Funny, Considering the Number of Entries I Thought He Retired Years Ago

[Riot]

Frankly, a great deal of things were said about synthetic surfaces when they were introduced to racing that have been proven to be completely untrue. And, this is in just the first couple of years.

First, I think that one has to separate out the rumored promises and public discussion of synthetic surfaces ("they said no injuries, but a horse broke down and died", etc) with what the manufacturer's have actually maintained about them. Those opinions and statements we read are rarely one and the same.

Additionally I think it's important not to forget that synthetic surfaces were all developed based upon the physics we know about what can contribute to injury in the racehorse, in an attempt to mitigate those factors we can control.

As an aside, Dickinson is the only trainer I have ever seen that has made the following type of blanket statement (this is on his web site, referencing the Tapeta surface he uses on his farm):

"Dickinson is so confident of the surface that if a horse has a chip, fracture, or quarter crack while in training at Tapeta (TM) Farm, he will pay for the surgery to be done at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center."

I've never seen any trainer, no matter where he is training, make a statement even remotely like that about the horses in his care.

If the Tapeta surface was so kind to horses how come Mr. Dickinson's horses make less starts overall than any other trainer's horses on the entire planet?

I haven't a clue. Are the horses not starting due to injury?