Synthetic Racing Surfaces and their Impact on North American Racing and Breeding

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Synthetic Racing Surfaces and their Impact on
North American Racing and Breeding

• Isabel Mathew
• Darley Flying Start

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Synthetic Surfaces What are they?
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Establishment

• 1987 Installation of first Polytrack training
  facility on Richard Hannons gallop in Wiltshire
• 1988 Remington Park installs Equitrack
• 2004 Keeneland opens first U.S. training track
  with new Polytrack surface
• 2005 Turfway Park becomes first racetrack in N.A.
  to install Polytrack

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Latest installations of synthetic surfaces (2006)

• Keeneland, Woodbine installs Polytrack on
  racecourse
• Synthetic surfaces mandatory for most California
  racetracks by January 1st 2008
• Hollywood Park announces installation of Cushion
  Track (Equestrian Surfaces) after termination of
  its spring-summer meet
• Fair Hill Training Center is to install Tapeta on
  training surface
• Goffs announces first Breeze-Up Sale on Kempton
  Polytrack

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Impact on Racing

• Safety for horses and jockeys
• Zero catastrophic breakdowns- average for the
  previous three years was six
• At Turfways Fall Meet, DNFs reduced by 50
• Only 3 horses who DNF were actually injured
• No breakdowns resulting in jockey spills
• Lower insurance premiums for jockeys as less risk
  of injury?
• Less maintenance needed
• No cancellation of fixtures due racetrack surface

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Impact on Racing II

• Increased field sizes and number of races per
  horse which led to a higher betting turnover up
  37.7
• Shoes- Keeneland and Turfway considering
  restricting the use of turn downs on the
  Polytrack and changing their rules to Queens
  Plates only
• Top trainers using synthetic surfaces for
  preparation races and training horses
• Continuity of racing surfaces between Europe and
  North America, Canada and Australia

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Potential Disadvantages

• Differences between synthetic racing surfaces
• continuity and thickness
• Weather
• especially hot temperatures
• Some horses will not like the surface
• Cost

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Effect of synthetic surfaces in Breeding(from
Turfway, September 2005-April 2006)

• 407 different stallions sired winners, 36 with 5
  or more.
• Average winning Beyer figure of 64.5 for all
  1,138 races
• suggesting quality of races.
• 25/45 active sire lines had 10 winners
• Highest winning average Beyer was the Gone West
  line (68.79) with 38 winners.

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Top Five Average winning Beyer Sire Lines
Turfway Park, September 2005-April 2006
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Effect of synthetic surfaces in Breeding(from
Turfway, September 2005-April 2006)

• The 16 Northern Dancer lines account for 77 of
  the 80 winners, and 91 of the 90 winners
• 81 Sires from the Mr Prospector line had
  winners at Turfway
• 7 averaged 69
• Three sires from the Gone West branch of Mr
  Prospector also averaged 69
• Grand Slam, Mr Greeley and Elusive Quality
• Northern Dancer line stallions were next
• Tale of the Cat, Storm Boot, Boundary and
  Military averaging 69

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The Future

• Will we ever see the Triple Crown races run on a
  synthetic surface?
• The demise of the true All American dirt sire?
• Importation of European Sires, once again?
• Amalgamation of European turf and American dirt
  pedigrees to create the perfect synthetic
  surface runner?
• A true champion on synthetic surfaces across the
  world?

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• THANK YOU
• imathew_at_darleyflyingstart.com