TexSquared said:

“If they keep running horses, Churchill Downs and the Authority are flying blind,” added Pacelle. “There are no easy answers or simple fixes, but the key stakeholders must look for causes in early-age racing, track surfaces, breeding of horses for speed rather than soundness, illegal doping, and insufficient screening of unfit horses slated for competition.”

Here's where this outfit betrays their true purpose - to shut down racing until the whole laundry list mentioned above is addressed.  That's like asking for a permanent shutdown, IMO.

However, I think it would be very smart for CDI to suspend racing only while the track itself is under analysis.  if it is deemed safe, even after some needed work, then resume.  

The other points made by the wellness people will take months and months to resolve.  It took decades to get to this point.  We don't get a free pass to perfect racing overnight.  Even those of us who are hardline safety and welfare people understand that.

The wellness deal is too extreme.

Churchill Downs had a safe track to run on -- Arlington -- but closed it down and sold it to the Chicago Bears.   

I know it'll never happen but an easy, temporary solution would be to scrape off the Polytrack from Arlington (if it hasn't been removed and disposed already) and lay it down at Churchill.  Scrape Churchill down to the hard base, put Poly on top, race on that. Churchill drains fast anyway (apparently it's because the track sits on former swampland that dried years ago) so they won't even need to build the drainage system.

Agree with you on the PETArds there.  If there are no easy answers or simple fixes, that means the only way to fix it is to not race for who knows how long until the answers are found and implemented.  Which could mean years.   And to satisfy these people, they'd want to see ZERO injuries, which is unrealistic and impossible. 

This isn't like Maryland where they knew the meet would be going to Pimlico in a few weeks so it was easy to just shut down Laurel until the move.  I guess they COULD shut down CD for most of June and move part of the meet, including the Stephen Foster card, over to Ellis Park (which they also own) which is scheduled to start July 7.  But I'm not expecting that to happen.

Common sense says cancel the racing cards Check and highlight needed track fixes

and at the same time start with the last Sentence in the article :

 Churchill Downs and the Authority are flying blind,” added Pacelle. “There are no easy answers or simple fixes, but the key stakeholders must look for causes in early-age racing, track surfaces, breeding of horses for speed rather than soundness, illegal doping, and insufficient screening of unfit horses slated for competition.”

We need a change to all Of the above and SUFFIENT screening of unfit horses slated for competition.”
WHO WOULD THAT BE , NOT ONE OR TWO GUYS AT EACH TRACK.
2!st CENTURYOF HIGH TECH including AI team at each Track.
I can see AI Horse ROBOTS Racing AND Gambling to save the T'BREDS from 2 Legged Earthlings.
that front Porches flickers every time they put money in the bank. 

;;

Even though I think CDI should suspend racing while the track is undergoing analysis, I think they will continue to race on it anyway.

CDI is all about the bottom line.  Otherwise, they would still be in the racing business and not just the casino business with a racing sidelight.

I used to joke about leaving the horses home and just race the Trakus chicklets, programmed to imitate horses running styles and times.  

Maybe I was ahead of my time?????

SameSteve G said:

I used to joke about leaving the horses home and just race the Trakus chicklets, programmed to imitate horses running styles and times.   Maybe I was ahead of my time?????

They already do that now with those "Historical Horse Race" machines... essentially slot machines that use thousands of old races rather than reels to decide the outcomes.

So I'm actually behind the times. 

More of the same talk to a new audience at this site. old Talk at a new place.

I drop links like this at new sites to catch ears and new eyeballs does anyone else

do that,

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/churchill-downs-adopts-safety-measures-213342419.html

That's a good thing to do, Rob.  This is the only horse racing site I visit but I always send info to my friends and post it here when I remember to do it.