Now i know for sure, that these tracks aren't preparing these surfaces properly.

One thing that Poly is not is a surface that favours one paced horses.

This comment almost made me laugh.

What are these tracks doing to the poly out there???? Harrowing 2 feet deep? :D

it's not whether people like to use them or not, it's whether they should. no doubt horsemen who use them like them.

the article i read most recently showed the angle of a horses foot with and without toe grabs and the subsequent effects on his foot as well as his leg. talked about incidents of injury and such. i also know that woodbine banned them, and then allowed them back up to a certain size due to their problems with the poly last winter. seems a controversial issue--but then what isn't on the track these days?

Actually, that might be the issue. Swap Fliparoo and I went walking on the Keeneland poly on Saturday and it's extremely deep and tiring. Feels like walking in deep sand.

This is entirely possible that they are just harrowing too deep on some of these surfaces. That would definitley make a differnce to the pace horses, and also helped the "one paced" horses as someone put it.

Now, i don't know for certain how deep they harrow here, but it depends on weather conditions, but i've never walked on polytrack and thought it seemed "deep and tiring"

ya ever walk on a dirt track? deep and tiring...


i dont know how these horses do it!

Leading trainer praises new polytrack surface in Ireland.

From www.attheraces.com

Champion trainer Aidan O'Brien may have been out of luck with his only two runners but he was nevertheless as impressed as everyone else with what he had seen at the newly opened Dundalk racecourse.

The Ballydoyle handler told At The Races: "It's an absolute credit to everybody, I think it will serve Irish racing well for a long time and I'll look forward to coming here. The track is unbelievable. It's a big, galloping track and the surface is very consistent. The facilities are great too.

"It's a place we will use to prepare horses for America. It's a surface that will bring the whole world together and we are going to get a lot of consistency, which is going to be great."

Johnny Murtagh was also full of praise and added: "We have the best horses in the world, the best trainers and some great jockeys. This is just going to add to it - in a couple of years we will be thinking how did we do without it. There's a real good feel to the place.

"Irish racing is, in my mind - and I've been all over the world - right up at the top. We have to keep going and keep improving, not rest on our laurels. We have to let everyone know we are the best."

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So, why are there so many problems in America? Dundalk is a brand new surface, they haven't needed time to get used to how it rides or needed time to make sure it is prepared correctly.

As i keep saying, the problem is with the people preparing these surfaces in America, not the surface itself.

Unless they learn (or can be bothered to learn) what they have to do to provide and consistant and safe surface, the problems you guys are having with Poly over there will continue.

Just a thought. Now the majority of fields are small and of poor quality at Arlington and actually have been for quite some time. The initial booming field sizes have dwindled, the Illinois breeding program has taken gigantic hits on their foal crops the past decade and can no longer support a full season of racing. The out of state horses find easier spots in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Kentucky. Not enough horses to fill good racing so they have to card crap and when crap races enough times it breaks downs.