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Sure I get that, but at least there would have been some racing and Connections would have had an option rather than be told to go home.

Fantastic so some of you are in "I told you so" mode.  I guess they have been saying it for the last 20 years that Awapuni has had problems? Those who let this gradual degradation of our tracks to happen over the last 20 plus years.  I don't blame the under resourced track managers over that time at all.  Where were these experts that you refer to demanding that tracks were maintained adequately?  How often do these trainers renovate their day paddocks? That's reactive and only an incompetant CEO would have gone down that path without the full information being available.  To do otherwise could have opened a whole raft of litigation. So you want blood - you want heads to roll of the very people that have attempted to fix the mess that took decades of neglect to occur.  Those calling for blood seem to have very short memories and conveniently forget the part they played.   Remember the Awapuni meetings abandoned in 2010, 2015 (The Kevin Morton vs RIU Case), 2017 and others?  Be greatful that finally they are trying to do something to fix the problems and spending nearly $6m to do it.

This is a pic of the chimp that adds finishing order of horses on Trackside as they cross the line…. Sadly, he is 108 yrs old and 90% blind due to excessive banana eating which caused diabetes, he also has many other health issues.    Can Trackside please send him away on a well earned break, and maybe employ somebody with basic skills that can place 3 horses in finishing order as they cross the line…. how hard can it be??

Some wondered if the safety limit of 12 was in place for that very reason. Who knows how many would have scratched if that option was put up?  There would have been horses entered that would never have been on one.

Was there any reason why the AWT at Awapuni was not used for the est of the minor card at least. Wasnt that one of the selling points of the things. I understand there was a reasonable crowd there. Doesnt exactly entice them back for a day out does it. I understand there may have to be prep done on the track but surely it wouldn't be too hard to have it ready prior to the day.

Normandy Coast (Omaha Beach), winner of a rained-off renewal of the Listed Palisades Stakes at Keeneland on Apr. 6, was hammered down to owner Steven Judy for a final bid of $355,000 to top Friday's single-session Keeneland April Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale. The auction took place following the conclusion of the final day of racing at the adjacent racetrack. A $60,000 purchase out of the 2023 Fasig-Tipton October Sale, Normandy Coast raced for Red Gate Racing and was trained by Eddie Kenneally to three wins from his five starts to date. After breaking his maiden at second asking at Ellis Park last July, he went missing and picked up where he left off with a neck success in Fair Grounds allowance company Jan. 11. Eased home in the GIII Gotham Stakes Mar. 1, he rebounded in no uncertain terms in the Palisades, striking from close range and relishing the sloppy underfoot conditions en route to a 3 1/2-length victory (video) for trainer Eddie Kenneally and owner Red Gate Racing. Kenneally Racing consigned the colt to the sale as hip 80. “Eddie is going to stay in; bought him for a friend of mine that's newer to the business,” said Donald Wells, agent for Judy's Four Sons Stable, who signed the ticket. “We are going to run on Wednesday at Churchill Downs (in the $300,000 William Walker Stakes for 3-year-olds racing 5 1/2 furlongs on turf). He has already been entered.”     The conditioner was pleased with the results. “I think there's a lot of eyes on the races at Keeneland, and if you're fortunate enough to run well in any race, let alone a stakes race here, everybody notices,” Kenneally said. “So it's a good platform, and it's a good place to showcase a horse, especially a good horse like this. And I think the timing of the sale is ideal, too, with Churchill coming up, a lot of people in town for Derby Week. It's just a good fit for me because we run a lot of horses at Keeneland, we're stabled here, and it all worked out good.”       Also bringing current form into the HORA sale was Tough Critic (Caravaggio), who ran down the heavily favored Longshoreman (Midshipman) to graduate at first asking in a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint on the afternoon of Apr. 24 (video). Added to the sale just Friday morning, the New York-bred colt–the final lot offered as hip 89–was knocked down to George Weaver, agent, for $350,000. Weaver saddled the colt to victory on Thursday for John Goldthorpe's Dew Sweepers LLC. Weaver's assistant Blair Golen signed the ticket. “I have always liked this horse since we have had him,” Golen said. “He's matured and grown up so much. He showed on the track (in winning his career debut at Keeneland a day earlier). There is Ascot (in England) and that is a lovely place to go and we have a string in New York. He'd be very competitive at Saratoga. He's a cool horse.” Weaver won the 2023 G2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot with Crimson Advocate (Nyquist). On behalf of Paramount Sales, the consignment's Lesley Campion said: “We were thrilled to consign this colt. The move he made (in winning his career debut) was phenomenal. I feel we are selling a lot of 'blue skies,' and he is loaded with potential. Going forward, they can have all the fun in the world at Royal Ascot and Saratoga, and you have the New York-bred program for him.” Campion said Paramount consigns horses for former owner Dew Sweepers, explaining: “It is part of their business plan to race and sell.”       Brad Weisbord and Liz Crow's ELiTE Sales sold 23 horses for $1.885 million to lead in both categories, and the draft was topped by three horses that fetched prices in excess of $200,000. Offered on behalf of Phil and Christine Hatfield's CHP Racing, hip 40, the 4-year-old colt Clever Mischief (Into Mischief) was purchased by Team Adams Racing's Tracy Adams for $220,000. The son of Suraya (Tiznow) most recently took his record to 2-3-0 from six starts with a last-lunge allowance success over the Gulfstream turf course Mar. 1 for trainer Chad Brown. His year-younger half-sister Lady Authentic (Authentic) sold later in the session for $37,000. “That's the one we wanted,” Adams said. “We've got our trainer (Dana Hancock) with us. I've got my co-owner (Sal Perito here), so they're the ones that really take care of this whole thing. So when they tell me when (to bid on a horse), that's what I go by.” Marquee Bloodstock paid $200,000 for 4-year-old 'TDN Rising Star' Speak Easy (Constitution, hip 17) while owner Michael Dubb went to the same amount for the 4-year-old colt Exploration (Curlin), winner of two straight, including a Laurel allowance Mar. 1. A total of 44 horses were reported as sold for gross receipts of $3,884,000. The average was $88,273, while the median settled at $65,000. “This sale was a lovely complement to the race meet,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “Everyone here tonight was having fun, and there was a buzz around the grounds. The energy from the race day rolled down the hill from the race track to the Sales Pavilion, and we look forward to even more excitement when we open our new venues.” Added Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach: “Trade tonight was solid and the median was more comparable to the April Sales of 2022 and 2023. The horses were well received and most of all them sold through the ring.” For full results, please visit www.keeneland.com. The post Recent Stakes Winner Normandy Coast Tops Keeneland HORA Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Chief, some of us have said there were problems no one wanted to know about.  Now the disastrous cancellation of races has resulted you seem to be demeaning our comments and saying we shouldn't blame track management. Who do you think should shoulder the blame then? You asked what could the CEO have said? The only decent thing to do is cancel a contract or two and then resign.

First-time rider on the track, Kate Hercock, was equally impressed. “The track is lovely, it’s very consistent all over.” Well, that blows my info out the window.  If the riders can't tell it like it is every time and decide to tell the masses what they want to hear, they lose credibility when coming out at a later date with criticism. "reports from nameless trainers and Jockeys about the trials." It would be unfair to give names from conversations to have their words and character pulled to shreds on here.    

You heard the murmurs close to the ground as did I.  Without playing the blame game, where was any foresight?