Good article on the Del Mar polytrack
DiscreetCat
Moderator
from the San Diego Union-Tribune:
DEL MAR — Year III of the Polytrack main racing surface begins with Opening Day of the summer thoroughbred season here today.
With it come questions of whether the third time will be the charm or an alarm regarding the surface here and whether the meeting might serve as a referendum on “synthetic” or “engineered” surfaces. Especially in light of criticisms leveled last month by prominent owner Jess Jackson and an apparently growing number of trainers.
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club President and CEO Joe Harper and Executive Vice President Craig Fravel believe every meeting turns out to be a referendum on the track surface — here and at every other track in California.
“I'll say one thing about racetracks in California: Whether they're dirt, grass, synthetics or something I've never even heard of, they're always a focal point for trainers,” Fravel said. “I think more so (here) than what I perceive in any other state.
“I've been here 19 years and Joe's been here longer, and every year is a referendum on the racetrack. The first question asked here every morning and the last question at the end of the day is ‘How is the track?’
“Inevitably the guys who lose complain about it and the guys who win are happy with it. And the horse community in general is going to be critical of it, whether it's good or bad,” Fravel said.
Del Mar was ahead of the trend and synthetic-bound in May 2006 when the California Horse Racing Board passed a mandate that major tracks go to the artificial stuff by the end of 2007.
Racing was conducted on Polytrack here in summer 2007.
Year I proved safer but with times so slow they frayed aficionados' nerves. Changes in maintenance speeded things up last year, but concerns were voiced over hind-end and soft-tissue injuries that seemed to proliferate.
“Has it (Polytrack) performed exactly the way we wanted every year? No,” Fravel said. “Mistakes have been made, there's no denying. But has it performed in a way that was superior, particularly from a safety standpoint, to what we had before? I don't think any of us who work here day in and day out feel a moment of regret.”
Said Harper: “How can you regret a decision that in the first year gives you a 70 percent reduction in fatal injuries? “I have no regrets at all. If I had it to do over, I'd do it all over again.”
Opinions of trainers on synthetics in general, and the Del Mar track specifically, vary. The general consensus from several recent interviews is that a) Del Mar is a nice place to race; b) adjustments to Polytrack are still being made by track management, track maintenance people and horsemen as well; and c) knowledge from the past two years might prove beneficial the third time around.
“I'm anticipating a great meeting,” said Doug O'Neill, a three-time training champion at Del Mar. “It should be real fair racing. I think last year was a lot more fair than the first year. I think like everything else, the first two years we were all — track management, trainers, jockeys — kind of learning on the job.
“I think we're all a lot more comfortable with the surfaces now, and I think the track superintendent is probably more comfortable with the surface. I look for a fair and safe racetrack the whole meet long,” O'Neill said.
Said trainer Ron Ellis: “I loved Del Mar the first year when it was real slow. I know the gamblers, the players, didn't like it, but I took about 20 horses down there and had one injury, which is highly unusual for Del Mar.
“Last year, when they tried to speed it up and tinker with it, I wasn't as happy. And that's the feeling of most trainers I have talked to. I'm hoping that they can find a happy medium of what the players will accept and what's good for the horses.”
Second-generation trainer Gary Stute, who saddled Papa Clem in this year's Triple Crown series, became an example of an opposing viewpoint when he responded to a question about synthetics in an interview with the TVG cable network by saying:
“I've kind of been against synthetics the whole time, and I think a few more people are starting to agree with me now. I run a lot fewer horses than I used to. Seems like I used to have three times as many horses in the barn as on the ranch, and now it's three times as much on the ranch as at the barn.” In the stable area here this week, Stute said he couldn't remember how many of those injuries came last year at Del Mar, but he had troubles at all three Southern California circuit tracks.
“Personally, I wish they'd go back to dirt,” Stute said. “When the (synthetics) first came out, I think trainers were about 60-40 percent in favor. Now, I think it's 20-80 against, and that's being conservative.
“I can't think of 10 trainers who really like the synthetics,” Stute said.
Studies regarding fatalities and, more recently, injuries on synthetics have been ongoing.
“The data on the fatalities is really quite dramatic,” said CHRB Equine Medical Director Dr. Rick Arthur, who is prominent in the research. “We can show in terms of racing fatalities a 40 percent decrease on synthetic tracks in the state of California comparing the same tracks to before (synthetics).
“Fatalities have an end point, and there is no debate about them. Injuries are more nebulous and are more difficult to both quantify and reach conclusions regarding.
“We have looked at the number of X-rays and ultrasounds (imaging devices for soft tissue injuries), and those haven't changed. We've looked at a number of other things, and they indicate either no change or a decrease.
“But trainers continue to report that they have more injuries, and they have more hind-end injuries,” Arthur said.
He and two other prominent veterinarians are currently conducting a study on horse injuries.
“Unfortunately, we're not going to have comparison data, but we are trying to get objective data (so) that we can respond to the anecdotal information and the stories we're hearing from certain trainers that they have more injuries from synthetic surfaces,” Arthur said.
“All I can tell you is the objective data that we have to look at from the Southern California Equine Foundation in terms of X-rays, ultrasound and other things doesn't indicate that.
“But we take the reports seriously, and that's why we're conducting the study.”
DEL MAR — Year III of the Polytrack main racing surface begins with Opening Day of the summer thoroughbred season here today.
With it come questions of whether the third time will be the charm or an alarm regarding the surface here and whether the meeting might serve as a referendum on “synthetic” or “engineered” surfaces. Especially in light of criticisms leveled last month by prominent owner Jess Jackson and an apparently growing number of trainers.
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club President and CEO Joe Harper and Executive Vice President Craig Fravel believe every meeting turns out to be a referendum on the track surface — here and at every other track in California.
“I'll say one thing about racetracks in California: Whether they're dirt, grass, synthetics or something I've never even heard of, they're always a focal point for trainers,” Fravel said. “I think more so (here) than what I perceive in any other state.
“I've been here 19 years and Joe's been here longer, and every year is a referendum on the racetrack. The first question asked here every morning and the last question at the end of the day is ‘How is the track?’
“Inevitably the guys who lose complain about it and the guys who win are happy with it. And the horse community in general is going to be critical of it, whether it's good or bad,” Fravel said.
Del Mar was ahead of the trend and synthetic-bound in May 2006 when the California Horse Racing Board passed a mandate that major tracks go to the artificial stuff by the end of 2007.
Racing was conducted on Polytrack here in summer 2007.
Year I proved safer but with times so slow they frayed aficionados' nerves. Changes in maintenance speeded things up last year, but concerns were voiced over hind-end and soft-tissue injuries that seemed to proliferate.
“Has it (Polytrack) performed exactly the way we wanted every year? No,” Fravel said. “Mistakes have been made, there's no denying. But has it performed in a way that was superior, particularly from a safety standpoint, to what we had before? I don't think any of us who work here day in and day out feel a moment of regret.”
Said Harper: “How can you regret a decision that in the first year gives you a 70 percent reduction in fatal injuries? “I have no regrets at all. If I had it to do over, I'd do it all over again.”
Opinions of trainers on synthetics in general, and the Del Mar track specifically, vary. The general consensus from several recent interviews is that a) Del Mar is a nice place to race; b) adjustments to Polytrack are still being made by track management, track maintenance people and horsemen as well; and c) knowledge from the past two years might prove beneficial the third time around.
“I'm anticipating a great meeting,” said Doug O'Neill, a three-time training champion at Del Mar. “It should be real fair racing. I think last year was a lot more fair than the first year. I think like everything else, the first two years we were all — track management, trainers, jockeys — kind of learning on the job.
“I think we're all a lot more comfortable with the surfaces now, and I think the track superintendent is probably more comfortable with the surface. I look for a fair and safe racetrack the whole meet long,” O'Neill said.
Said trainer Ron Ellis: “I loved Del Mar the first year when it was real slow. I know the gamblers, the players, didn't like it, but I took about 20 horses down there and had one injury, which is highly unusual for Del Mar.
“Last year, when they tried to speed it up and tinker with it, I wasn't as happy. And that's the feeling of most trainers I have talked to. I'm hoping that they can find a happy medium of what the players will accept and what's good for the horses.”
Second-generation trainer Gary Stute, who saddled Papa Clem in this year's Triple Crown series, became an example of an opposing viewpoint when he responded to a question about synthetics in an interview with the TVG cable network by saying:
“I've kind of been against synthetics the whole time, and I think a few more people are starting to agree with me now. I run a lot fewer horses than I used to. Seems like I used to have three times as many horses in the barn as on the ranch, and now it's three times as much on the ranch as at the barn.” In the stable area here this week, Stute said he couldn't remember how many of those injuries came last year at Del Mar, but he had troubles at all three Southern California circuit tracks.
“Personally, I wish they'd go back to dirt,” Stute said. “When the (synthetics) first came out, I think trainers were about 60-40 percent in favor. Now, I think it's 20-80 against, and that's being conservative.
“I can't think of 10 trainers who really like the synthetics,” Stute said.
Studies regarding fatalities and, more recently, injuries on synthetics have been ongoing.
“The data on the fatalities is really quite dramatic,” said CHRB Equine Medical Director Dr. Rick Arthur, who is prominent in the research. “We can show in terms of racing fatalities a 40 percent decrease on synthetic tracks in the state of California comparing the same tracks to before (synthetics).
“Fatalities have an end point, and there is no debate about them. Injuries are more nebulous and are more difficult to both quantify and reach conclusions regarding.
“We have looked at the number of X-rays and ultrasounds (imaging devices for soft tissue injuries), and those haven't changed. We've looked at a number of other things, and they indicate either no change or a decrease.
“But trainers continue to report that they have more injuries, and they have more hind-end injuries,” Arthur said.
He and two other prominent veterinarians are currently conducting a study on horse injuries.
“Unfortunately, we're not going to have comparison data, but we are trying to get objective data (so) that we can respond to the anecdotal information and the stories we're hearing from certain trainers that they have more injuries from synthetic surfaces,” Arthur said.
“All I can tell you is the objective data that we have to look at from the Southern California Equine Foundation in terms of X-rays, ultrasound and other things doesn't indicate that.
“But we take the reports seriously, and that's why we're conducting the study.”