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we here in the USA have seen to many of our best horses break down on hard dirt. Horses do not run on hard dirt they run on grass. That said cantering for 3/4 of the race (like they do in Europe) and then a sprint home kinda sucks too.

Management and structure of dirt tracks have a lot of room for improvement. None of them are banked adequately.

That said, dirt racing formerly was not as hard on horses as it is today, which I believe is due to poor training and legalized "medication". But North American-style dirt racing, with emphasis upon speed--there is no dawdling at any point in a race--produced a world-class horse that when exported in recent decades dominated bloodlines. (I include Northern Dancer--foaled in Canada)

The long-term solutions to safer racing?

1)Better surfaces. George Pratt at MIT was doing work on the interaction of horse and track 40 years ago. I don't know that anyone is applying that work to tracks today.

2)Drug-free racing, like the rest of the civilized racing world.

3)Application of technology to training. The tools are out there--heart-rate monitors, heat sensors, etc, but most American "trainers" don't use them. Using data to KNOW what the horse is doing physiologically not only enables training but can spare a breakdown.

4)Longer races. Many major stakes races have been shortened. If the races were restored to their earlier lengths, there would be opportunities for horses bred for such races to shine. The Jockey Club Gold Cup, now truncated to 1 1/4 miles, used to be a 2 mile race, and while it was that length, was won twice by Nashua's daughter Shuvee, running against males! Longer races also involve more strategy, with less dependent on the start or post position.

5)Two year old racing. Yes, it is counter-intuitive, but nevertheless true that horses raced at 2 stay sound longer than those raced later. During a critical part of bone formation, their bones are stressed such that they become stronger than those handled more gingerly. More longer 2 y o races at the end of the season would also be interesting; the BC Juvenile should be 1 1/8 miles, like the Remsen Stakes, frequently a key to the next year's best 3 y os.

California Chrome in fact made his first start at 2 on 29 April, and has been in training and racing ever since, without a break, without an injury. This is much more like the way horses used to be.

6)Wherever possible, avoid the stabling of horses at racetracks where the inevitably spend 23 hours of every day in a stall, which is boring and exposes them to dust. If they could be trained more as is done in Europe, where horses sometimes are ridden through streets to reach their gallops, spending plenty of time daily outside of stalls, they would have better attitudes. Having turn-outs available would be optimal--every horse needs a good roll in the mud or sand.