Posts Tagged ‘ron charles’
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
By Ray Paulick
Southern California-based trainer Bob Hess crystallized the often toxic debate over synthetic tracks as well as anyone I’ve talked with on the subject: “My horses are happy on it, and they’re lasting a lot longer,” said Hess, a 44-year-old, second generation horseman and a graduate of Stanford University. “My clients are getting more bang for their buck. But without gamblers, we are nothing: there are no purses and no owners. The reality is the gamblers hate this shit. They have no confidence in it. From what they tell me, it’s inconsistent and changes from track to track. Most gamblers tend to play speed, and if you play speed out here, you’re screwed.”
Maybe that’s why Sheikh Mohammed has installed a Tapeta Footings synthetic surface at the lavish Meydan racecourse that is due to open in Dubai later this month and will host the Dubai World Cup program in March. He apparently believes, after extensive testing, that it’s safer for his and other people’s horses. And, since gambling isn’t permitted in Dubai, the sheikh won’t be bombarded with emails and phone calls from unhappy horseplayers who may have had to reinvent how they handicap a race.
SYNTHETIC TEST TUBE
That certainly hasn’t been the case in California, which, for better or worse, has been the test tube for synthetic racetracks, even though the surfaces also are installed at Keeneland and Turfway Park in Kentucky, Woodbine in Canada, Arlington Park in Illinois, and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania.
Ron Charles, the Santa Anita Park president who on Monday strongly hinted that the beleaguered synthetic track will be ripped out and replaced with conventional dirt at the end of the current meeting, called synthetics one of the most polarizing issues he’s ever seen in racing. The tracks have created a great divide among trainers, owners, track executives and regulators, and critics in the press and in online forums and blogs have made synthetics their perpetual punching bag and a principal reason for the industry’s troubles.
Santa Anita, along with Hollywood Park, Del Mar and Golden Gate Fields, was required by a California Horse Racing Board mandate to install synthetic surfaces by Jan. 1, 2008. However, recently elected CHRB chairman Keith Brackpool was quoted in published reports as saying the CHRB would no longer hold any track to the synthetic mandate, one that was championed by former board chairman Richard Shapiro in reaction to reports of an unacceptably high rate of injuries and fatalities occurring on dirt.
One thing the CHRB didn’t do was require all California tracks to install the same surface, a move supported at the time by Jerry Moss, a member of the CHRB and co-owner with wife Ann of unbeaten champion mare Zenyatta. John Shirreffs, Zenyatta’s trainer, is one of the most vocal critics of the synthetic tracks.
When the mandate was approved by Shapiro and the other CHRB members (Jerry Moss abstained in the voting; in the original version of this article, the Paulick Report incorrectly stated that Moss voted in support of the mandate), Hollywood Park and Santa Anita opted to install Cushion Track, manufactured by an Australian company. Del Mar went with Polytrack, a company owned in part by the Keeneland Association, and Golden Gate Fields opted for Tapeta Footings, a surface created by synthetic track pioneer and former trainer Michael Dickinson.
Santa Anita has experienced the most problems—not with safety of the horses—but with drainage. The all-weather aspects of the surfaces were hampered by drainage problems almost immediately during the winter of 2007-08, during the winter of 2009, again last fall, and most recently this week when the track was closed to training and racing on Monday after heavy rains hit California. (Golden Gate Fields, meanwhile, with its Tapeta surface, didn’t miss a beat during the recent storms that hit both Northern and Southern California.) The surface was altered in 2009 with polymers from another Australian surface known as Pro-Ride. It since has played host to two Breeders’ Cups in 2008 and 2009 without incident.
Sources said Ron Charles had his hands tied when he went shopping for synthetic surfaces for Santa Anita. Track owner Frank Stronach is said to have told him not to go with Polytrack because it was owned by the “old boy’s club” at Keeneland. Others confided to the Paulick Report that corners were cut in the installation process, especially in the selection of the sand that was used in the all-weather surface.
Santa Anita isn’t the only track that’s had problems. Hollywood Park and Del Mar’s synthetic tracks have been criticized by horsemen and jockeys, but adjustments in maintenance alleviated some of the concerns. Some trainers who were early critics took a c’est la vie approach, figuring that criticizing the synthetic surfaces was akin to complaining about the weather: that it wasn’t going to change anything.
However, late last year, the California Thoroughbred Trainers board of directors came under fire from a rival group of trainers who formed an organization called California Horsemen for Change, which wanted, among other things, to have the synthetic tracks replaced with dirt. CTT, under president Jim Cassidy, has been supportive of synthetics. The California Horsemen for Change threatened to petition to become the representative organization for trainers, a move that convinced the current CTT board to resign en masse, paving the way for new elections (which have just been completed). According to a source, the newly formed CTT board will be dominated by a slate of candidates backed by California Horsemen for Change, though the CTT has not yet made the election results public.
Supporters of the surfaces say many of the critics have short memories, reminding them that their protests over track conditions in part led to the CHRB’s mandate for synthetics. A return to exactly the same thing in place before synthetics is not going to make anyone happy. There needs to be serious work on a track’s base, cushion and drainage, no matter what type of material lays on top.
STATISTICS SUGGEST SYNTHETICS ARE SAFER
The criticism of the synthetic tracks by horsemen flies in the face of statistics showing they are safer than the dirt surfaces that preceded them, at least as far as fatalities are concerned. What hasn’t been proven or disproven in statistical research is the common belief by many trainers that horses are sustaining more hind end or soft-tissue injuries on synthetics than they were on dirt.
In addition, a growing number of jockeys are saying that synthetic surfaces are more dangerous than dirt if they are involved in spills. Two jockeys, Rene Douglas and Michael Straight, suffered severe spinal injuries on Arlington’s Polytrack this summer, and Julia Brimo suffered a spinal injury in a spill at Keeneland in this fall.
According to statistics compiled by the CHRB’s equine medical director, Dr. Rick Arthur, the number of equine fatalities per 1,000 starts has declined significantly at every track in California. Santa Anita Park, for example, had 2.81 fatalities per 1,000 starts in the four years prior to the synthetic installation; that number has fallen to 1.64 per 1,000 since the conversion. (Hollywood Park has gone from 2.87 to 1.57/1,000; Del Mar from 2.47 to 1.65/1,000; Golden Gate Fields from 3.90 to 1.84/1,000). Click here to see the complete set of statistics.
One Southern California trainer who supports the synthetic tracks said it’s his understanding Santa Anita has had 30,000 recorded workouts without an ambulance run. He said in the days of a sealed dirt track and the aftermath of sealing the track, it was difficult to even plan workouts because there were so many breakdowns during morning training hours.
Del Mar, which has studied results over its Polytrack surface extensively, has statistics showing an overall reduction in the number of post-race injuries, in addition to a reduction in fatalities. Click here to see Del Mar’s statistical report.
“We think we have achieved a measurable increase in safety,” said Craig Fravel, Del Mar’s executive vice president. “Has it done everything we had hoped it would do from the beginning? It probably has not lived up to that. Would we do it again? Yes. I don’t think we’ve done as good a job as we should have done in making the case for the tracks in this tradition-bound industry. But we are confident we did the right thing.”
Many horseplayers insist they are betting less on California tracks since the synthetics were installed. Craig Dado, Del Mar’s director of marketing, isn’t convinced. “There’s nothing we can point to that says the fans are betting less,” said Dado.
In fact, when synthetics were installed, they almost resulted in increased handle at some tracks, due to larger field size. But then came an economic crisis and a recession that saw wagering volume falling at most tracks around the country and fewer owners to fill races with horses.
“There has been criticism that the synthetic tracks are unpredictable,” said Fravel. “But winning favorites at Del Mar have been at 30-31%. There are a lot of differences: they are not as speed favoring as the old California tracks and some people have had to throw out their traditional handicapping methods. It creates issues for people. If they were winning money before and they aren’t now, I consider their angst. There are a lot of people who don’t like these tracks because they are different. But empirical analysis, an intelligent, thoughtful approach, has been lacking. I know handicappers who love the synthetics, partly because they are contrarians. Gamblers all over the world have been betting on that kind of racing for many years and doing so happily. Asking for people to do something different isn’t easy.”
Back to Hess’s belief, that synthetics are better for the horses but not as good for the handicappers, Fravel stood his ground. “We are going to make that choice in favor of what’s best for the horses,” he insisted. “At the same time, it’s incumbent on us to put out better information to make the handicapping issues less significant. I don’t think these are mutually exclusive. “
Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report
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Tags: bob hess, California Horse Racing Board, CHRB, craig dado, craig fravel, Del Mar, Frank Stronach, golden gate fields, Hollywood Park, Horse Racing, injuries, jerry moss, keith brackpool, Magna Entertainment, Paulick Report, polytrack, pro ride cushion track, Ray Paulick, richard shapiro, rick arthur, ron charles, santa anita, Synthetic surfaces, tapeta, tapeta footings, zenyatta
Posted in California, California Horse Racing Board, Synthetic surfaces | 75 Comments »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
By Ray Paulick
On an afternoon when heavy rains forced Santa Anita Park management to cancel a special holiday program, track president Ron Charles said the all-weather surface currently in place will be removed at the end of the 2009-’10 and strongly hinted the Arcadia, Calif., racetrack would return to dirt for its main track surface.
Santa Anita and the other major California tracks were required by the California Horse Racing Board to install synthetic surfaces by Jan. 1, 2008, but horseplayers and many trainers have been critical of the various synthetic tracks ever since. Charles, during an interview on Steve Byk’s "At the Races" radio show Monday afternoon, said the synthetic tracks did not deliver as promised by their manufacturers. Santa Anita Park joined Hollywood Park in installing Cushion Track prior to the 2008 deadline and experienced almost immediate problems with the track’s ability to drain and lost several days of racing after rains hit Southern California. Santa Anita replaced the Cushion Track with material from another manufacturer, Pro-Ride, and sued the owners of Cushion Track. When that new surface was installed in time for the 2008 Breeders’ Cup, Charles indicated it would be a short-term solution. Santa Anita began experiencing further drainage problems again last fall.
Del Mar has gone with Polytrack, which is part owned by Keeneland and in place at Keeneland, Turfway Park, Arlington Park and Woodbine.The Bay Area’s Golden Gate Fields, like Santa Anita owned by bankrupt Magna Entertainment, installed Tapeta Footings, which is also installed at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania and at the new Meydan racetrack in Dubai, which is scheduled for its grand opening in the next couple of weeks.
Charles did not confirm the Pro-Ride surface would be replaced with dirt,, though said a decision will soon be announced and that it would be supported by a majority of the trainers and jockeys he has spoken with. Charles said the synthetic tracks were installed with good intentions–to reduce injuries and make racing safer, especially during wet weather–but became an extremely polarizing issue in racing. The synthetic tracks were cited by Rachel Alexandra’s principal owner, Jess Jackson, as the reason his star filly did not compete in ther 2009 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.
Click here to read a Daily Racing Form article on the anticipated change.
Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think about synthetic tracks and the possibility of Santa Anita returning to dirt for its main surface.
Tags: California Horse Racing Board, CHRB, cushion track, Del Mar, golden gate fields, Hollywood Park, Keeneland, polytrack, pro-ride, ron charles, santa anita park, steve byk, Synthetic surfaces, tapeta footings
Posted in California, California Horse Racing Board, Synthetic surfaces | 37 Comments »
Friday, January 15th, 2010
SANTA ANITA, JOCKEYS TO ASSIST WITH HAITIAN AID, RED CROSS TO COORDINATE EFFORT ON TRACK SUNDAY
ARCADIA, Calif. (Jan. 15, 2010)—As news of the devastating 7.3 earthquake which struck the Caribbean island nation of Haiti on Tuesday continues to unfold, the Santa Anita jockeys’ colony and Santa Anita Park have joined forces to send aid via the American Red Cross beginning on Sunday.
“We initiated plans to try and help with this on Wednesday,” said Santa Anita President Ron Charles. “Alex Solis then contacted me on Thursday and said that a number of jockeys would be interested in donating mount fees or a percentage of their winnings from a designated race day, in order to try and help. We of course welcomed their support and we contacted the Arcadia chapter of the American Red Cross and they have agreed to coordinate this effort for us. This is a great gesture on the part of these jockeys and we are more than happy to partner with them in trying to help as many people as possible. As we all know, the current situation in Haiti is desperate.”
The public is invited to join in this effort as well and the Red Cross will be at Santa Anita on Sunday to assist in collecting aid. Red Cross volunteers, dressed in red coats, will be positioned at both of the track’s main admission gates and will have five gallon collection buckets available for donations.
According to initial estimates, as many as three million people may have been affected by the quake, and it is feared there could be as many as 50,000 deaths. Thousands of buildings and residences have been collapsed and many areas remain inaccessible as roads have been covered with debris and bridges have collapsed.
In addition to on-track contributions this Sunday, people are encouraged to make donations to the American Red Cross International Response Fund at www.redcross.org, or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767).
The Red Cross is also receiving money through a third party mobile fundraising effort sponsored by Mobile Accord. Mobile donors can text “Haiti” to 90999 to send a $10 donation to the Red Cross.
Tags: alex solis, American Red Cross, Hait, Jockeys, Paulick Report, ron charles, santa anita park
Posted in Jockeys, santa anita park | Comments Off
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
By Ray Paulick
The installation of the new Pro-Ride synthetic surface that began at Santa Anita Park in mid-July is "ahead of schedule," according to Ron Charles, the track’s president and chief operating officer of Magna Entertainment. Santa Anita is hosting the 2008 and 2009 Breeders’ Cup world championships during the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting that opens Sept. 24. The two-day Breeders’ Cup is schedule Oct. 24-25.
"Right now it all looks good," Charles told the Paulick Report. "We did run into areas where the drainage system had problems; sand had gotten down in there, but those sections have been fixed. The entire drainage system was replaced before, but a lot of it has been replaced again because of the damage."
Pro-Ride was chosen by Santa Anita officials, Charles said, after they took a long look at synthetic surface and conventional dirt options. "I truly believe this was the right choice," Charles said. The previous synthetic surface, Cushion Track, developed serious drainage problems last winter that led to the cancellation of 11 racing days. Santa Anita has filed suit against the manufacturers of Cushion Track, which is also in place at Hollywood Park. The California Horse Racing Board mandates that all major Thoroughbred tracks in the state have synthetic surfaces.
Ian Pearse of Pro-Ride was brought in to help repair Santa Anita’s Cushion Track problems, developing a hybrid of Cushion Track and Pro-Ride that allowed Santa Anita to complete its meeting without further cancellations. Following the completion of the meeting, Santa Anita reviewed its options and in June announced it was going with Pro-Ride, a company based in Australia.
A small percentage of the Cushion Track surface will remain, Charles admitted. "Some of the original sand and fiber and rubber will still be in there, but it all will be mixed with the binder and new fiber," Charles said. "It will be 95% Pro-Ride. We’ve been screening the material and have removed some rocks, a lot of the rubber, and have reduced whatever odor there was."
Charles said the timetable calls for the installation to be completed a week before horses return to Santa Anita from Del Mar, which closes its meeting Sept. 3. The surface will be flooded twice to test its drainage efficiency - once before the Pro-Ride material is added to the drainage system and rock base and once after the material is added. "We’ll test it extensively," Charles said. "We want it to be 100% right before we let 1,500 horses on there for training."
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Breeders' Cup, cushion track, ian pearse, Magna Entertainment, pro-ride, ron charles, santa anita park, synthetic surface
Posted in Breeders' Cup, California, Magna Entertainment, Synthetic surfaces | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
After all the problems Santa Anita experienced with its Cushion Track synthetic surface this past season, why did track management decide not to go back to a conventional dirt track and instead commit to installing a synthetic surface manufactured by the Australian company Pro-Ride? Aside from the fact the California Horse Racing Board has mandated all major California racetracks use synthetics instead of dirt for their main surface, Santa Anita was merely following the wishes of horsemen who were asked which type of surface they preferred.
The decision by Santa Anita management took on added significance because the Breeders’ Cup world championships will be contested there in both 2008 and 2009, marking the first time the former dirt races will be held over a synthetic racetrack.
In March of this year, Ed Halpern, the executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers, sent a letter to Magna executive Frank Stronach and Ron Charles detailing the results of a survey conducted among Santa Anita-based trainers. The Paulick Report obtained a copy of that letter.
The letter begins: “The board of directors of the California Thoroughbred Trainers has asked that I write to request that you take whatever action may be necessary to retain a synthetic surface at Santa Anita. One only needs to look at the facts to support this conclusion. Since the introduction of synthetic surfaces in California, barn areas are now filled, trainers have moved to California from across the country, field size has grown dramatically, injuries are down, and horses are racing more often. Those facts speak loudly and are irrefutable.”
Halpern then outlined the survey, which asked trainers to rate their surface preference five different ways:
-Strongly favor dirt
-Favor dirt
-Neutral
-Favor synthetics
-Strongly favor synthetics
Trainers were contacted personally and could sign their name or respond anonymously. Ninety-two of 115 trainers with horses in training at Santa Anita responded.
To quote further from Halpern’s letter:
“Of all those responding who strongly favored dirt or strongly favored synthetics, 70% strongly favored synthetics.
“Of all those responding who indicated that they either strong favored or just favored dirt or synthetics, 70% favored synthetics.”
Eleven trainers were neutral.
Trainers representing 90% of the horses in training at Santa Anita favor synthetics, according to Halpern. “Hence, there is is overwhelming support for synthetics from trainers who have trained at Santa Anita,” Halpern wrote. “That support exists in spite of the problems that were encountered due to the failure of the Cushion Track product. Trainers favoring synthetics cited numerous reasons for their support. They indicated that their support was based on a significant decrease in injuries, the ability to continue to train and run on a safe and non-sealed surface, even during periods of rain, and the ability to train horses through minor injuries. The latter benefit means significant and substantial savings for owners who no longer need to turn out horses for months before resuming training.”
One month later, the CTT sent a second letter to Stronach and Charles with the results of a survey of trainers based at the Northern California racetrack, Golden Gate Fields, also owned by Magna Entertainment. Golden Gate has a Tapeta Footings synthetic surface.
Here is how those 53 trainers responded:
-Strongly prefer dirt…2
-Prefer dirt…3
-No preference…3
-Favor synthetic…17
-Strongly favor synthetic…28
The opinions of California trainers seem to be supported by statistics obtained by the Paulick Report. At every California track where synthetic surfaces have been installed, the number of fatalities per 1,000 has declined, as follows:
Hollywood Park
Before synthetics, 2.87 per 1,000; after synthetics, 0.97 per 1,000
Del Mar
Before synthetics, 2.47 per 1,000; after synthetics, 0.81
Santa Anita
Before synthetics, 2.81; after synthetics, 1.71
Golden Gate Fields
Before synthetics, 3.90; after synthetics, 2.50
Bay Meadows (did not convert to synthetics)
Conventional dirt, 3.19
Aggregate
Before synthetics, 3.19; after synthetics, 1.37
A national survey of races charting horses that did not finish (DNF) a race due to various factors shows the following percentages on different surfaces:
-Dirt DNFs, 1.10%
-Turf DNFs, 0.94%
-Synthetic DNFs, 0.61%
Numerous training centers have now added synthetic surfaces, as has the OBS sale company in Ocala, Fla.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: Breeders' Cup, California Horse Racing Board, california thoroughbred trainers, ed halpern, Frank Stronach, Horse Racing, Magna, Magna Entertainment, obs, Paulick Report, racehorse safety, racing injuries, Ray Paulick, ron charles, Synthetic surfaces
Posted in Breeders' Cup, Horse Welfare, Magna Entertainment, Synthetic surfaces | 1 Comment »
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