POLY SURFACE

[Pierre LP]

Polytrack is very versatile and it's racing properties with regard to kickback and speed can be easily manipulated by the track staff through rolling and harrowing.

The percentage of sand content is a major factor as to how it will ride with regard to speed. The level of wax/oil present affects the kickback.
The more it is harrowed the greater the kickback.

Apparently the company that supplied Wolverhampton were horrified when they were told how deep the track was being harrowed. The kickback can be worse than the fibresand at Southwell.

One of my horses ran at Wolverhampton twice in 10 days......on one of the two occaisions the horse didn't handle the surface due to the complete change in its properties due to excessive harrowing.

Wolverhampton's surface has a greater percentage of sand than Lingfield and Kempton as the conformation of the track required the surface to ride slower than the other two tracks

[Sysonby]

Here's the weather report from the National Weather service for this weekend in Southern California ( with bolding added for emphasis)

...HOT WEATHER EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND... ...AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS THROUGH WEDNESDAY...

HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL STRENGTHEN OVER THE SOUTHWEST STATES THROUGH THE WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES WILL INCREASE THROUGH SUNDAY...THEN DECREASE SLIGHTLY MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS HUMIDITIES INCREASE. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE HIGHEST OVER THE WEEKEND...GENERALLY 100 TO 105 DEGREES IN THE INLAND VALLEYS...105 TO 110 IN THE UPPER DESERTS AND AROUND 110 IN THE LOWER DESERTS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE BETWEEN 85 AND 95 IN THE COASTAL VALLEYS AND IN THE 70S AT THE BEACHES.

Santa Anita is in the inland San Gabriel Valley. Is this really the kind of weather Polytrack has faced in England or even at Turfway Park?

[louis finochio]

It would be wise to test the poly surface in Calif. climate first, and if it passes the test then the poly track should be installed.

If it fails the test then why spend 40 million for a surface that will not work in Calif.

[jellac]

when wax gets hot it melts as does rubber

But different waxes - and rubber compounds - have different melting points....some quite high. The petroleum refining industry and it's research chemists have worked for decades - and continue to do so - to refine the vairous properties of parafins (petroleum wax) and in conjunction with the rubber industry does the same sort of research/development with respect to synthetic rubbers. I've seen inflatable rubber seals lowered into oil well boreholes for testing purposes that operate at depths of great temperature - quite a bit above the 105 degrees predicted for the San Gabriel valley this weekend - and among highly corrosive materials/fluids/salts and coarse particles. Those inflatable rubber seals held up just fine - in fact could be come problematic to remove when the deflate function (after testing) failed to work. Then we had to go in with the drillbit and try to 'break up' the inflated rubber seal with diamond toothed drillbits. Sometimes even that didn't work so we'd add broken glass shards - from the nearest soda bottling faciltiy - to the drilling mud to add some 'grist' to our downhole milling operation. I think that in terms of the wax coating's properties longevity is the biggest concern under S. California, even Houston's climatic conditions. I do think that the particular wax used in S. California vs. other locales for Poly-Track will have to be taken under consideration as to it's inherent properties in order to be longterm successful.

The shallow harrowing and rolling vs. deep harrowing is a practice that will have to be adjusted to each locale and learned as it best applies as will the practice of regular watering in extremely hot and dry climates. Likewise the drainage system underlaying a track in soggin' wet to dampish and chill England may be counterproductive to a track in sunny southern California where less drainage is needed - but definitely needs to be there when it does rain.

Manure clean up shouldn't be that difficult - the horses don't drop manure that frequently on any track and it's usually over the same sweep of track between the entry from the Paddlock to the more typical gate positions, so a scheduled periodic manure pick up during the race program might even become a well cherished break like baseball's seventh inning stretch - or a means of inviting the crowd down from the stands for some direct involvement - like divot stomping at polo tournaments. As an example during the Great States Racing competition they held at Sam Houston a few years ago they had each of the tractors harrowing the track during breaks between races designated as representing each of the competing states with the respective state flags flying and made sort of a 'silly race' for fan enjoyment out of it while continuing to promote the event and re-dressing the track's surface. (The different "state" tractors changed their line-up position as the state's changed theirs point-count wise in the competition with each successive race's results.). You could even have 'clean up crew' kids - like the ball boys/girls of tennis, bat boys/girls of baseball, etc. who run out to scoop up the fresh deposited droppings before a race begins or immediately after the horses have run past/the race is finished. Remember one man's manure is another's precious feritlizer!

Frankly, though I am a fan of taking things under consideration before making broadscale investments - I think we need to keep in mind that overall the ability to signifigantly decrease breakdowns, career ending and career interrupting injuries, increasing the longevity of our equine athletes is well worth considering as an alternative to what we have now. P Val might also consider that the fewer horses that break down the fewer jockeys are killed or experience life-altering injuries - something that I'm also in favor of.

[Pierre LP]

I can't see any reason why a polytrack type surface cannot be produced to suit all climates, with a suitable management system to maintain the quality, but obviously a rigorous testing procedure should be put in place before large investments in complete tracks are made.

[louis finochio]

I remember years ago those eastern trainers wintered in Calif. and when spring came they shipped back east.

When the poly track is installed at every major racetrack, I wonder if those eastern outfits will again winter in Calif. I always heard the same comments from those eastern trainers, those Calif. track are too hard and I'll never come back again.

Now that every racetrack will be on the same playing field, those negative comments about those hard Calif. tracks will become a ghost from the past.

[Tucumcari]

Louis, I don't think that every major track WILL install it. I don't think it will get that far. It will get done at several tracks and training centers around the country, but what happens when horses training over the cusion-y, no resistance surface ship to a track that's deep. DOes fitness development of bone density and tissue strength translate from an easy, kind track to train on to a firmer, heavier surface.
For the Breeder's Cup last fall didn't Biancone remain at Turfway as long as possible prior to shipping to NY? How did those horses fair? I think it's something to look at, let alone the issue of the heat/wax combo. And the tractor drivers might balk at the idea of being poop scoopers... I can hear it now,"the main track is now closed for poop renovation..."
I don't think there has been a thorough enough study on the actual long term effects of inhaling inorganic substances to say definitively that there aren't any.
My prediction is that once Hollywood installs it, the barn area fills up with people and horses. Eager to train over it. But I think that the horses that train over it will be limited in their fitness level when they ship to Santa Anita (Oak Tree) to run. I think it will be a handicap. IMHO.

[Ole Timer]

If major tracks change to Poly then where do horses like Lawyer Ron
race ? He could not win on the turf or Poly but started his winning ways
on dirt.

Maybe people should start looking at the breeding programs and
start breeding for sounder horses.

[louis finochio]

The poly track will not make for sounder horses that come from families that inherit unsoundness from their ancestors.

The unsoundness and conformation faults will remain the same until the TB breeders weed their unsound and crooked individuals.

When these unsound individuals fail to hit the board, maybe those breeders will cull out their inferior bloodstock and move on to a better class of TB.

[Ole Timer]

The poly track will not make for sounder horses that come from families that inherit unsoundness from their ancestors.

The unsoundness and conformation faults will remain the same until the TB breeders weed their unsound and crooked individuals.

When these unsound individuals fail to hit the board, maybe those breeders will cull out their inferior bloodstock and move on to a better class of TB.

Would it be too much to hope that breeders will start culling and
trainers change their training methods instead of tracks changing their surfaces ?

[Shammy Davis]

After watching the Belmont meet for the last two days on TVG, I've been wondering how a polysurface will hold up to large amounts of water over a short period of time. I don't recall a situation like that a Keenland's recent spring meet.

[Barbaro06]

Speaking of rain, we received 1 inch of rain in 15 minutes here in Annapolis last night. No joke. The parking lot at Laurel Park was flooded...not sure how well the track held up.

[Shammy Davis]

RAIN! I'm sick of it. Washed out my lower pasture when the James River overflowed its banks. Washed out my drive. Mud everywhere. Can't walk a step without sinking 2 feet. I'm sick of it. And if I haven't got a belly full of it working in it, I sit down to watch the news and weather and what do they talk about: RAIN, RAIN, AND MORE RAIN!

[Tucumcari]

Have you started building an ARK yet?

[Pete]

Hi Folks,

Monicabee mentioned the Tapeta surface that Michael Dickenson developed. It hasn't had the degree of use that any race track surface would receive but the climate can be very balmy. It's the alternative material at this point but I don't know if any tracks have plans to use it.

Polytrack is the major player at this point and Pierre makes some excellent points and observations. There's likely to be a learning curve at each track based on maintenance. From reports that I've heard from (mainly) the UK it's less nuanced and more level playing field. I can do without the nuance (and will miss it) for the safety that it offers.

These surfaces are mandated by law in California (to be installed by 2007) and I believe Keeneland will switch to it soon as well. Turfway already has it installed as well as the Keeneland Training Track.

If you're a breeder I'd be very sensitive to the changes that become apparent from the racing on these surfaces and adjust my program to suit. Ignoring this change is sticking your head in the sand (quite literally .

Regards,

Pete