Joe Harper (President of Del Mar) Responds

Joe Harper (President and General Manager of Del Mar race Track) Responds tocampaigningforbarbaro.com about the Joysey Jeff incident.

Thank you for taking the time to write to me about the breakdowns. Believe me, we are as upset as anyone with this rash of injuries. J.J.'s trainer said afterwards that the track wasn't at fault and that he just took a bad step. The ambulance was dispatched within seconds of the horse being injured but the wet ground made it impossible to drive up the slope to the grass track. A splint was applied and the horse was taken to the ambulance. Not what we wanted to happen but it was the only way to get the horse into the ambulance. We have since figured out a way to solve that problem. A hard lesson to learn for all of us. I wish I could put my finger on any one reason but to tell you the truth there are many factors. Prior injuries that have gone unnoticed. We are seeing evidence of this in studying the legs of horses that have been euthanized at all the California tracks over the years. The noted columnist, Andy Beyer, recently wrote an article that spoke of a breeding industry that bred more for speed than endurance. The number of racing days. Too many in my opinion. Overcrowding on Del Mar's stable area. This puts a very large number of horses on the track in the morning. Especially after the renovations. The horsemen are cooperating and spreading out their works. Too many sore horses.....This, in my opinion, is the #1 reason. Our vets check every horse that is entered. This is done in the morning. They look at past performances and check x-rays if available. They take the horse out of the stall and check his legs. If there is any doubt about the soundness of the horse it is scratched. And we are doing this with three vet this year instead of the usual two. The new synthetic track that we will put in for next year's meet will go a long way to solving many of these problems. It is a very forgiving track. The breakdowns are greatly reduced where this product has been in operation. I hope this answers a few of your concerns. Please know that no one cares more about the well being of the horses than the crew of people we have working here. - Joe Haper