Well we got through tonight and as it turned out, it wasn’t that bad. It rained about 2 feet this afternoon, and we knew the track and infield was going to be a mess. As and outrider, a muddy infield is tough because if you can’t get your footing, it could be a wreck waiting to happen. There is a lot of things going on after the horn blows that people don’t see, like if you have to check a horse (slow him down) or run hard just to keep up with him so you can swing into the saddle. When the infield is heavy, it is harder to keep up with the horse, or slow him down, or even jump on because of the mud. What can happen is if you get behind the horse and you try to pull on him to slow him down, he is going to go to the left, which is where the lead team of the barrel outside of you is going to be, so there might be a collision and I don’t have to tell you who is going to win that battle (it won’t be the outrider). That being said, the Stampede did a great job with that infield because it was a lot better than it used to be a few years ago. I remember one year when it was and 3 feet deep in that infield, it was up to your knees. As for the races, two of my outfits got hit with penalties last night, Luke Tournier got nailed with a 5 second interference call, and Chad Harden got 3 seconds in outriding penalties. Doug Irvine and Rae Croteau ran fast and clean so they are right where they want to be. I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow, it’s so much nicer when it is dry. Goodnight.
