JC / Railbird

California

That’s a Wrap

Woodmans Luck runs down Depreciable in the stretch to win the last ever race at Hollywood (PDF). Farewell, beautiful track, and thanks for all the memories.

Watch the replay and the final winner’s circle presentation:

And raise a glass for one last toast:

To winning wagers on Willie Shoemaker, getting carried away in the seats where Cary Grant was granted access, and to those two flamingos left floating around on the infield lake that don’t want to leave.

More from Hollywood’s closing day: About the flamingos who evaded capture, “We have to give them a little bit of time to forget about it” … in the paddock for the penultimate race … riding Swaps … a full lot … crowd jams grandstand and Mel Brooks grouses, “There are 100,000 people that have never been here, and they’re using up the tellers” … and then they pried bits and pieces of memorabilia from every corner, reports Ed Zieralski: “In the end, fans took everything they could. One guy was hauled out by the Inglewood police for looting” … get your own piece of Hollywood when the track holds an auction on January 24-25 … saying goodbye and savoring memories … paying tribute … Vladimir Cerin, the last trainer to stand in the winner’s circle, would have shared that distinction: “I almost would have taken a four-horse dead heat there and let everyone have a piece of the last race.”

Posted in Racing on December 22, 2013 / Tagged California, Depreciable, Hollywood Park, Last Race, Last Winner, Woodmans Luck

Shocking

Ray Paulick continues digging into the sudden deaths of 36 California racehorses from July 1, 2011 to March 31, 2013, and finds that:

… one trainer with 2.5% of the horses and 1.5% of the total starts has had 19.4% of the sudden deaths over a 21-month period.

That trainer has hired a public relations and crisis management firm to handle the attention his startling numbers have aroused. They’ve been tweeting.

6/21/13 Addendum: The CHRB has issued a statement on the ongoing investigation into the sudden deaths (PDF). “The pathology and toxicology work has been completed … with no indication of foul play. This aspect of the review is believed to have been as thorough of an examination as has ever been done anywhere in the world with such cases.”

Posted in Racing on June 20, 2013 / Tagged Bob Baffert, California, CHRB, Equine Health, Stats, Sudden Death

Bigger than California

John Pricci gets to the point:

It may be impolitic to judge without having all the facts but it would be irresponsible and inappropriate not to speculate based on circumstances. From where we sit, these cardiac related deaths are a possible indictment of not only individuals but the whole way the game is administered. It’s a problem that stretches far beyond the California state line.

More on the sudden death issue collected here.

Posted in Racing on April 18, 2013 / Tagged Bob Baffert, California, CHRB, Equine Health, Oversight, Regulations, Sudden Death, Trainers

Hollywood Beckons

Santa Anita meet’s closed on Sunday and its numbers don’t tell a happy story*. David Milch’s racetrack drama probably won’t either, but the “Luck” preview released by HBO on Monday generates a good kind of excitement:

“As a setting for storytelling, you couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Milch.

The horses used in filming “Luck” were some of the first to test the restored dirt track at Santa Anita last December, the same surface on which 19 horses were fatally injured during the meet. With an additional fatality on the training track and six on the turf course, the total number of fatalities came to 26 (as estimated here). Santa Anita is funding a safety study: “We hope that data will be important to us and something that we can apply.” That is to be hoped! It was a real pleasure to watch Santa Anita for three years and rarely worry about seeing a horse go down. After this meet, I can’t say that — and I’m not alone.

How’s this for ugly? Fatality numbers were almost all that was up at Santa Anita. While attendance held steady, handle declined. The track announced a 9% decrease in average daily handle, but the raw CHRIMS data, available through CalRacing, showed a 20.7% decline in gross handle over the previous year, from $589 million (PDF) to $467 million (PDF). Adjusting for eight fewer days, and a decline of 9.7% in the number of races carded, the Blood-Horse found average daily handle was down 11.6%. Pull the Pocket has an interesting theory on why Blood-Horse, which originally reported the 9% decline straight, revisited the handle numbers so thoroughly and quickly.

As long as I’m linking bad news, here’s more: The national HBPA officially opposes the proposed RCI ban on raceday medications. Apparently, a five-year phase-out isn’t long enough. “Blah. Blah. Blah,” says Ray Paulick. Exactly.

*Not a happy story, unless you’re a horseman or owner, in which case, hooray! Total purses were up 5.1% for the Santa Anita meet.

Posted in Racing on April 19, 2011 / Tagged California, Equine Safety, Handle, HBO, Horseplayers, Luck, Santa Anita, Track Surfaces