We've lost a decade with this surface nonsense.

Not to mention a lot of our $$ :D

that's a little overboard don't you think?

There have been rumblings about Keeneland going back to dirt for a while now.

Zenyatta

Yeah... Everything she did was a complete fluke... especially because of the surface... yeah. Glad she ran up the track at Churchill and Oaklawn to cement that statement

Bring back the dirt and quit your whining.

In fact with breeding mistakes based on poly form I can assume the damage from this idiocy is probably worse than a decade cumulatively.

Plenty of mistakes are made regardless of surface

Obviously. Surface never had to be one of them.

I honestly dont know what a breeding "mistake" would be that doesnt involve Tennessee.

coming from the guy who's been whining for 10 years lol...

I'm just saying I think there's room for both and as I said from page 1 of this thread I love it when a race meet ends and when another starts up there's a surface switch. Love. It.

If being an advocate for a better game and treatment of bettors is whining than I am all for it. I think Doug whines about it more than I do in fact. And he's right to....But I'm sorry for your loss of Poly. You still have Presque Isle. Enjoy.

Amen!

Very little. Less than 5% of what I used to. Once you find other ways to spend your money, you're a lost customer.

In all seriousness, how did bettors get dicked over when tracks went to poly? Please explain.

Also, Doug whines about the place he handicaps for a newspaper? He's an expert on a place that has synthetic (Presque Isle).

I've seen him whine about how much the Cal tracks spent on poly, so he questioned why they're giving up on it for the expense it took to put it in. Those are his tweets from yesterday.

But also, be honest- Do you bet Del Mar? Arlington? Keeneland? Woodbine? Dubai? I bet you devote plenty of your wagering $$$ to those tracks (and don't say "only the turf races")

Actually poly was small potatoes for me, I think it was a very silly foray by racing but you are right you vote with your wagering dollars. Rarely bet Del Mar. Do like to bet Keeneland and Woodbine but more for its randomness which is not exactly what handicapping is supposed to be....so yes, being fair I do bet poly but over the course of a year, I doubt it's more than 20% of my action.

Not sure what Doug was going for with that CA comment. How was California supposed to see the synthetic initiative through when 1 of the 4 major ovals closed, 1 had a faulty product and 1 now needs to be replaced?

Hollywood utilized their OK Cushion surface through to the end of the track's life; Del Mar explained that after 7 years the Poly is falling apart (issue Polytrack has had at WO and TP) and would have needed to be replaced anyway even if they weren't shooting for BC; Santa Anita's Pro-Ride was improperly mixed and installed and wouldn't drain properly necessitating cancellations; Golden Gate's Tapeta (the best of the synths) is staying.

The CA synthetic push was a rush to judgement mistake by Richard Shapiro and the CHRB and most of the purported attributes of synthetic have turned out to be false. It was a pig in a poke.

:tro: