The most interesting part about all of this is how they try to make it seem like the safety of the horses is the number one reason for going to Polytrack. Not true at all. Turfway did it because they needed a surface that could withstand the weather. They were losing too many dates to the snow and other conditions. The safety of the horses wasn't the reason. And then people are acting like it's the Polytrack alone that led to the increased handle and fewer breakdowns. It was the increased number of racing days because they didn't lose days to the weather. Same thing happened at Santa Anita this year. In 2005, they had a ton of rain and it forced cancellation of several programs. This year, with no cancellations, the handle was up. Duh. Also, Turfway has different medication rules now. That has also had an effect on the breakdowns. It's not just Polytrack. I don't think it's the savior to racing that a number of people think it is.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020)
Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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