My theory and feelings on Polytrack

[Honu]

All the talk about the pro's and con's of Polytrack makes me think how horseman and fans must have felt when they introduced the electric starting gate with humans leading them in and handling them in the stalls. Im sure alot of people voiced concerns about the head man holding the horse or the gate not opening or horses not coping with the small confines.
Im sure when the electric teletimer came into use people thought that there was no way a peice of electronic equipment could replace the human hand and stopwatch that was used and that photo finish cameras would never take the place of patrol judges and the stweards watching thru binoculars.
And what about the toteboard? Im sure the die hard gamblers were freaking out that odds would be posted on a electronic board and not done on a oddsboard like they had always done before.
Just things to think about and the changes that racing has went thru over the years, we all seem to have adapted quit well and so have the horses.

[Downthestretch55]

Originally Posted by Honu

All the talk about the pro's and con's of Polytrack makes me think how horseman and fans must have felt when they introduced the electric starting gate with humans leading them in and handling them in the stalls. Im sure alot of people voiced concerns about the head man holding the horse or the gate not opening or horses not coping with the small confines.
Im sure when the electric teletimer came into use people thought that there was no way a peice of electronic equipment could replace the human hand and stopwatch that was used and that photo finish cameras would never take the place of patrol judges and the stweards watching thru binoculars.
And what about the toteboard? Im sure the die hard gamblers were freaking out that odds would be posted on a electronic board and not done on a oddsboard like they had always done before.
Just things to think about and the changes that racing has went thru over the years, we all seem to have adapted quit well and so have the horses.

Honu,
Point taken. One of the best advances has been cameras tracking the horses and riders ALL the way around. Prior to that, plenty of nasty stuff went on between riders during the race.
Another great advance is the tote...those black boards really were slow.