Problems with Pro-Ride?
DiscreetCat
Moderator
from Daily Racing Form:
ARCADIA, Calif. - After an initial round of positive reviews from horsemen, enthusiasm over the newly installed Pro-Ride racing surface at Santa Anita has been tempered.
And the theme is familiar - the synthetic track is a good surface on which to train, but afternoon races are a whole different story. Two days into the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita, jockey Garrett Gomez said the difference between morning and afternoon is distinct.
"The track is safe [in the afternoon], but it's nothing like we're seeing in the morning," he said. "In the morning, it seems all the horses get across it very well, but in the afternoon, not even half of them are getting across it."
Many trainers are reluctant to be critical of the new surface. "I want stalls here next year," one said. Privately, they said their concerns include perceived looseness and heat of the track. The dark-colored surface absorbs heat, and the 97-degree temperature Thursday made many jockeys uncomfortable, including Rafael Bejarano.
Bejarano's agent, Joe Ferrer, said Bejarano told him, "I have never been so hot in my life."
Pro-Ride founder Ian Pearse said Friday that despite the extreme heat, water would not be applied to the surface. The only change in maintenance on Friday would be "grooming the track" halfway through the card. That was not done Wednesday or Thursday.
"We'll experiment with a few small maintenance techniques, and see what feedback we get," Pearse said. "But we're not altering anything, because it's not broken. I am happy with the stability of the track, and the times. We're trying to set a whole new standard."
Pearse said the track Thursday "was not loose, it was just slightly looser than the day before."
Final times on the main track the first two days were fast. Older maidens on Wednesday ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.73, roughly .60 faster than on a normal California track.
Thursday, the track speed appeared to change throughout the card. The first two races were similar (2-year-old allowance runners went six furlongs in 1:09.67 in race 2). But races 4 and 5 were much faster than expected at the height of the day's heat. In race 4, restricted $12,500 claimers that normally run six furlongs in about 1:10.80 were timed in 1:09.82.
Later, in races 6-8, the track slowed even while temperatures stayed in the high 90s. "The air temperature stayed the same, but the track temperature dropped dramatically," Pearse said. The Pro-Ride mixture is classified, and Pearse declined to reveal how it adapts to heat.
The fluctuation in track speed is a concern to handicappers who rely on speed figures to analyze performance and predict future efforts. That was a key criticism of the Polytrack surface at Del Mar, which was watered frequently this summer and changed speeds.
The first two days of racing at Oak Tree included 13 races on the main track. While the small sample precludes reasonable determination of bias, horses have not been winning by the same margins they did on dirt. And while speed is not an attribute, it is not a liability, either. In sprints at 6 1/2 furlongs or less, 3 of the 5 races were won gate to wire; closers won 3 of 4 at seven furlongs. The three route races were won by closers; two were logical favorites or second favorites.
In race 7 on Thursday, the Bruce Headley-trained Silver Swallow was pulled up on the first turn but walked off the track. Headley did not blame the track.
"She was fine before the race, and she is fine this morning [Friday], so draw your own conclusion," he said.
Gomez rode two main-track winners on Thursday, but Wednesday in race 7 his heavily favored Vulcan failed to reproduce the top form he had showed at Del Mar.
"He bobbled the whole way around there," Gomez said.
"The horses that are getting across it are struggling less than others," the jockey said. "It seems that you have a couple in each race that travel a lot better than the others. As long as they're at a [constant] pace, they're okay. But squeeze them to make them go faster, and they fall apart on you."
ARCADIA, Calif. - After an initial round of positive reviews from horsemen, enthusiasm over the newly installed Pro-Ride racing surface at Santa Anita has been tempered.
And the theme is familiar - the synthetic track is a good surface on which to train, but afternoon races are a whole different story. Two days into the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita, jockey Garrett Gomez said the difference between morning and afternoon is distinct.
"The track is safe [in the afternoon], but it's nothing like we're seeing in the morning," he said. "In the morning, it seems all the horses get across it very well, but in the afternoon, not even half of them are getting across it."
Many trainers are reluctant to be critical of the new surface. "I want stalls here next year," one said. Privately, they said their concerns include perceived looseness and heat of the track. The dark-colored surface absorbs heat, and the 97-degree temperature Thursday made many jockeys uncomfortable, including Rafael Bejarano.
Bejarano's agent, Joe Ferrer, said Bejarano told him, "I have never been so hot in my life."
Pro-Ride founder Ian Pearse said Friday that despite the extreme heat, water would not be applied to the surface. The only change in maintenance on Friday would be "grooming the track" halfway through the card. That was not done Wednesday or Thursday.
"We'll experiment with a few small maintenance techniques, and see what feedback we get," Pearse said. "But we're not altering anything, because it's not broken. I am happy with the stability of the track, and the times. We're trying to set a whole new standard."
Pearse said the track Thursday "was not loose, it was just slightly looser than the day before."
Final times on the main track the first two days were fast. Older maidens on Wednesday ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.73, roughly .60 faster than on a normal California track.
Thursday, the track speed appeared to change throughout the card. The first two races were similar (2-year-old allowance runners went six furlongs in 1:09.67 in race 2). But races 4 and 5 were much faster than expected at the height of the day's heat. In race 4, restricted $12,500 claimers that normally run six furlongs in about 1:10.80 were timed in 1:09.82.
Later, in races 6-8, the track slowed even while temperatures stayed in the high 90s. "The air temperature stayed the same, but the track temperature dropped dramatically," Pearse said. The Pro-Ride mixture is classified, and Pearse declined to reveal how it adapts to heat.
The fluctuation in track speed is a concern to handicappers who rely on speed figures to analyze performance and predict future efforts. That was a key criticism of the Polytrack surface at Del Mar, which was watered frequently this summer and changed speeds.
The first two days of racing at Oak Tree included 13 races on the main track. While the small sample precludes reasonable determination of bias, horses have not been winning by the same margins they did on dirt. And while speed is not an attribute, it is not a liability, either. In sprints at 6 1/2 furlongs or less, 3 of the 5 races were won gate to wire; closers won 3 of 4 at seven furlongs. The three route races were won by closers; two were logical favorites or second favorites.
In race 7 on Thursday, the Bruce Headley-trained Silver Swallow was pulled up on the first turn but walked off the track. Headley did not blame the track.
"She was fine before the race, and she is fine this morning [Friday], so draw your own conclusion," he said.
Gomez rode two main-track winners on Thursday, but Wednesday in race 7 his heavily favored Vulcan failed to reproduce the top form he had showed at Del Mar.
"He bobbled the whole way around there," Gomez said.
"The horses that are getting across it are struggling less than others," the jockey said. "It seems that you have a couple in each race that travel a lot better than the others. As long as they're at a [constant] pace, they're okay. But squeeze them to make them go faster, and they fall apart on you."
Comments
FB
With all due respect. You have no clue what the majority of trainers/jocks/owners or for that matter pro cappers out here in So Cal think about the synthetic surfaces. If you did, you wouldn't make the comments you do. I'm around them every day.
You're also missing the point of horses w/ ZERO stamina, bred and trained only for speed, will not do well on these surfaces, yet they can win Grade 1's on dirt. From this standpoint, syn's will help the future of the sport. The breeding industry is ruining this sport, and now they will have to make changes. Trainers will have to train horses for more stamina. This all helps. For God's sake let's get back to a time when we had a competetive older horse division.
One more thing,......and this is why I always encourage everyone to use their own brain, make their own decisions, and have their own opinions. Believe about 1/2 (and I'm being generous) of what you read. Of course theloudest whiners always get the most press when it comes to these issues. But just look at the facts: Field sizes are up over 10% in So Cal since going to the syn surfaces and the horse population up over a staggering 25% since they were implemented. Why would this be if trainers didn't like training and running over the surface?? The fact of the matter is most do, and that's why it's so hard to find a barn in the So Cal major tracks. The syn surfaces are not perfected yet, and yes there are changes that need to be made. But I believe they are in the best interest of the sport.
OK I lied (have one more thing).......for those that are complaining about this year's BC races being on a synthetic surface, I will simply point you back to 11 months ago. Last year's BC was a disaster. They never want that again, and either do I.
Good discussion.
AM 570 KLAC K-Los Angeles California/Orange County
Under "On Demand" , click on KLAC shows
Then click on 9/28 inside racing
One of my favorite angles is from the sticky stuff to the dirt, it is golden in many cases. I know I might be a little bias on the dirt, but I will take back and us a wait and see approach from this point. I respect your opinion.
FB
Five grade I races at Oak Tree the weekend of Sept. 27-28 gave the Pro-Ride synthetic surface recently installed at Santa Anita a workout. Despite unusually hot temperatures well into the 90s during the entire first week of the meeting, reviews were optimistic and winners came from everywhere.
“It looks really good and felt good in the first race,” said jockey Rafael Bejarano, who won three races opening day, Sept. 24. Two of his wins came over the synthetic surface, including the first of the day aboard odds-on favorite Costa Marta. “It looks like it is very fair, and it’s consistent.
Jockey Aaron Gryder said he has been pleased with the spring the Pro-Ride track has.
“It comes back much quicker,” he said. “You can see it come back when you’re behind horses.”
On the main track, Favorites Zenyatta, Well Armed, and Stardom Bound won their Breeders’ Cup preps Sept. 27. Cost of Freedom the same day paid $13.60 in the Ancient Title Stakes, and Street Hero in the Sept. 28 Norfolk paid $14.20.
Ian Pearse of Pro-Ride Racing Australia spent much of the summer overseeing the extensive renovation project. He said the polymetric binder used in Pro-Ride has more temperature tolerance than synthetic tracks that are wax-based.
“We’re really happy with the way it’s handled the heat,” Pearse said Sept. 28, “because (the weather) has been extremely hot and the stability of the track has been excellent. The times have been good, and it’s held all the way through the day.”
Because of the temperatures and feedback from horsemen, Pearse slightly altered the maintenance program after the first two days of racing. However, he has said all along that the Pro-Ride track does not require a lot of maintenance. Water was not applied to the track.
“We don’t use water for stability or performance,” Pearse said. “We only use water—if at all—to lower temperature. But we haven’t been at the temperatures where it’s been necessary.”
FB