Turfway

Originally Posted by todko

Get real Champali Chick. Poly was sold as a miracle surface last year.

At this point at least Woodbine should purse legal action against Keeneland, Martin Collins LLC, et. al. -- Turfway really can't sue because they are half-owned by KEE and as such they must participate in the fraud.

Sell me a track for $8 million or even $2 million and let me have the kind of problems Woodbine has had. I'd guarantee a lawsuit that would shut down Martin Collins LLC for good.

Woodbine needs to wake up.

"Real" is my middle name, didn't I tell you that?

That's interesting. I don't recall anyone ever saying anything about Polytrack being the "end all, be all" of horse racing. However it was "sold" is irrelevent. Did YOU believe Polytrack would be a miracle that would: End breakdowns, act as a vanishing cream for kickback, and oh heck, while we're at it, end world hunger?

I've experienced Turfway before Polytrack's installation, and speaking from the experience of the few barns I've worked in, the horses are coming back in better shape this time around than when the dirt surface was down.

I'm not saying I think Polytrack is terrific right now - obviously they've run into some kinks. With any new surface, problems should be expected to rise. As I said in my earlier post, horsemen complained about Polytrack being too slow - it was resurfaced (and by the way, during that process, more sand was added, which is the biggest change) and is now running more like a dirt track. It's clodding more like a dirt track, kicking back more like a dirt track, etc.

When Turfway had the dirt surface, the biggest issue was the "freeze and thaw" process. The racetrack would freeze, and then during the day, parts of it would thaw, some would thaw more than others, and the result was a horribly dangerous surface to race over. Since Polytrack's installation, the freeze and thaw matter has been totally moot.

As I mentioned before, breakdowns will happen even if you run on a surface made of Serta mattress'. There are horses on every backside across the country who have no business running, yet somehow their "trainers" get them to the races. Eventually, that catches up to the horse and something will give way.

The industry is making an effort to improve the game for the athletes (horse and human), and it's a step in the right direction. Once again, I mentioned in my above post that there are many evils in this game, but Polytrack isn't one of them.