New Track Surface for Santa Anita

[TJ]

The new surface Stronach is considering for Santa Anita, consists mainly of silica sand and will be tested this winter at Palm Meadows here in Florida. TJ

http://drf.com/news/article/114106.html

[zinn21]

From Bloodhorse report. No new track for 2011 meet.

see link: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ ... ta-in-2010

and... "During the meeting, Stronach also said that Santa Anita will continue to use its Pro-Ride racing surface through the spring of 2011 as well."

from above report..

[bdw0617]

so they yank the stuff out, and go out of their way to replace it with a surface no one will want.

my gosh.

look, just come to my back yard, we can shove some dirt, and i will help you put it in santa anita.

[Shammy Davis]

I'm very familiar w/the surface that Stronach wants to employ. It is used in great many arenas. Don't have a clue how it will work as a racecourse surface. It requires a great deal of water to keep the base intact. Hope SA has its own wells.

[DuncanPatch]

For about a quarter of a million years, horses have been running on dirt and grass. What's wrong with dirt and grass? Whatever problems are trying to be corrected through artificial track surfaces need to be addressed through different training methods. A whole different attitude toward racing -- not for speed of 2-yr-olds, but for stamina at 3 and beyond -- would eliminate a lot of the problems of racing. And it would be lovely to be able to take new players out to the track and have them enjoy the beauty and pageantry of racing on the grass and long distances over the dirt -- as it was in the beginning, etc., etc. (And winning a few bucks is always a good thing too.)

I watched every race at Royal Ascot last week and suffered a terrible letdown when it was over. (Won a lot of money, too, amazing to say.) The most beautiful and best racing in the world. Somewhere in the middle of England. Why can't we do that in America?

[Sysonby]

I watched every race at Royal Ascot last week and suffered a terrible letdown when it was over. (Won a lot of money, too, amazing to say.) The most beautiful and best racing in the world. Somewhere in the middle of England. Why can't we do that in America?

Weather, history, and a lack of royalty.

[Shammy Davis]

Duncanpatch posted:

For about a quarter of a million years, horses have been running on dirt and grass. What's wrong with dirt and grass?

Nothing is wrong w/dirt and grass. NA racecourses are not ideally suited for running on grass. Turf has high end maintenance qualities. As far as dirt alone, or dirt and other natural amendments is concerned, management and maintenance is extremely expensive and time consuming. From the many articles I've read on the subject and discussions w/my wife, who owned a landscaping company, soil and natural amendments are very unpredictable to work with.

The new synthetic surfaces have given all equine venues less expensive and time consuming maintenance features.

I love Euro racing. That being said, it appears their racing is going the way of synthetic surfaces also.

[dublino]

Weather, history, and a lack of royalty.

[Shammy Davis]

Duncanpatch: Check this thread out. The discussion of the new surfaces has traveled this broad on a number of occasions.

http://www.pedigreequery.com/forum/view ... 08&start=0

[DuncanPatch]

Sysonby, I completely overlooked the problem of lack of royalty! You're quite right. We actually do have weather and history (although not too many people notice), but we could consider the thoroughbred as royal. In a pinch. I think its cute that at Santa Anita the bugler rides out in a carriage very similar to the one used at Royal Ascot. Close enough!

Shammy Davis, thanks for the link to earlier discussion re: surfaces. My only point here was that I think American racing may need to go back to the basics: sound training, solid preparation of young horses (e.g., building good bone density before hard racing), less dependence on medications, sensible whip rules. And perhaps consider much more grass racing: if other countries manage to maintain beautiful grass courses (and many do not have dirt surfaces to add to the expense), it seems we ought to be able to do the same. No surface will ever be accident-proof, no horse will ever be immune to breakdown, but I doubt that spending millions to find the right combination of synthetic materials is really the way to go.

And for that matter, why not replace grass with artificial turf? Its good enough for football.

[Sysonby]

The point I was making--perhaps a little too obtusely--the only place where the weather even approachs England's consistently is the Pacific Northwest and then can you imagine rolling flatlands in this country near a population center that only gets used a few days a year. I don't know who owns Newmarket or how it gets taxed or maintained but I can't imagine that the fact that the meet is "Royal Ascot" is irrelevant.

[dublino]

Sysonby Ascot and Newmarket are two different tracks.

Ascot
http://www.ascot.co.uk/

Newmarket
http://www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk/

Royal Ascot is 5 days, Ascot has other meets just one Royal meeting.
They also stage NH racing during the winter, NH flat, hurdles and steeplechase races.

[DuncanPatch]

Sysonby, you're right, the "royal" is not irrelevant -- it is a long, long tradition. Ascot holds other racing meets, but the Royal meet is royal because the monarch attends the full 5 days.

All racecourses in England are operated and regulated by the British Horseracing Authority. Newmarket is home to the National Stud, maintained by the British government (and wow, you oughta see it!!!!), and the first racecourse, Newmarket, with the famous Rowley Mile (named for Charles II's favorite horse). One thing about Newmarket I found especially striking is that in the British National Museum of Racing, the complete skeleton of the great Eclipse is on display. Weird, but strangely moving. And outside the Museum stands a statue of the immortal Hyperion. Most astonishing at the 500-acre Stud is the state-of-the-art building for foaling mares, which makes the best hospitals in America look shabby by comparison. Oh, to be a mare in England!

I have been to Kempton, Sandown, Epsom and Lingfield. The least satisfying was Lingfield with its artificial surface, and I was told by several people there, both racecourse officials and owners, that the synthetic surface was very hard to maintain and no one was pleased with it. Kempton and Sandown are small but beautiful, Epsom is larger, not quite as lovely, but full of history. (And I accidentally got a ride in the Queen's private limo from the train station -- a bizarre and wonderful story -- but alas, she wasn't in it, being unwell that day, so I rode with her representatives who were inaugurating a foundation for victims of the 9/11 attack in NY. I happened to be there on 9/11, 2002. I was lost and they offered me a ride!)

The game is totally different in England. I admit to being influenced by their training methods, their racing rules, their starting gate procedures, the interesting configurations of each racecourse, and the fact that all racing in England is under one governing body. I also admit to having a lot of fun finding a bookmaker at the track if I don't like the pari-mutuel odds, and I've done well on that score.

[Shammy Davis]

Duncanpatch posted:

. . . And for that matter, why not replace grass with artificial turf? Its good enough for football.

You know some years ago there an artificial turf, much different than the athletic field artificial turf, that was called Mod Sod. It was developed to use on golf courses etc. I don't think it went anywhere as I've not heard anything about it in years.

The artificial athletic fields are not resilient enough to sustain the impact of thundering hooves.

CA has mandated artificial surfaces, so in the short term Stronach is stuck. No dirt for him or his CA racetracks.

I've been to many of the tracks you mentioned. I love the racing, but I must admit that the atmosphere is addictive. I hope to go back sometime in the near future.

[DuncanPatch]

Shammy Davis, nice to know I'm not the only addict on the forum. I'm planning on going to England again in 2012. Hoping....