There's not any debate that polytrack is a different surface than dirt. When a horse runs on it for the first time, you can't expect him to necessarily run the same as he ran on dirt any more than you can expect that a horse will run the same on dirt and turf. When a horse is running on a new surface, you never know for sure that he will like it. That's fine with me as a handicapper. I take it into consideration and try to make educated guesses as to which horses will like it much in the same way that I make educated guesses as to whether horses will like any new surface. If you want to play it really safe, don't bet a horse the first time they run on it. Wait until they have had a race over it.
Anyway, all the reports I have heard from trainers have been extremely positive. As I said in another post, people out here in Southern California have been joking that this is the first thing that all the trainers here have ever agreed on. You can never get the trainers out here to agree on anything. But so far, every single trainer out here loves the polytrack. The praise has been unanimous. Someone was joking the other day that even Neil Drysdale, who complains about everything, has had no complaints so far. He loves the polytrack.
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