Polytrack and breeding/stallions

[CS]

For the breeders on the board, I have a question. With the advent of Polytrack at all major California tracks, Turfway, Keeneland and Woodbine (to start) will you be changing your stallion selections? I am curious if the breed-to-race market will favor turfy sires more and if the commercial market will start to breed a horse that can run on any surface. Thoughts?

[Denise]

I think the breeding to sell market will continue to put its mystifying emphasis on precocious speed-siring stallions and their get.
Those of us who do breed on a much smaller basis, and predominantly to race what we breed rather than sell, will continue to focus on good "fits" for our mares, i.e., size matching, outcrossing and appropriate inbreeding and linebreeding, irrespective of their dirt or turf, or now Polytrack propensity.
I think "fit" horses can run on Poly. Many turfers are trained with a focus on fitness rather than all-out sprinting speed. Poly is very tiring on sprinters used to running on concrete, baked out ovals.

[louis finochio]

At those racetracks that have PT, is the speed holding wire to wire or is the speed stopping and those stretch runners are holding the aces?

[mikec]

From what I've seen it would appear that it's fair for both front runners & closers.

[louis finochio]

Hollywood Pk. fall meet will be the first Calif. track to have PT.

[Ill-bred]

At those racetracks that have PT, is the speed holding wire to wire or is the speed stopping and those stretch runners are holding the aces?

My observations from watching the Turfway meet:

-Polytrack doesn't appear to have an inherent, running style bias.

-The well-publicized theory that turf form = poly form is not so solid.

-Poly is a third surface, different from most dirt and turf tracks. Hence, a different set of sires will thrive on Polytrack.

[HR LLC]

I agree with you Ill-bred. I think Polytrack should be considered a third surface. To me its not as "cut and dry" to say polytrack equals turf.