TheLounge
02-15-2007, 12:46 AM
After spending years and years of battling developers and the city of San Mateo, Bay Meadows race track faces the real possibility of finally being shut down for good.
Not because developers have finally won their battle or the Friends of Bay Meadows finally went away. No, the venerable race track may see its days coming to an end because of the track itself. A mandate by the California Horse Racing Board requires all major thoroughbred tracks in the state to switch over to a synthetic track surface by the end of the year.
Bay Meadows, however, plans to file for a waiver to free it from the mandate.
“Bay Meadows is somewhat of a hybrid track as it is,” said Bay Meadows president Jack Liebau. “There is an argument that Bay Meadows is already a synthetic track. It’s already considered the best all-weather track in California. (The only difference is) synthetic tracks have a much more extensive drainage system.”
Liebau also said that Bay Meadows is already regarded in the horse-racing industry as being a very forgiving track for the horses, which is the main reason the CHRB decided to mandate the change — for the safety of the horses.
“I have every expectation that the CHRB will grant the waiver.”
The cost to change to a synthetic track — one that is composed of synthetic fibers and sand — is between $8 million and $10 million, Liebau said. If not for the tenuous future of the track, he said Bay Meadows would have no qualms about making the change.
I have no other experience than what I’ve seen at Bay Meadows, but I find it hard to believe that a synthetic track would be much better than what Bay Meadows offers. I’ve been on the track and the dirt is the consistency of powered sugar and is several inches deep. I also can’t imagine seeing a synthetic track being much more forgiving or make injuries any less likely. Let’s face it, when there are 1,200-pound animals running at full bore on ankles the size of a person’s wrist, the threat of injury is always something that has to be taken into account.
I hope the CHRB does grant the waiver. I’d hate to see Bay Meadows’ long battle to stay open come down to a plan that offers no concrete guarantees of safety.
Long live Bay Meadows.
***
When asked if getting a first-round bye in the playoffs is a positive or negative, most coaches say, “Ask me after the game,” Implying that it depends on whether the team wins or loses.
Coaches for the two girls’ soccer teams that have byes in the Central Coast Section playoffs — Carlmont’s Jim Kelly and Burlingame’s Phil DeRosa — said it doesn’t really matter to them. In fact, both would rather have the bye.
“The fact that we got a bye puts us in the quarterfinals,” DeRosa said. “Which is a reward for an outstanding season.”
Both coaches have been on both sides of the bye dilemma — both have played first-round games and won and both have had first-round byes and lost in the quarterfinals. Kelly, whose team is the two-time defending CCS Division champs, have had a first-round bye six of the last seven years. With that kind of experience, Kelly knows exactly how to prepare his squad.
“I like it. It gives me one more week to prepare my team,” Kelly said. “I can do a couple of different things. I can do more fitness-based training early in the week.”
He said he’ll also bring up several frosh-soph players and get some 11-on-11 scrimmages in as well.
DeRosa said his team’s bye is especially welcomed this year. The Panthers have battled injuries and sickness all season long and the extra week allows them to get that much healthier. Plus, it will have been only nine days since they finished Peninsula Athletic League play.
“Most of us (coaches) don’t like a long layoff,” DeRosa said. “But when you consider what the (Burlingame) boys face, they haven’t played in 14, 15 days.”
Either getting rested or forced to play a first-round game doesn’t matter, as far as DeRosa is concerned. Teams have to be ready to go when the whistle blows and it doesn’t matter if teams have had a day or a week off.
“We’ve played 22 games this year. If [the players] can’t get up to play a CCS game, we’re going to have troubles,” DeRosa said. “You have to have your ‘A’ game.”
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.
Not because developers have finally won their battle or the Friends of Bay Meadows finally went away. No, the venerable race track may see its days coming to an end because of the track itself. A mandate by the California Horse Racing Board requires all major thoroughbred tracks in the state to switch over to a synthetic track surface by the end of the year.
Bay Meadows, however, plans to file for a waiver to free it from the mandate.
“Bay Meadows is somewhat of a hybrid track as it is,” said Bay Meadows president Jack Liebau. “There is an argument that Bay Meadows is already a synthetic track. It’s already considered the best all-weather track in California. (The only difference is) synthetic tracks have a much more extensive drainage system.”
Liebau also said that Bay Meadows is already regarded in the horse-racing industry as being a very forgiving track for the horses, which is the main reason the CHRB decided to mandate the change — for the safety of the horses.
“I have every expectation that the CHRB will grant the waiver.”
The cost to change to a synthetic track — one that is composed of synthetic fibers and sand — is between $8 million and $10 million, Liebau said. If not for the tenuous future of the track, he said Bay Meadows would have no qualms about making the change.
I have no other experience than what I’ve seen at Bay Meadows, but I find it hard to believe that a synthetic track would be much better than what Bay Meadows offers. I’ve been on the track and the dirt is the consistency of powered sugar and is several inches deep. I also can’t imagine seeing a synthetic track being much more forgiving or make injuries any less likely. Let’s face it, when there are 1,200-pound animals running at full bore on ankles the size of a person’s wrist, the threat of injury is always something that has to be taken into account.
I hope the CHRB does grant the waiver. I’d hate to see Bay Meadows’ long battle to stay open come down to a plan that offers no concrete guarantees of safety.
Long live Bay Meadows.
***
When asked if getting a first-round bye in the playoffs is a positive or negative, most coaches say, “Ask me after the game,” Implying that it depends on whether the team wins or loses.
Coaches for the two girls’ soccer teams that have byes in the Central Coast Section playoffs — Carlmont’s Jim Kelly and Burlingame’s Phil DeRosa — said it doesn’t really matter to them. In fact, both would rather have the bye.
“The fact that we got a bye puts us in the quarterfinals,” DeRosa said. “Which is a reward for an outstanding season.”
Both coaches have been on both sides of the bye dilemma — both have played first-round games and won and both have had first-round byes and lost in the quarterfinals. Kelly, whose team is the two-time defending CCS Division champs, have had a first-round bye six of the last seven years. With that kind of experience, Kelly knows exactly how to prepare his squad.
“I like it. It gives me one more week to prepare my team,” Kelly said. “I can do a couple of different things. I can do more fitness-based training early in the week.”
He said he’ll also bring up several frosh-soph players and get some 11-on-11 scrimmages in as well.
DeRosa said his team’s bye is especially welcomed this year. The Panthers have battled injuries and sickness all season long and the extra week allows them to get that much healthier. Plus, it will have been only nine days since they finished Peninsula Athletic League play.
“Most of us (coaches) don’t like a long layoff,” DeRosa said. “But when you consider what the (Burlingame) boys face, they haven’t played in 14, 15 days.”
Either getting rested or forced to play a first-round game doesn’t matter, as far as DeRosa is concerned. Teams have to be ready to go when the whistle blows and it doesn’t matter if teams have had a day or a week off.
“We’ve played 22 games this year. If [the players] can’t get up to play a CCS game, we’re going to have troubles,” DeRosa said. “You have to have your ‘A’ game.”
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117. What do you think of this column? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.