My theory and feelings on Polytrack

[todko]

Poly is here to stay. The main sales pitch by TP/KEE (they are the same company) to other tracks has been reduced maintenance cost. Del-Mar bought into it long before a horse first raced on it in America. The pitch is that it saves tracks $500,000 or so in maintenance costs per year.

It's only recently, and after the Barbaro incident, that they came out with the "it's better for horses" pitch. And that's the hoopla they are telling the public. Face it, tracks never gave a crap about horses' health. In a lot of cases they did the utmost minimum to keep the surface safe.

The same ultra-rich who ran horse racing into the ground to begin with are behind poly. They really are oblivious to the bettor's wishes. They look at the bettor as a hopeless addict. They feel they can do as they please and the bettor will still bet. And maybe they're right.