Oracle, I think it's a perfectly valid statement you make, and I'd be surprised if even the Polytrack fans argue that a horse should run exactly the same on Polytrack as it does on dirt. I myself look at it as there are now three different surfaces in racing-- dirt, grass and Polytrack. The question for Polytrack's future, I think, will be whether breeders will start breeding horses with a predisposition to run their best on Polytrack, as they do with dirt horses and with grass horses.
In a perfect world, I'm with you in that I wish tracks would spend the time and money to lay in a deep dirt track so horses wouldn't be running on the racing version of pavement. But, though I don't know, I imagine it takes a lot to maintain a deep dirt track, and as the recent ConEd fiasco here in NYC reminds me, humans aren't so good at the maintenance thing until disaster hits.
But either way, it's an excellent angle to play at Saratoga... thanks for sharing it!
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