The track surface of a
horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing.
[ These are:
*]Turf
Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls.
In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...
, the most common track surface in Europe
*Dirt, the most common track surface in the US
*Artificial or Synthetic, the collective term for a number of proprietary man-made surfaces in use at a number of locations around the world.
The style of racing differs between surfaces, with dirt races tending to have the fastest pace,[ while turf racing often comes down to a sprint in the stretch. Races on artificial surfaces tend to play out somewhere in between. Anecdotally, American bettors consider dirt racing to be more predictable, which makes it a more popular medium for ]betting
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...
purposes.[ Weather conditions affect the speed of the different surfaces too, and grading systems have been developed to indicate the track condition (known as the "going" in the UK and ]Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
). Turf surfaces are the most affected by changes in the weather, and many turf horses will have a strong preference for a specific type of going.
Synthetic surfaces
Synthetic surfaces allow racing to take place in bad weather conditions, when it may otherwise be cancelled, and for this reason are sometimes referred to as All Weather surfaces. Manufacturers of synthetic racetrack surface materials promote the fact that synthetic tracks have drainage attributes that are better than natural surfaces.
There is also evidence that synthetic surfaces are significantly safer than dirt in terms of equine breakdowns, though there are many variables that come into play.[ The statistics for North America in 2015 showed 1.18 fatalities per 1,000 starts on synthetic surfaces, 1.22 on grass courses, and 1.78 on dirt tracks. The breakdown rates were down for each of the surfaces compared to 2014.
The first synthetic surface used for thoroughbred racing was Tropical Park's Tartan turf, a synthetic surface similar to Astroturf installed in 1966. Tartan turf was never a success with horsemen.Short history of Tropical Park by Hale, Ron (1997)]
(retrieved May 2, 2008 from about.com)
The first synthetic surface to replace dirt in the United States was installed at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino
Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, originally The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, is a Standardbred harness-racing track and slot-machine casino in North Strabane Township, Pennsylvania, United States, about southwest of Pittsburgh. It is owned by ...
in Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...
in 1963. This surface, called Tartan, was found to be unsatisfactory and removed and replaced with a traditional limestone surface in 1975.
References
{{Reflist, 2,
refs=
[
{{cite web , url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/49791/synthetic-surfaces-vs-dirt-and-turf , title=Synthetic surfaces vs dirt and turf , last1=West , first1=Christy , date=23 March 2009 , publisher=The Bloodhorse , access-date=5 May 2014
]
[
{{cite web , url=http://www.horsefund.org/horse-racing-ground-matters-part3.php , title=Horse Racing Ground Matters: Part 3 , last1=Allin , first1=Jane , date=November 2011 , publisher=Horsefund , access-date=5 May 2014
]
[
{{cite web , url=http://www.sportinglife360.com/index.php/why-is-dirt-the-best-track-surface-for-horse-racing-45671/ , title=Why is dirt the best track surface for horse racing? , last1=Lesovoy , first1=Amber , date=16 March 2009 , publisher=SportingLife:360 , access-date=5 May 2014
]
External links
* http://www.equestriansurfaces.co.uk/
* https://www.premierplaysolutions.co.uk/surfacing-and-daily-mile-circuits/rubber-mulch-surfacing
* http://www.martincollins.com/
* http://www.prorideracing.com
* http://www.tapetafootings.com/
* http://www.viscoride.com.au/
* https://www.visteks.net/ and https://web.archive.org/web/20150620225049/http://rashittrack.com/
Horse racing