Arlignton Poly

[NoChanceToDance]

Originally Posted by JJP

Getting back to the comment that Americans are always complaining or whining or whatever was said, it should be pointed out comparing our synthetic racing to Europe's is ridiculous.

We Americans were "sold" on the idea that this would be dirt racing, just safer. The Euros had nothing to compare it to, since they've never had conventional dirt. They were getting a chance to race in the winter, when they wouldn't otherwise. We've had winter racing here for years. And while Poly makes sense for a mostly winter track like Turfway, its plain stupid for tracks like Santa Anita and Keeneland to have it. Almost all the horses with 5 or more races here have established dirt form. When you see a horse like Sun Boat become a graded stakes winner on dirt, or Student Council absolutely bury Lava Man, you know there's something wrong. Its not just the running styles that people don't like; its the lack of transferability of conventional dirt form to synth that is bizarre. And while the strong acceleration of early speedballs and deep closers were admired, it appears those styles will give way to the "preferred" one-paced grinding style that wins so many synth races.

Give me Mountaineer, Ellis, Hawthorne any day over the carpet tracks.

Now i know for sure, that these tracks aren't preparing these surfaces properly.

One thing that Poly is not is a surface that favours one paced horses.

This comment almost made me laugh.

What are these tracks doing to the poly out there???? Harrowing 2 feet deep?

[philcski]

Originally Posted by NoChanceToDance

Now i know for sure, that these tracks aren't preparing these surfaces properly.

One thing that Poly is not is a surface that favours one paced horses.

This comment almost made me laugh.

What are these tracks doing to the poly out there???? Harrowing 2 feet deep?

Actually, that might be the issue. Swap Fliparoo and I went walking on the Keeneland poly on Saturday and it's extremely deep and tiring. Feels like walking in deep sand.

[NoChanceToDance]

Originally Posted by philcski

Actually, that might be the issue. Swap Fliparoo and I went walking on the Keeneland poly on Saturday and it's extremely deep and tiring. Feels like walking in deep sand.

This is entirely possible that they are just harrowing too deep on some of these surfaces. That would definitley make a differnce to the pace horses, and also helped the "one paced" horses as someone put it.

Now, i don't know for certain how deep they harrow here, but it depends on weather conditions, but i've never walked on polytrack and thought it seemed "deep and tiring"

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by philcski

Actually, that might be the issue. Swap Fliparoo and I went walking on the Keeneland poly on Saturday and it's extremely deep and tiring. Feels like walking in deep sand.

ya ever walk on a dirt track? deep and tiring...


i dont know how these horses do it!

[NoChanceToDance]

Leading trainer praises new polytrack surface in Ireland.

From www.attheraces.com

Champion trainer Aidan O'Brien may have been out of luck with his only two runners but he was nevertheless as impressed as everyone else with what he had seen at the newly opened Dundalk racecourse.

The Ballydoyle handler told At The Races: "It's an absolute credit to everybody, I think it will serve Irish racing well for a long time and I'll look forward to coming here. The track is unbelievable. It's a big, galloping track and the surface is very consistent. The facilities are great too.

"It's a place we will use to prepare horses for America. It's a surface that will bring the whole world together and we are going to get a lot of consistency, which is going to be great."

Johnny Murtagh was also full of praise and added: "We have the best horses in the world, the best trainers and some great jockeys. This is just going to add to it - in a couple of years we will be thinking how did we do without it. There's a real good feel to the place.

"Irish racing is, in my mind - and I've been all over the world - right up at the top. We have to keep going and keep improving, not rest on our laurels. We have to let everyone know we are the best."

********************

So, why are there so many problems in America? Dundalk is a brand new surface, they haven't needed time to get used to how it rides or needed time to make sure it is prepared correctly.

As i keep saying, the problem is with the people preparing these surfaces in America, not the surface itself.

Unless they learn (or can be bothered to learn) what they have to do to provide and consistant and safe surface, the problems you guys are having with Poly over there will continue.