Originally Posted by ArlJim78

I work in an industry that has underwent sweeping changes in the last 25 years. Every time a new round of changes came through there were always members of the old guard ready to chime in with the predictable refrains. “It’ll never work”, “We’ve never done it that way”, “Don’t you realize that this will change how we do things”. Every time the people that don’t embrace or understand the changes are swept aside like relics of a by gone era. From reading some of the comments here it seems apparent that those in this industry have been relatively sheltered from change over the years and are scared to death about what might happen. It’s a natural reaction but in my mind a huge over-reaction.

The relatively minor change from dirt to engineered dirt does not alter the game or the product in any large way. In small ways yes but certainly not enough to bring the industry to its knees as was suggested. Furthermore this change has already happened. I don’t know why some are acting like it still might go away if we just cry loud enough. In the near future all this hubbub will die down and people will look back and wonder what all the hue and cry was about.

Why? Because the engineered dirt will cause both people and animal alike to make countless little changes, which will in total, ameliorate the impact of the change. Trainers and jockeys will fine-tune their craft. Maintenance crews will find ways to improve the feel and performance of the stuff. Handicapping books will be rewritten. “The Power of Early Speed” may need a total rewrite! Handicappers will find new tools (those that haven’t already) to help them develop a proper race picture. Yes there may even be changes to the roster of leading sires. So what if Storm Cat and AP Indy drop a few notches and some others rise whose progeny show a tendency to run well on the stuff. This too will become understood readily and digested by the industry.

Finally, the engineered dirt itself will evolve. While there are only so many things you can do with real dirt, there will be no end to the future refinements of this product. If we’re on version 2.0 now, soon there will be 3.0 then 4.0 and so on, each change brought about to address the industry concerns and each time it will become more and more consistent and safe. Then other companies will come along and offer an alternative and competitive pressures will ensure that the price stays down and that enhancements continue to roll out.

No I don’t see any big deal with this change. It’s not going to cause a mass exodus to dog tracks and slot machines. Although the industry is not entirely the healthiest, this change is one that in the long run will be seen as a benefit.