One of my favorite horseman and genuine caring human being, Bill Casner, explains why synthetic tracks are safer.  Three and and a half times safer than dirt.  If the industry wants to save horses' lives then they should pay heed to Mr. Casner.

Good, instructive read:

https://paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/casner-synthetic-tracks-are-safer-heres-why/

I just read that a few hours ago. It shows how much safer synthetics are. When they were removed from California and Kentucky tracks I became so disgusted with racing I took a few years off. 

Casner thinks forwardly and progressively about horse health and well-being.  You can find articles on how he designed barns and stalls at Winstar to keep the air clean, free of pathogens, mold and dust of all types.  No rafters where birds can hang out and vector in disease.  Sprayed daily with anti-microbial mists.  Really smart man.  Willing to put his money where his mouth is.

He's been running his horses without lasix for a long time.  I'm pretty sure he's semi-retired at this point in terms of owning and training.  However, his experience and intelligence carries weight.

Do you remember why the synthetics were replaced, bisket?  I do remember when they were installed, and I think it was heralded as a step forward in horse-racing safety at the time......including Del Mar and Keeneland, yes?

I know we discussed those stats awhile back.  At the time I always assumed the breakdown rate would be maybe 1 1/2 to 2 times worse on dirt vs synth.  Not 3 1/2!  (and FIVE TIMES when comparing Santa Anita synth vs the new dirt that went in after).

Even if we change nothing else (drugs, training methods, bloodlines) isn't this an easy solution to implement right away?  But what Mark Casse said in that interview explains why that'll never happen. We did try this but certain powers ended it. 

And there are too many cheap tracks out there that cannot afford it.  I mean, this would be like if Major League Baseball ordered all teams to install retractable roofs on their stadiums ASAP.    You know if this was ever ordered nationwide, Churchill Downs would grudgingly install it at their flagship track and just close all their others, consolidating operations year round at one place as has already been happening (buh-bye Ellis, Turfway, Colonial, Fair Grounds...).  NYRA would put it at Saratoga, bulldoze Belmont, and use Aqueduct as an OTB and casino (that pays the bills).  Curiously, Stronach already has Tapeta at Gulfstream and the soon to be closed Golden Gate so they'd have to put it in at Santa Anita (and probably just abandon Maryland and run the Preakness at one of the others, not worth installing it there).

And I honestly think Stronach made sure it would be such a shitshow at Santa Anita the CHRB would cave.  Given that he's also an owner and breeder, of course he had an incentive to do exactly that.

The state of Maryland has 300 million dollars to build a new track at Pimlico. The Maryland Stadium Authority is supervising the project. I’m sure it’s going to be a wonderful facility considering they built Camden Yards. They’re in the process of deciding the particulars. The horseman are all up in arms because they want to turn the track sideways from where it is now. The Preakness isn’t going anywhere. I’m sure Stronach isn’t considering walking away from a new track…

All I can say about Pimlico being rebuilt is... I'll believe it when I see it. To these eyes they'll just keep kicking that can down the road until the building collapses on its own.  They already condemned part of it!

Wasn't this work supposed to have started a year ago?  I went to this year's Preakness, same shit as the last time I went (which was 2015!) but this time they finally gave up on the wonky elevator and they had this construction elevator on the side of the building to gain access to the press box on the roof....

If they want to be pro-active (HA!) they should go on and install Tapeta on it if/when it's realigned.  Might as well if the eventual plan is to close Laurel. Hell, to save money just put Golden Gate's Tapeta material on trucks or trains and ship it out to Maryland!

Oh yes $300M is nothing. It costs upwards of $1B for any new stadium these days.   They'll still cry poor as the excuse.

What Winter is talking about is true. New York refused to put synthetics on their tracks. Maybe what Casner is saying about them not having the money is part of it. DRF which is connected to the hip with New York Racing was and is still totally against it. I think the best hope for synthetics is for there to be 3 surfaces at all the major tracks and eventually synthetics become the chosen surface over dirt. If you put synthetics at our major tracks dirt slowly becomes the outlier in the world of racing. 

The state of Maryland wanted to give the tracks a casino license 25 years ago. Joe DeFrancis Jr sold the tracks to Stronach with the agreement he would keep the casino. The state didn’t like this because the idea behind the legislation was the tracks could use the money how they chose to make improvements. Separating the money would change that. This was an easy way for the legislature to pass the bill because gambling was already the business at the tracks. Now they had to start over and the difficult hurdle to overcome was nobody wanted a casino in their district. One casino was built immediately near Laurel. It took awhile to approve the other two, but they had to be built. Here we are 25 years later the money the state tried to provide 20 years earlier is there. Racing can thank Joe DeFrancis Jr for that. I’m sure if Stronach was aware that separating the money would cause that, he wouldn’t have made the deal. On top of that the state put legislation forward that kept Joe DeFrancis from purchasing the tracks back when Stronach went into bankruptcy. He can thank the state of Maryland for still having the tracks. 

Stronach decided he wants all the money to go to Pimlico. The land at Laurel is worth big money for development because it’s equal distances to Baltimore and Washington DC on 95. 
 

https://mdstad.com/redevelopment-pimlico-racing-and-laurel-park-racing-facilities