The best minds in sports keep their ideas simple. Some might even call it a gift to keep things simple. Others get lost in a fog of complexity. In his first meeting with the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi asked a player what the previous coach had called a power sweep. The player replied, "Double X Inside-Outside Grace Pop!" After a moment of shocked silence, caught between disbelief and the need to maintain some semblance of respect for the previous coach, Lombardi simply said, "From now on, we'll call it 28.
Never say the word "basic" to a bookie with a calculator in front of him. Betting on horse racing can be a strategy based on no small number of factors that, quite frankly, are low on the pay scale for inside-the-bookies. Sure, some of it comes down to good old-fashioned horse sense (and I'm not saying the horse always wins). But what happens when horse sense gives way to an order-of-magnitude smarter kind of sense? And what if that kind of smart bookie is sitting in front of not a calculator, but an ASSAULTANT? That's an equivalent but much more powerful betting engine. Okay, maybe I'm just not hearing the Cheltenham Festival debate right. It's food for thought, though. What do smart bookies really work with?
Yet not enough handicappers ask the simple questions.
- Where do the horses race
- What kind of surface do they race on
- Is the consistency of the tracks absolute, or do some of them become quite unpredictable even in the best of conditions
- How does the weather affect different types of tracks?
You don't have to look far to find reviews of the surfaces that horse racing tracks are built on. That's because casino-guide.biz has them all, along with some helpful charts, on one easy-to-navigate page. Just scroll down and you'll soon know if the footing at a particular racetrack is of such quality that it should concern or comfort both the equine and human athletes.
Track Surfaces for Horses Around the World
This film depicted the 1973 Belmont Stakes as being run on a synthetic surface. This was an oversight on Disney's part. There were no synthetic thoroughbred tracks in the early '70s. It was a huge mistake in terms of racing history.
But wasn't it still an entertaining movie? It is a fairly common thing to miss the track surface. To put it bluntly, bettors just can't afford to miss. Here are three types of thoroughbred racetracks that are very much alive and well in North America, Europe and the Middle East. These three striking regions of the world are home to a pure spectrum of racing conditions.
Thoroughbreds on Dirt Tracks in America
The first widely used flat horse racing surfaces in Western society were dirt tracks. In the United States, however, the most common type of racetrack is still dirt, which is more cost-effective than any other type of flat surface, including grass - and much more accessible than maintaining grass over any length of time.
Unlike other running and racing sports, natural tracks allow Thoroughbreds to run faster than on synthetic surfaces. However, this is a very different scenario than that faced by human athletes. Field turf, astroturf, or even asphalt is a faster running surface than grass for football and baseball players. But horses are fastest on a real surface. The serious dangers of dirt tracks
A natural dirt road offers little shock absorption. A dirt track that is natural does not absorb shocks. When a horse runs on this kind of track, the kind that is natural, it must be, in a sense, the kind of horse that endures. For a horse to run on such a track and be the kind of horse that would win a race between it and its cousin, the college student, would mean that the winning horse would have endured significantly more leg stress than any horse should have to endure.
There is no doubt about it. Synthetic surfaces have reduced the number of fatal injuries suffered by horses on the racetrack.
12 years ago, the scientific study
“Comparison of racing fatality rates on dirt, synthetic, and turf at California racetracks”
Thoroughbred deaths decreased by 37% after converting dirt tracks to synthetic surfaces at 4 racetracks in the 2000s.
Data was collected from the prestigious Del Mar, Golden Gate Fields, Hollywood Park and Santa Anita tracks. The rate of horse deaths was found to be 3.09 per 1,000 starts on dirt and dropped to an even lower figure of 1.95 per 1,000 starts after the surfaces were changed.
Some trainers strongly believe that synthetic surfaces cause the kind of long-term damage to Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses that we associate with injuries sustained over time. The results of the study indicate that synthetic surfaces can be inconsistent and difficult to maintain. But is this a general statement about all synthetic surfaces, the majority of them, or just a few that this study happened to look at? The climate in California is consistently sunny and stable. Ensuring the safety of horses by keeping a synthetic surface in good condition is not always so easy.
Turf Tracks in America and Europe
A "turf" track is a real grass track, not to be confused with the artificial turf used in other sports. Turf is the most common flat track surface in Europe and is preferred to the dirt surfaces favored by American track owners.
A turf track has the advantage that the horses rarely slip and slide, which makes for a much healthier - indeed, a remarkably healthier - post-race situation for the horses. Another situation made healthier by a turf track is that the horse and jockey combo is not suffocated by clods and dust thrown in their faces when the horses hit the ground and take off running, which happens far too often on a dirt track.
On turf tracks, horses are more likely to bunch together, which affects not only the races being run, but the results of the races as a whole. Bunched horses mean longer race times, and longer race times mean that some horses-especially those bred and trained to run late in the race-have a slightly better chance of winning. And heavy rain usually means a delay or cancellation of a race.
The legendary Saratoga Race Track has one grass track inside the thoroughbred track and another grass track outside the thoroughbred track. These two turf tracks are more like go-cart courses or speed skating tracks when compared to the outer thoroughbred track. These system type turf courses are for horses that are able to make a quick turn after heavy breeding and training to be super agile. Even more so than other types of racetracks, tight turns, timing and satisfying centrifugal force are critical to winning. Jockeys must be smart, and not just good, but memorable. Jockeys on colts that win at Saratoga are forever etched in the minds of racing fans.
Synthetic Horse Racing Surfaces
There are 3 main types of synthetic track surfaces: polytrack, tapeta footings, and cushion track.
Sand, carpet, spandex and rubber make up Polytrack, a popular racing surface. Footings are built for Tapeta with a Tapeta mix on top and a geotextile membrane or porous blacktop underneath. Drainage layers are constructed underneath. The track surface is relatively simple, a mixture of sand, fiber and wax.
All 3 surfaces have a gravel base in common. A poly track is particularly good at keeping fatigue to a minimum in a wet weather race because it limits the amount of water that can be held saturated in the track materials. However, synthetic surfaces wear out quickly and are expensive to maintain.
How Weather Affects Dirt, Turf, and Synthetic Tracks
A horse race on a dirt track can be severely affected by rain, so much so that the study of wet tracks has become a science in its own right. Even the business of horse breeding is affected by the importance of weather.
Racehorses that perform well in muddy conditions have been known to produce offspring that perform well in the same conditions. Steeplechase horses that have proven to be cautious or timid in wet conditions will be bred with less enthusiasm than stallions that can handle all conditions.
Here are some surface-condition terms used often by dirt track bettors:
- Fast Track
- 1. moisture content;
- 2. even dryness in thick and thin areas;
- 3. fast treatment time in amounts that won't dissolve the paper
- Good Track
- a little damp, but still quite fast;
- Wet Fast;
It is easier to remember the conditions of a lawn. They range from dry to very wet and are called, in order of appearance, firm, good, soft, yielding, and heavy. These terms are equally clear whether referring to a steeplechase or a flat turf course.
One design flaw of synthetic tracks is that they are designed to give - to help - the horse in the downward motion of each stride. But wet dirt tracks are also soft-their surface gives in ways and to degrees that synthetic tracks should, but don't. Even in this way, synthetics are not the same as dirt. This is especially true in soft conditions.
How Track Surfaces Affect Betting Odds and Tactics
Many treatises have been written on betting on Thoroughbred horses in different weather conditions and on different surfaces. We cannot duplicate that level of detail here, but there are a few rules to keep in mind when betting on the ponies.
What a track is made of is less important than how much time, money, and effort goes into keeping the surface consistent. On a local dirt track, rain has a profound effect on the outcome of races. Mud and synthetic slop can also change a big-time track, but not always as much.
A Tomlinson score blends wet track speeds with breeding to evaluate which horses are most likely to sail through a soft surface and negotiate muddy conditions in a race. As the quality of racetracks improves, Tomlinson scores become less and less relevant.
The track at Churchill Downs, home to the Kentucky Derby and other major events, is an example of a well-maintained racetrack. On Derby Day in 2017, Irish War Cry was a 6-to-1 horse that had a chance to win when the rain came and muddied the track. In the Eyes of the World Zijanans Editor 12:30 pm today Elephants are beautiful and intelligent animals, but they are also large and potentially dangerous. An artist at my old college used to say that if you can't make an elephant dance, at least draw a good picture of it.
But the clever mix of clay and sand that makes up the Derby track's surface held up beautifully, turning a wet surface into manageable clumps that the thoroughbreds tore through in a quick and steady run. Always Dreaming won a fairly quick Kentucky Derby despite not being known as a champion mud runner.
Another guideline to follow is to consider each horse on its own merits and not as part of a betting system, especially one that is supposedly based on track conditions. Unique is the only word that adequately describes all Thoroughbreds.
Not just a horse racing occurrence, the phenomenon of gamblers putting all their chips on the aesthetics and not the performer is a growing trend.
Some experts believe they can predict the performance of players as they move from one professional league to another in baseball, basketball, or hockey, using two criteria: strength of competition and statistics. A baseball expert might look at outfielders Smith and Jones, who each batted .350 in Japan, and say, "That means they're likely to bat between .200 and .300 when they suit up for Major League Baseball.
This analysis misses a lot of things that affect an athlete who crosses the ocean to play in a different league. It's really not nearly as simple as the simpletons make it out to be.
One betting strategy that has been much touted on poly tracks is to bet on turf horses to win on the synthetic surface, but not on real dirt. While it may be true that turf specialists run well on poly, this angle has been exaggerated and is now a suspect betting strategy.
The betting system has expanded to include pedigree. Some bettors now believe that sire lines make a difference in which horses are better at winning on synthetic surfaces like Polytrack. A study conducted by the same people who bring you the ever-updated "American Racing Manual" found that turf, dirt, and synthetic sire lines have almost equal odds of producing graded stakes winners. Therefore, betting systems based on a horse's pedigree should have a minimal advantage.
Some of the most successful sires of polytrack progeny are Crafty Prospector, Fit To Fight, Louis Quatorze, Presidential Order, Storm Boot, and Souvenir Copy. Derby winner Real Quiet showed that flaws can make it difficult for some dirt champions to sire progeny that can handle the turf or polytrack. He sired only one turf sweepstakes winner in his breeding career.
Final Note: Long-Term Track Surface Trends
How will dirt, grass, and poly tracks evolve? We can speculate that those in charge of tracks will continue to try to perfect the art of keeping dirt soft and forgiving without risking a deluge. They'll also continue to advance the poly track building department.
An even more interesting element is the way the 3 types of tracks will affect breeding. Other sports have seen a trend toward specialization among their athletes. Running backs used to be big, blocky players who could just as easily line up and block with the offensive line.
Not anymore. Once upon a time, tennis players were expected to master either a baseline power game or a net-dashing volley-fest. Today, any strategy can work on any point, as long as your opponent can execute it. And even if your opponent can't execute, the point is never safe unless you hit a clean winner.
The same will happen in horse breeding. Owners and trainers will develop Thoroughbreds for one type of track. The dirt and synthetic tracks are so similar that American flat track racehorses will have no real problem performing on either type of surface. So what happens when tracks are built on the other side of this huge problem? Can any horse, much less a racehorse, be bred to perform on this abomination called the modern American flat track?
However, breeders can count on social media and modern communications to help them get rich off a one-trick pony. Gone are the days when older racehorses could travel the country and run anywhere they were asked.
It will not be nearly as important to breed all-around horses when it comes to the sire and dam business. After two years of racing, more will be going to stud than ever before. We might as well plan for a future of dirt horses, turf horses and champions in between. For a Godolphin dirt horse, for example, to have any chance of breaking even, it will have to dominate on a fast track. And if a Godolphin turf horse can't win on that surface, its chances at an archaeological site in Greece won't help the horse or its rider.
It is the horses that we see on television. But the entire sport is run by owners and breeders. And the only way to ensure the well-being of a racehorse is to train it for the unique challenges of each track it will face.
The best way will be to limit the variety of surfaces a horse is allowed to run on.
Thoroughbreds are finicky beasts. But 20 years from now, the horses might seem rather easy-going compared to their fussy managers.