JC / Railbird

Track Notes Archive

Requiem for a Pea Patch

I first visited Ellis Park in August 2002, and it instantly became one of my favorite racing venues.
I offer the following, written in advance of the 2005 meet, as my obituary to a truly great place to watch the races: A salute to the Pea Patch.

Posted in Track Notes on July 3, 2008

Rush to Synthetics

I doubt it’ll surprise any regular readers that I’m pro-synthetics: Both Cushion Track and Polytrack have so far proved safer for horses than dirt at every track they’ve been installed, and I like the handicapping wrinkles synths introduce. But commenter JS makes a great point here that tracks are rushing to implement the surfaces without adequate review, especially since it’s become apparent that synthetics aren’t flawlessly fair and maintenance free. Hollywood’s Cushion Track came in for criticism this spring for changing consistency and causing soreness in horses as the wax coating wore away (DRF+) and Polytrack has demonstrated problems related to weather (LATG).

Now that Cushion Track and Polytrack have been installed in a number of tracks with varying climate and racing conditions, it wouldn’t hurt to slow down the synthetic revolution, collect some data, observe how the tracks change over time, and maybe focus on some of the other factors that contribute to injuries and breakdowns in racehorses.

JS notes a lack of turn-out time — year-round racing means year-round training for most horses — but an even bigger problem may be the rampant use of steroids. Trainer Michael Dickinson estimated that 95% of racehorses are on steroids during a Horseplayers Expo panel and there’s little evidence to contradict him. Steroids apologists point to the drugs’ many therapeutic uses (NY Daily News), yet that’s not how steroids are used on the backstretch — 95% of American racehorses are not off their feed. Rather, unraced two-year-olds as well as seasoned campaigners are given steroids long-term to build and maintain muscle mass, just like human athletes, and like humans, the practice makes horses more susceptible to joint and bone injuries. Synthetics may mitigate that susceptibility somewhat, but the surfaces aren’t a total answer to breakdowns.

Posted in Track Notes on August 5, 2007

Scheinman at Pimlico

A video treat, via Baloo of the Bug Boys:

Posted in Track Notes, Video on July 31, 2007

Cushion Track Praise

Southern California trainers are praising Santa Anita’s decision to install Cushion Track in time for the Oak Tree meet:

“It will add some consistency that the two Los Angeles tracks have the same surface,” trainer John Sadler said. “Guys can train where they want to train. I think it’s a positive step.” … “I think most people are happy with the decision,” said Ed Halpern, executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers. “It’s better for the handicappers. Hopefully, with the surface, we’ll see an increase in the horse population over time.” (DRF)

It will be nice to have a somewhat consistent surface in SoCal, especially one that seems to play as fair as Hollywood’s Cushion Track, which hasn’t attracted the same sort of hand-wringing as Keeneland’s Polytrack surface.

Here’s what I like about synthetic surfaces, in addition to their apparent increased safety: Polytrack and Cushion Track let the true pace of a race play out. Horses with early speed, capable of outrunning rivals in every quarter, continue to win, just as they do on dirt tracks. But horses with early speed and no late kick or additional gears aren’t buoyed along in the stretch as they can be on a speed favoring dirt track (see: Pimlico, 5/19). The stalkers and closers can run their races. As a friend emailed the other day, “the advent of artificial tracks is going to make pace handicapping more relevant than ever.” It also makes class a significant factor again. After more than 25 years of speed dominance, that makes for some welcome changes in the handicapping game.

Posted in Track Notes on May 25, 2007