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A possible solution to the "Eight Belles" problem in horse racing

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by 93Devil, May 5, 2008.

  1. Clerk Typist

    Clerk Typist Guest

    Yow. This reads like a family reunion in West Virginia.
     
  2. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    It's a little aggressive, but not wholly out of the ordinary. Most breeders don't actively seek to get overly aggressive with inbreeding within the first three generations.

    She WAS a helluva filly. Damned unlucky. Still sad, and will be, for a good while.
     
  3. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Well, there hasn't been a Triple Crown winner in 30 years, so it's not like the sport is being overrun with them. I'd bet most people in thoroughbred racing would welcome three Crown winners in four years (or three in six, as there were from 1973-78).

    Changing the Crown events to 4-year-olds, and maybe instituting race/distance limits for the younger horses, sounds like it would make sense.
     
  4. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    WJR tried to be more even-handed in Wednesday's Times piece, and in part succeeded, but then he writes THIS:

    "What about racing surfaces? There are indications, but no conclusive proof, that synthetic surfaces are safer. (Ed. note: That's fine, BUT). I suspect, however, that synthetic surfaces are becoming popular not so much to aid the safety of the horses, but to keep the surface consistent in order to make racing easier to schedule."

    Clueless . . . on more levels than I can count.
     
  5. I don't think Rhoden is totally off base here. The synthetic stuff does hold up better under adverse weather than dirt, and more racing means more money for the sport. Do I think that's their primary objective? I can't say for certain, but the two (safety and more racing) are probably 1 and 1a.
     
  6. sportschick

    sportschick Active Member

    They had one of the vets from California who helped craft the synthetic turf law on NPR yesterday. He said he's not sure if it's cut down on the total number of injuries, but that catastrophic (i.e. deadly) injuries are significantly down.
     
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