NY Circuit to go Poly soon?

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Replacing one of Belmont's turf courses with a synthetic surface would rob Belmont of one reason why it is special (at least in my eyes): having dual turf courses allows for a plethora of turf racing.

I agree, synthetic is not the answer for every track. To me Belmont and Saratoga seem fine the way they are.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Eventually, Aqueduct will be sold. The land is too valuable. Whether it is sold to be converted into housing or commercial interests -- or sold to the Port Authority -- the Big A will not be around much longer.

Not so fast, my friend. I think there is a lot of resistance in the NY legislature to closing Aqueduct, and in case you hadn't noticed lately, the Governor and the legislative leaders haven't exactly been playing nice lately.

A racino, given public transportation issues, is likely to be far more successful at Aqueduct, and I'm told that NYC leaders might oppose having the racino taken out of one of the five boroughs and placed in Nassau County. Besides, from a racing perspective (overtaxing one racing suface/turf courses, lack of stall space, non-winterized plant or racing surfaces) closing Aqueduct would be a colossal mistake, and the cost of winterizing Belmont would be enormous.

Originally Posted by Cardus

Eventually, Aqueduct will be sold. The land is too valuable. Whether it is sold to be converted into housing or commercial interests -- or sold to the Port Authority -- the Big A will not be around much longer.

I have to agree. It really isn't necessary anymore anyway. There is no reason why they can't run at Belmont all year. I love Belmont but they really don't need two turf courses. Just make the inner course a polytrack and run on it in the winter and turn Belmont into a casino all year round. They just need to make more LIRR trips from NYC directly to Belmont but the track is already there anyway.

[sumitas]

Hold on now. If Belmont has one turf course the condition of the turf will be compromised. With 2 turf courses the surfaces at Belmont are in great shape. I feel uneasy about trying to cram everything into just Belmont.

[JJP]

If they have to make any PolyCrack, I'd say make the inner dirt at the Big A. But the PolyCrack people will jump in and claim that you can't make one of them Poly; they all have to be, the paddock and walking ring have to be. They claim that their brilliant creation will be polluted by surrounding dirt. I really have no idea if any of those claims are substantiated. Sounds like propaganda to me.

Anyone see the infomercial on DelMar's polytrack? They might as well have had Tony Robbins doing the narration.