro sent two requests to the CHRB asking whether they had knowledge that Dr. Arthur had any financial relationship with the Keeneland/Polytrack/Martin Collins International consortium. He never received a reply.

Like any racing board, the CHRB has a fiduciary responsibility to protect the public and disseminate accurate information concerning the well being of the industry. Asaro’s contention is that the statistics compiled by Arthur were both misleading and reckless.

As Dirt Track Looms, Santa Anita Synthetics Issue Rages On...

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There is no question that problems prior to Synthetic surfaces in southern California were real but they were primarily the result of decades old bases. For the synthetic advocates like Dr. Rick Arthur to compare the worst years of dirt surfaces with decades old bases to the first three years of synthetic with new material and new bases is reckless and misleading. And by the way the “synthetic geeks” have no problem doing comparisons from track to track when it fits their argument. They chose the tone of the debate long ago and it is unfortunate for them that the infomercial selling synthetic surfaces was dead wrong. In fact the claims were fraudulent at best.

I will never forget an article in 2007 where the author asserted that if you weren’t for synthetic surfaces then you hated horses and didn’t care about them. It also asserted that you didn’t care about little kids who came to the track and saw horses euthanized on the track after a breakdown, and that it was my fault that they were traumatized for the rest of their lives. That is the kind of stuff Steve Crist referred to in a recent article Daily Racing Form: Login/Access Your Account
That is the type of argument that sets people like me off. Crist is right on the money when he said “Framing the synthetic debate, as some of the surfaces’ proponents do, as a choice between white-knight safety advocates and selfish, disgruntled horseplayers is an offensive ploy that obscures the facts”.

The decision to mandate and then install these corrupt surfaces in Southern California was misguided at best. Many of the so called intelligent people of high social standing were dead wrong as usual when they try to tell us “what’s best for us”. These may be well educated people but they are not smart. In fact most people would say they were pretty stupid to lead us to this place. How about installing a synthetic surface at one track and then waiting a few years to see how it played out? How about Santa Anita putting the synthetic surface on the training track instead of the main track before the rush to judgment?

Synthetic surface racing is minor league racing and in Europe the horses with the least class and ability raced on it. Why we would embrace a minor league racing surface and install it at one of our most beloved tracks (Santa Anita) is beyond me. In my opinion the last suckers in the world with deep pockets were in Dubai and they were taken for a ride. Now they are having financial trouble and we shall see what happens with the surface. If it works out in five years then so be it. As far as I’m concerned they can have it.

Bottom line is that Horse Racing is as much about the Horseplayers as anything else and most Horseplayers don’t like it. In a poll at Pace Advantage nearly 3 out of 4 Horseplayers want it removed immediately in areas with good weather like Southern California. If people like myself don’t fight back with the same fervor that the synthetic geeks do then the war will be lost. I don’t apologize for anything I have said or done in furthering the cause of Horseplayers who are for a traditional racing surface. In fact if the work I have done over the last couple of years has had anything at all to do with a return to dirt then I am quite proud my effort.

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Alicia Wincze on horse racing » Blog Archive » Shirreffs: Running on synthetics like running on velcro

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California-based trainer John Shirreffs, who conditions undefeated champion Zenyatta, has long been a vocal opponent of synthetic tracks and, during a national teleconference today, he detailed why he feels the surface does more harm than good in developing young prospects.

“I personally hate synthetics,” Shirreffs said. “I’m more into developing young horses and I find that young horses really don’t like training on synthetics. I don’t know if you can imagine training on Velcro. When the foot lands, it doesn’t slide, it sticks to the ground. Depending on how synthetic the surface is, the horse can’t rotate the foot into the track and push off.
“Imagine running around flat-footed all the time without getting up on your toes and pushing off,” Shirreffs continued. “That’s probably how it would feel to a human.”

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Excerpt:

Hear, hear, said Jerry Moss, co-owner of the undefeated Zenyatta.
"I'm very positive down the road," Moss said. "In five years, I see Santa Anita having a beautiful, wonderful dirt racetrack and the Breeders' Cup being run there every other year. In five years, Santa Anita will be the best racing center in the U.S."