Well, I had thunderboomers all day yesterday, off and on. Every time I thought they were gone and I fired the ole puter back up - BOOM - out of nowhere. Had to get off again.
Yeah, I wondered what everybody would think of that little "tidbit." I'm going to have to go by *their word* on it, since I don't have the tape to slow down and rewind and so forth.
Right off hand, it's hard for me to picture Brother Derek's *right* front leg hitting Barbaro's *right* hind leg. He'd have to have been right up B's you-know-what, it would seem. But I suppose if it were extended, as they said, and the left was back and B's right was extended back, that must be how it could have happened.
I felt all along that something had happened in a "micro" way before the first major snap. This could have been the tiny "micro" nick, if they think they saw it and claim that Barbaro responded to it slightly.
I hate to put that onto someone else - Bro Derek (lol, I just "got that" - Bro Derek, like Bo Derek) or his jockey. I wonder what they think about the statement or if they could see it by extensive review. It's neither here nor there, but it would make me feel a "teensy tinsy" bit better to think it wasn't some out-of-left-field inherent weakness of B's bone structure that contributed to the massive fracture.
Two more "tidbits" today:
.Barbaro got a bath and loved it!
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5/31/2006
Barbaro eating, feeling good
Dr. Dean Richardson said he is continuing his daily assessment of Barbaro's cast on his right hind leg and that the Kentucky Derby winner's appetite and vital signs remain good.
"The new excitement for the day was that he got a bath. Today he got a good soaping, and he loved it," said Corinne Sweeney, executive director at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.
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And the AP story excerpts:
Posted on Thu, Jun. 01, 2006
Barbaro's training center to get synthetic surface
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Fair Hill Training Center where Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro trained will install a synthetic track.
The injury to Barbaro, who shattered his right hind leg at the start of the Preakness, has renewed debate over whether synthetic tracks would reduce the number of injuries.
....
Usually made of wax-coated sand, fibers and rubber, synthetic surfaces have been used for years at several tracks in England, and they are starting to gain popularity in the United States.
Sally Goswell, manager of the Fair Hill Training Center, said yesterday that the center will replace its wood-chip track this summer with a Tapeta surface developed at trainer Michael Dickinson's farm in nearby North East, Md.
"Over the years, our wood-chip track has served us well as an 'alternative' training surface, however it is seasonal, i.e. it freezes solid in the winter," Goswell said.
"We are confident that Tapeta is the best synthetic surface available to meet our needs from both a safety perspective and maintenance perspective."
.....
Turfway Park, in Florence, already has installed Polytrack.
~~~~~~~~
>>>Part of that story was about the California Racing Board making synthetic surfaces mandatory by next year for the race tracks themselves.
Everything I've read has indicated that Polytrack is the surface that will be used. There doesn't seem to be any discussion of other surfacing materials for California.
I'm a little skeptical about this, even though I don't have a horse in this race or a dog in this hunt, lol. Some horse owners and trainers have said that the Polytrack material - which is wax coated sand, rubber (from recycled tires, I believe) and other fibers - may be causing some respiratory problems for the horses breathing it.
That might just be sour grapes or something, but I will be very interested in following this progress. I did some PR writing work for an artificial surface that debuted in the US over 15 years ago on a new track near my home then. I moved away that same year and had not kept tabs on it.
When this came up with Barbaro and people again talking about synthetic surfaces, I looked around to find out about that one I knew - because the drainage system to me was the most fascinating part of it.
Well, turns out it didn't work out very well and the track in OKC - Remington Park - returned the surface to turf 2-3 years later, due to horse owners' demands. I hope it wasn't because of horses running more slowly on it - not being able to set new records - but I haven't investigated it too much further.