Racehorse TALK

It has been a long time coming in Australia that we have an alternative to grass racing.
I am a traditionalist as well, and love the look of grass racing, but with the option of bias free racing I am willing to forego the "look" and give this a go.

This may also allow us to breed to NH line dirt stallions and get some non Danehill blood in the country.

If the public don't go for the new surface, just put green dye in the rubber and no-one will know the difference.

Was reading elsewhere that some have issues with Polytrack in The States/Canada--seems to be a large number of horses suffering back and hind leg injuries

Another issue with the Polytrack appears to be bleeding.  While only anecdotal it would seem that in the NH tracks using polytrack there has been an increase in numbers of horses bleeding (despite being on Lasix), and that when horses are scoped post-race huge amounts of the stuff is found in lungs--also some jockeys are reporting suffering from nose bleeds.

I really don't understand why in the US where they race on dirt they have bothered to go for the synthetic track also

This really has to be great for Racing Australia wide, great to see some thought going into preserving this great industry

Looks to be a rush for All weather synthetic tracks at the moment, i think they are a great idea as long as they offer what has been promised of them. Anything that makes a trainers job easy to get his horses worked correctly and being able to do the work when it is needed without having to adjust it due to certain types of inclement weather, and any added pressure on their bodies from surfaces that are to hard or uneven has to be a good thing.

Without getting to far in front of ourselves I think Acton/Thouroughtrack has been a success.
Interestingly, two winners from Geelong on Wednesday had won before on the same track.
Just when you thought bias was not an issue its ugly head bobs up! :tard.gif: :tard.gif:

So far I am impressed with the new track at Geelong. There appears to be very little kick back which does help the backmarkers.

My only concern is that hopefully all races in doubt wont be transferred there for the sake of it, -  after all winter racing is about winter racing and wet trackers race in winter. It must make doing the form of wet trackers difficult when the meeting is transferred. All in all a great initiative and I would like to see a genuine dirt or sand track too, to give more owners an opportunity of winning races if their horses are suited to that surface instead of being sold off overseas.

<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/horseracing ">Columnist Max Presnell (SMH) Reports - [/url] Statistics kept by the Canberra Racing Club on its synthetic Acton track indicate little, if any, bias. Forty-nine winners have led, 67 have come from midfield and 35 from "back".

It also lists the nominations, acceptors and starters, again mostly healthy figures, particularly in winter months. Sydney clubs should keep something similar dealing with rail positions on their tracks. Maybe they do. If so they are keeping them quiet.

$13M GAWLER UPGRADE GETS THE GO AHEAD
PRESS RELEASE 19 December 2008

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The planned $13 million upgrade of the Gawler racecourse has been given the official green light with a new synthetic track at the heart of the redevelopment.
When completed in February 2010, the development will include:
• a realigned, regraded and resurfaced track;
• a new inner sand training track;
• a new multi‐purpose function centre for up to 500 patrons;
• new stewards and jockeys building; and
• a total of 301 car parks, 130 of which will be sealed.

The Pro‐Ride track, which is used at the famous Santa Anita racecourse in Los Angeles, will be the first synthetic surface in Australia to be used for racing.
The project, which has been developed in conjunction with Thoroughbred Racing SA (TRSA), represents a $13 million investment, $6 million of which has been provided by the State
Government while the balance will be funded through the sale of surplus land at the southern end of the racecourse.

“This is a fantastic project, not only for Gawler but also for the South Australian thoroughbred industry as a whole,” said Philip Bentley, TRSA Chairman.
“I’d like to put on record my thanks for the contribution of the State Government which will help ensure that Gawler will be an outstanding facility for years to come.”

Gawler and Barossa Jockey Club chairman John McKinnon said the Pro‐Ride track, which will be 18 metres wide and approximately 1840 metres in circumference, offered many benefits.
"There is virtually no chance of losing a meeting through weather, the upkeep is greatly reduced compared with grass and it does not require watering," Mr McKinnon said.
“However, one of the biggest benefits of the redevelopment is that we will be significantly realigning the track to improve the camber and lengthen the main straight from 150 metres to 300 metres.

Fatal injuries prompt concern over track
By Jay Privman

ARCADIA, Calif. - Even though Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface came through a recent spate of wet weather without losing any days to training, there has been growing concern among trainers over injuries at the track, and those fears may have been further inflamed on Wednesday when Boozin' Bear sustained fatal injuries in the day's first race.

Boozin' Bear, who suffered a condylar fracture to his right hind leg, became the third horse to be euthanized from racing injuries during the first five days of the meeting. All the horses were racing on the main track.

The first death occurred in the first race of the meet last Friday, when two horses were pulled up. One of them, Warren's Zenzo, could not be saved and was euthanized.

Flashing Forward, a 4-year-old filly who broke down in Monday's seventh race, was subsequently euthanized, Dr. Jill Bailey, Santa Anita's track veterinarian, said Wednesday.

In addition, the stakes-winning filly Indyanne sustained career-ending injuries in the La Brea Stakes last Saturday.

According to Bailey, no horses have been euthanized as a result of training injuries in the morning, though she said a horse who was injured Monday morning was undergoing surgery on Wednesday.

Ron Charles, Santa Anita's president, said he could not explain the recent injuries. He said he had been in touch with Ian Pearse, the founder of Pro-Ride, and said Pearse intends soon to travel from his native Australia to look anew at the surface.

"This track has been very safe for three months," Charles said, referring to the successful Breeders' Cup held here in October, "but the last week has been different from what we had. We want it back to the safe track we've had. It's been so well received for three months. The last week has been difficult. It's so hard to explain. In the mornings it seems to be well received. I've had many trainers saying 'Don't change anything.'

"We did power harrow the track on Tuesday. Whether we're going through a horrific bad time or it's something we're not doing right, I don't have the answer. Believe me, I wish I had the answer. We're going to keep looking and see what we can do. There's just been way too many the past week. We've got to figure out what the problem is."

Boozin' Bear, a 3-year-old maiden gelding trained by Carla Gaines, was racing for the fourth time on Wednesday. He had finished third in a similar maiden race at Hollywood Park on Dec. 4.

Boozin' Bear was eased in the stretch by jockey Rafael Bejarano, who hopped off after it was apparent the horse had gone wrong in his right rear leg with an injury that resembled Barbaro's in the 2006 Preakness Stakes. Boozin' Bear was removed from the track via horse ambulance, but only after track workers came on the main track and put up a green screen, which startled the stricken animal.

Santa Anita's main track had equipment on it on Tuesday afternoon designed to fluff up the surface. New Year's Eve is often a big day for workouts - since trainers like to sleep in on New Year's Day, too, following evening revelry - but with many horses having worked on the weekend, activity was lighter than usual, with 94 horses recording works.

Eoin Harty did not work any horses on Wednesday. He was one of several trainers on Wednesday who expressed concern over the surface.

"It was dug up last night, so I'm erring on the side of caution," said Harty.

Pro-Ride is the second synthetic surface to be installed at Santa Anita in the past 18 months. Its old dirt track was replaced with Cushion Track in the summer of 2007, but that synthetic surface was removed in the summer of 2008 after it failed to drain during the winter meet one year ago.

California tracks were given a mandate by the California Horse Racing Board to install synthetic surfaces by the end of 2007.

cant stand these tracks- you find not many horses who normally have a turn of foot do any good here and its a surface that will never get my support of my betting dollar

Dirt tracks don't allow horses with a kick to accelerate.... synthetic tracks are fair for all, assuming they're good enough to have turn of foot in the first place.

Any facts to back that up - what % of the horse population would have even raced on one?