Arlington to install a synthetic surface

[brianwspencer]

the more i think about it, the more i realize that Arlington can't lose on this one.

after last summer, this is an incredible PR move, whether that was the intention or not. After seeing the Chicago newspapers circling around the track like vultures waiting for the next breakdown...this is bound to generate TONS of positive press to try to temper the disgust that many non-fans in the area felt last summer watching it happen.

[intense]

I worked at AP last year. Going to work and knowing I was possibly going to see multiple horses breakdown was not something I looked forward too. There was a time in the middle of the meet when I would almost look away when they would come around the final turn. I don't see how AP could go wrong by switching to poly. I was asked by hundreds of people during work what the deal was with all of the horses breaking down, hopefully this will change.

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by brianwspencer

the more i think about it, the more i realize that Arlington can't lose on this one.

after last summer, this is an incredible PR move, whether that was the intention or not. After seeing the Chicago newspapers circling around the track like vultures waiting for the next breakdown...this is bound to generate TONS of positive press to try to temper the disgust that many non-fans in the area felt last summer watching it happen.

I agree with you brian, i think they have turned a negative into a potential big positive. Arlington will now be viewed as a progressive as opposed to last year when the image was tarnished due to the breakdown issue.
they've now addressed the breakdown issue in a big way.
they've made it where arlington can rightfully claim to be one of the premeir
racing facilities in the country with its beautiful plant, superb turf course, and soon to be state of the art synthetic dirt track.

i think this will only make the place more popular with europeans reinforcing the international theme to the place. i also predict that with this change we'll
now see new faces amongst the trainer population. for example i would think that you'd be more likely to see some horses come up for the summer from someone like Biancone or other other high profile barns.