Polytrack good or bad???

[Rudy]

Todays Tampa Bay Downs Morning Glory featured Merrill Scherer a trainer from Louisiana.He is at this Florida track for the first time. His record is 33 / 9 / 3 / 4
starters/wins/places/shows..not shabby...The question came up about the polytrack at Turfway Park..apparently the rubber or soil is coming up higher when the horses run, which is not supposed to happen...with this new surface.He was not to high on this surface.. While it seems to have no bias..it would be interesting to hear from trainers and jockeys about this since Keeneland and probably the California tracks are changing to it...We really need to know the pro's and cons...While it appears to be better on lessening tragic accidents and easier on horses there may be some downs sides,,,especially if the material is flying up in the air bruising the followers...Need more info????????????

[deltasports]

I Don't Like It..its Good To Train On But The Racing Strip Should Be Dirt,sand,clay Etc.

I Know That Andy Beyer Would Agree With Me..

[satisfyingwager]

I read Beyer's article. I thought he sounded like a degenerate.

Polytrack's future should be decided by the horsemen and jockeys - not the track for maintainance purposes or bettors (like Beyer) who want to hold onto wagering angles.

It should be what is best for the horses and jockeys. (in a perfect world)

[ken]

Google "all-weather track England" and you will get some info from there.
IMO for connections, horse, bettors it just takes some getting used to.
I will do well there because my methods are varied and I am a bit of a handicapping contrarian. I will study the charts and play off others' rumors, suspicions, conjecture.

[Rudy]

Ken, Just finished a little bit of study on Polytrack...I wish there were jockey comments a friend of mine who is pretty close with Willie Martinez says he doesn't like it... I have to wonder how it would be to run on a hot day rubber can get quite hot....I wonder if the powers to be have thought about all of this...? Apparently it can be blended differently....Goodyear or Pirelli just joking about the mixture but I'm still not convinced.....They say there have been less breakdowns..perhaps we have more astute vets?? They say handle is 82% up at Turfway..yea they haven't had to cancel but one day and that was due to driving to the track weather not the track itself...gotta get some help from some jockeys on this???

[ken]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=polytrack&btnG=Search.
Go there for the USA maker; English stats.
The weather cancellation was due to driving conditions getting to the track I believe.
Freezing tempuratures can cause the track to harden enough for wire-to-wire winners.
Tires heating up besides being black tires, are harder rubber and may have steel inside and are being driven on pavement and have friction-causing tread.
Willie may not like it much but there are other circuits running for him! It will be interesting to hear if first call riders will try to get on previous Polytrack winners!gah;

[Mister Sanderson]

I made a comment on here a few weeks ago concerning the polytrack at Turfway Park. From what I saw (which was around 30 full cards), not once did I see a breakdown in that time. That is either directly attributed to the track surface or a very freak occurrence. I choose to think its more associated with the first option. I do think that some horses don't like the surface, but the overall health of the animal seems to be "very good" in terms of running on this surface. Therefore, that's all that matters to me, the bettors' will adjust; and as time passes, we as bettors, will get a better idea of what types of horses respond on this surface and be able to incorporate it into handicapping just like horses trying any new surface for the first time. Just like Dynaformer throws great turf runners, we will find soon which sires produce horses who will excel on the poly-surface. It will just take time, and patience. bc(

[ken]

Tbreds are raised on grass and trained on dirt- I'm not surpeised a few do not like the feel of the new footing. Does age of the horse make a difference? Maybe older are used to a vaiety pf surfaces and track conditions and would not be bothered as much.
McPeek will be my first of "trainers for courses"!

[trifecta mark]

I am all for a surface that helps protect the animal and rider...I just hate seeing that dust/debris bounce up and flying in the faces of the midpack and late runners. Anyone who watches races at Turfway has seen it. It looks terrible and can't be good for horses to get that stuff in their eyes/nostrils. Wonder if they can water it down or get a different mixture that eliminates the problem? It is nice that racing is less apt to be cancelled to to incliment weather. A little surprized that the California racing board has mandated it for the near future though. Pretty radical for board that can't agree on drug testing. Rather than have them all the same....I think thay should leave DelMar alone. They certainly don't get harsh weather during that meet. Only thing on ice are the cocktails.

[RJ Racing]

This thing of dust and dirt flying up in horses faces. I wonder what is happening to the horses sucking in this rubberized mixture.
Ron

[ken]

Regular sand and dirt retains water and holds it down- rubber and fiber not as much. But I'm not a chemist.
All racing entities are geared toward breeders and owners- CHRB now has no choice but to try and protect horses' legs. There is always meds for lung problems- and most horses only run a couple of years.
If you are concerned about lung problems you should google about England's ujse of fake turf.

[Rez]

Sucking that stuff up into the lungs cannot be good for the horse or riders for that matter.

Peone Stablesbc(

[ken]

"Downsides
Pendgergest says, “There is more kickback at Turfway Park than we expected, but very little on other installations. What we have seen at Turfway is that horses are winning from everywhere; they’re winning on the lead, stalking positions and coming from behind, so the kick back is not affecting them. The state vet at Turfway tells us that they are not ingesting it. They may have some in their nostrils, but any of the horses that have been scoped have not come up with any of it in their lungs. Horses probably don’t need toe grabs on it, and that may be part of the kickback at Turfway Park; a lot of the horses still have toe grabs on. Their feet don’t slide like on a regular track surface.” In England, the jockeys say there is no kickback, but toe grabs are banned in that country."