Comments on: Cushion Track Debacle

By: Doug A.

Doug A. — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:06:20 +0000

Well, so much for synthetic surfaces, eh, with the current break-downs
in Calif and Ky? I have seen it time and again, since the first Equi-track
fad of the 1990s where optimistic praise is heaped on such surfaces only for
the new surfaces to fail miserably with more and more use.

I swear as contradictory as it sounds, I think our thoroughbred tracks
are too deep with too much “cushion”. This type of going is hard to maintain
properly and is hard for a horse to maneuver in during a race. Hoof
break-over is difficult which can lead to all type of catastrophic injuries.
I mean, if you have actually led a horse to the paddock over a typical race
track, you know it is not easy going even for a human foot, let alone a
horse’s. It’s even worse in mud. I still remember taking horses over to the
paddock at Hawthorne and trying to step through the deep going. Ugh. I know,
I know—-on top of one, galloping or working one on a well manicured deep
track with plenty of cushion with no hoof sounds drifting up to the rider or
over to the watcing trainer is a magical and reassuring experience during a
ride, but is it really the way to go? I also say that though there is no
data gathered in the long ago past about break-downs which we can compare to
modern times, the old timers I have talked to seem to suggest break-downs
were far less a problem in their past than as now. Perhaps this is true and
perhaps this has to do with deeper modern track surfaces versus
characteristically less deep and harder tracks seen back in the old days,
particularly as seen in Fair racing.

I suspect a combination of deep surfaces and less training/racing of the
horse itself, is the cause of our current break-downs. If you start a colt
on a “hard” track from start to finish, bone does remodel to handle such a
surface. As anyone knows, if you take a horse that is conditioned in deep
going to a harder surface, most of the time, no problem, but you do the
opposite, take a horse use to being conditioned on a hard surface to a
deeper track, WATCH OUT! Also, look at the beauty of the turf! It has some
cushion with easy break-over of the hoof–emphasis on easy break-over!

By: brooklynbackstretch

brooklynbackstretch — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:42:05 +0000

Nice post on this complicated topic. I’ve been painted as a synthetic skeptic and post about this issue regularly, but my main concern has been the rush to adoption and the lack of any serious research on the benefits/drawbacks, rather than any hard opinion on synthetics vs. dirt. It seemed premature for the CHRB to mandate a complete overhaul of tracks before getting any hard data on surfaces.

As you pointed out, Lenny Shulman and his Blood-Horse colleagues did excellent work in their synthetics issue, and one of the most intriguing comments I read was the belief that re-doing the underlying track made more difference than whatever surface was put on top of it. Will be interesting to see what happens next at SA.

By: Dougefron

Dougefron — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:47:02 +0000

Has anyone in the Santa Anita Press Box even watched the racing up at Golden Gate? How many times in the short meet have you heard Michael Wrona saying a horse went wrong or had to be eased? I have been a casual watcher and it seems I have heard it at least 10 times…and I have seen at least 2 horse break down. The meet is very young at Golden Gate and with at least 2 breakdowns, what is going to happen when that track gets older. Ass seen at EVERY other synthetic racetrack, the longer it is in the more breakdowns occur. There were 5 alone at the last Keeneland meet on Polytrack. They had 1 meet with 5 breakdowns on the regular dirt surface. Del Mar was relatively spotless in the afternoon for the first few weeks, yet towards the end of the meet more and more breakdowns did occur. The wax surfaces can not withstand many foreign substances for a period of time before breaking down, for example horse and sometimes human bodily fluids. Its too bad Dick Shapiro had a hard on while mandating something that was barely researched, with most of the research coming from the companies who sell it. Talk about collusion! I am not a big fan of Bruce Headley but this is one topic he is spot on with. Sandy loam tracks have worked forever, Cushion track at Santa Anita lasted a few months.