Track Season!!! ARG!!!!

[Mayonnaise]

Can I just say (and I'm sure I won't get any sympathy from the CMs or the Park area Locals, because you guys deal with this stuff all year long with Disney,) that I HATE TRACK SEASON.

I know... I know it's a major source of revenue for Saratoga... I know there's a ton of jobs off it and all that... but the city wasn't built for this many tourist!!!! The roadways are so congested it takes me an hour to reach I-87 going home... that ususaly takes TEN MINUTES!!!! And then, if you please, whomever is in charge of traffic light programming, changes all the light patterns to admit the most people possible, while sitting you at a red light for 10 minutes outbound. Oh yes, it's criticaly important that the people staying in the hotels along route 9 can get into town for the nightlife. THEY CAN'T COME IN TILL WE GET OUT YA JERK!!!! There isn't enough ROAD. Just let the semi-locals GO HOME and THEN you can bring in all the tourists you want!!!! I say semi-locals, because if you're local local, then you can probably walk home and avoid all the roads. Your rent is also probably thru the roof. Most of the people who work in Saratoga, commute, like myself. It's a small town full of overpriced apartments, luxury condos and houses like small mansions that are only occupied in the summer by snooty women with tiny dogs who cut in front of you at the Bruggers Bagles, because they have a race to catch, and they forget that people are actualy trying to LIVE and WORK here, and some of us have a limited lunch break and are therefore in every bit as much of a rush as they are.

My only consolation is that, as a commuter, I don't have to be there on the weekends. I stay the HELL out of town on weekends.

</vent>

8^S

[dazyhill]

Wow I didn't know it got that bad during the Saratoga meet. I have always wanted to go there. I'm lucky if I can get to Santa Anita (and haven't for about two years).
I wonder how packed it gets in Del Mar during their race meet.
And for those completely in the dark, these are all horse racing tracks. :horse3:

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Won't it be over soon? and then the winners go on to the olympics?

besides, all those runners usually just go in circles, except for cross country, of course.

[felinefan]

And the losers end up in dog food--or worse.

[dazyhill]

Won't it be over soon? and then the winners go on to the olympics?

besides, all those runners usually just go in circles, except for cross country, of course.

No they don't. :) Thoroughbred racing is worlds away from the equestrian events that take place during the Olympics.
There is Dressage, in which horse and rider compete in a large arena and perform patterns in which they walk,trot and canter. Horse and rider are judged by how well they work in sync with each other. It's lovely to watch,but slow going. As someone in the horse movie "Slyvester" put it, "'It's called Dressage. It's like watching cement sit.'"
Cross Country is just that. Horse and rider must navigate a demanding course of jumps over cliffs,through water, etc. This takes a horse and rider with nerves of steel. It is one of the most dangerous Olympic sports in my opinion.
Show Jumping is when the horse and rider complete a pattern of jumps in an enclosed arena. The jumps can be quite difficult, but it is truly amazing to watch a great horse sail over what looks to be an impossible jump.
There is also a riding component to the Modern Pentathlon. Competitors are supplied a horse and complete a cross country course. I am not sure if the Pentathlon is even held any more. It is an old military exercise.
Thoroughbred horses are used by some riders, but most riders prefer European breeds such as the Dutch Warmblood and the Holsteiner (A German breed).
Some of the best Olympic horses were ex-racehorses. Touch of Class (1984) and Snowbound (1968) are two examples.
For the Beijing Olympics, the equestrian events will be held in Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Jockey Club racetrack. According to one US Equestrian official , the track is like Disneyland for horses. The facilities are world class.
Good luck trying to see any of the equestrian coverage. NBC does the worst job of covering these events (and not much better on the rest). You would think the only sport on which men and woman compete on equal levels would garner more attention. :mad:

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

No they don't. :) Thoroughbred racing is worlds away from the equestrian events that take place during the Olympics.
--REDACTED FOR BREVERITY--
Good luck trying to see any of the equestrian coverage. NBC does the worst job of covering these events (and not much better on the rest). You would think the only sport on which men and woman compete on equal levels would garner more attention. :mad:

Unn, I know, you see I was making a joke that I thought you were referring to HUMANS running in track and field events, and thus move on to the Olympics.

And my opinion of the horsey events, is that it is a good example of being able to control a horse, but I don't see it as an athletic event that should be in the olympics. To me, it is an example of a rather elite event, in which only someone that can have access to a VERY expensive horse can "compete"

Really dosn't show individual athletic prowess except in being able to control a horse.

And no, I'm not anti-horse, I just don't think something like that belongs there.

[Zazu]

And the losers end up in dog food--or worse.

Worse?!? You don't mean... they get sent to WDW where they have to give rides to Stupid Guests? Oh, the humanity... and the stupidity!

[felinefan]

They end up pulling the stagecoaches at Knott's. THAT would be a fate worse than death (though the horses are well-cared for; it's just the stupid managment that's destroying the place).

[dazyhill]

They end up pulling the stagecoaches at Knott's. THAT would be a fate worse than death (though the horses are well-cared for; it's just the stupid managment that's destroying the place).

Knott's seems to take good care of the horses,but I wish they would install a mister at the loading dock that would help keep the horses cool during the hot days. I rode the stagecoach last September in what felt like 100+ degree heat (we had high humidity which made it worse.). The horses were covered in sweat. They should have pulled the horses off.
I think most of the horses are ex-racers,though I think I've seen a few Arabian horses in the teams too. Better than being sent to slaughter.

[BRWombat]

... I wish they would install a mister at the loading dock that would help keep the horses cool during the hot days....

Not to be feminist and all, but why a mister? Couldn't a missus do the job just as well??? ;) :D: