So let’s accept the economic brilliance of the concept, and not debate here the merits of the race or knocks against this type of race, which typically include the “rent a horse” arguments (which, by the way, hold water especially in slot-subsidized harness racing).

I would like to hear YOUR VIEWS on some twists and nuances of the claiming race. So consider the following and please, comment below.

1) Announcement of Claims. Should claims be announced before the race or after? Some tracks do it, some don’t. In either case, should such announcement include how many claims were entered and who entered them? Should this data then be added to the historical records so such data appears later in the Past Performance record of the horse? Please chime in on all of these questions.

2) Shakes (when there are 2 or more claims entered on one horse). If there is “excess value” in the horse, the buyer gets it. By that I mean, if two $25,000 claims are entered, and one of the two claimants would have paid $27,000 and the other the $25,000, if the $27,000 wins the shake, then he keeps $2,000 that he otherwise would have gladly given the owner if the horse were sold privately. Here’s an idea. In addition to entering the basic claim, claimants enter a secondary “bid” in case of a shake. If there is more than one claim in, the judges open up the secondary “bid” envelopes and the highest gets the horse. If there is still a tie, then a traditional shake takes place between the tied high “bidders”. So, the question for you: Are sealed “secondary bids” a good idea rather than the traditional shake?

3) Sales Taxes. Some states (like California) charges sales tax on claims. Most states do not. New Jersey charge sales tax on the initial claim in a calendar year, then only charges again on any amounts over the amount of the first claim through the rest of the year. Sound a little crazy? It is. Some folks think sales tax is a good idea, as it is a disincentive to claiming and “jamming” (keeping a horse at the same class). Others think it inhibits that natural economic process of claiming. Still others think it is wrong, as technically speaking, if the horses stay in the claiming ranks, they really are being held for re-sale, and as such it could be argued, should be exempt from sales tax. [Note, this is an interesting, and likely untested argument as the horse IS held for re-sale, but is also being used, where typical re-sale items are inventoried and not otherwise used.] So, the question for you: Is sales tax on claims a good idea or bad idea?

4) Jail Time. Nearly every state and/or track has “jail time” associated with a claim. Typically between 30 and 60 days or the end of the meet, whichever comes first, a claimant cannot move the horse to another track (other than for stakes races). This too is very inconsistent across the county. New York has a 30-day jail-time rule, but Saratoga Harness has a 45-day rule that trumps the state. Pennsylvania has a 60-day rule but allows you to move within the state before the 60 days are up. California used to have the most protectionist rule, 60 days after the end of the meet! Now, due to some threatened litigation, California has no jail time at all. So, the question for you: Is jail time a good idea or bad idea and if good, what is the ideal amount of time?

5) Forced Class Change. Some jurisdictions for claimants to move their horses up in the claming ranks for some prescribed period or number of starts. This is done to lessing “jamming” as described earlier. The question for you: Are forced class movements following a claim a good idea or bad idea?

Claiming races often have the most competitive fields due to the economic rationality effectively forced upon their entrants. But given the above five items, the races do have some nuances of differences from state-to-state. I would really like to hear your thoughts on the points above so please chime in!

David Siegel
President – TrackMaster

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TrackMaster, an Equibase company, is your complete source for Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and Harness Racing information. Products ranging from Thoroughbred Past Performances, Harness Racing Programs, and Thoroughbred Handicapping software to Horse Racing Picks from our experts, are provided for all levels of handicapping sophistication.

BREEDERS’ CUP MARATHON

The winner, Man of Iron was tough to get by normal handicapping processes. Big run from 9-year-old Cloudy’s Knight, winner of the Grade 1 Canadian International two years ago.  Betting favorite Mastery made a late move but couldn’t keep up with the top two in the final stages.

BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE FILLIES TURF

The two fancied Europeans Lillie Langtry (IRE) and Junia Tepzia (IRE) both failed to fire, turning this race into a high priced Allowance event. The winner Tapitsfly wore down the stubborn pace setter Rose Catherine, who had only won a  maiden race, and took three tries to do that. It was later reported that Lillie Langtry (IRE) was injured in the race and will be out of training until next season.

BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE FILLIES

She Be Wild wrapped up the 2-year-old filly championship with a strong win here. Biofuel was making a nice move late in the stretch but was interefered with by Negligee and lost her action. Biofuel might be one to keep an eye on. Blind Luck was forced to go wide in the stretch that seemed to not be the place to be. Ran on but was no match for the winner, also another who may have a bright future.

BREEDERS’ CUP FILLY AND MARE SPRINT

Defending champion Ventura was outfinished by Informed Decision and those two were clearly best of the rest. Ventura was likely compromised by a perceived early speed bias but take nothing away from the winner who has now won 11 of 13 lifetime.

BREEDERS’ CUP LADIES TURF

Forced to move early on pace setter Visit, who was on the lead and uncontested Jockey John Murtaugh on Midday (GB) moved his 3-year old filly early and made a powerful run from the half mile pole and held off a late challenge by Pure Clan who ran the race of her life. Just a monster effort my Midday (IRE) to beat a pretty strong field that looked evenly matched on paper.

BREEDERS’ CUP LADIES CLASSIC

In an oddly run race, Careless Jewel ran off with jockey Robert Landry literally sprinting to a 9-length lead before tiring badly on the turn. Many will fault Landry for the ride but it wasn’t his fault – the filly just wouldn’t relax. Life Is Sweet had been chasing her stablemate Zenyatta all year, made a last to first dash down the stretch and won going away leaving some pretty nice fillies and mares behind.

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BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE TURF

Apparent speed bias on the Santa Anita turf course continued here. Big run from Bridgetown who set moderate fractions then held on stubbornly, getting outfinished by Pounced and Frankie Dettori. A brilliant ride by Dettori who won this race last year with Donatavum. Interactif, the 2nd betting choice held on for 3rd.

BREEDERS’ CUP TURF SPRINT

California Flag was a well-beaten 10th in last year’s running of this same race, forced to go very fast early and fading badly late. This year it was a different story as with a decided lack of early speed in the race jockey Joe Talamo was able to put California Flag on a comfortable lead through a 21.2 first quarter. Once the field crossed the dirt the race was over as he opened up three lengths on the field and finished strong while there was little action from the back of the pack. The mare Gotta Have Her ran huge to get 2nd to make it 1-2 for the California based runners. It seems that horse, rider and trainer all learned something from the experience in 2008 and it was the first Breeders’ Cup victory for all three.

BREEDERS’ CUP SPRINT

This was one of the most talked about races on the weekend card. Much was made of 7-5 morning line favorite Zensational’s penchant for breaking a little slow, with many public “handicappers” opting to choose Gayego, who had a race over the track. He went off at 2-1 offering little value in a race where if you threw out the favorite offered a wealth of value. As if almost on cue, Zensational broke slow and was unable to make the lead, effectively ending his hopes of winning. Jockey Eurebio DeSilva on Fatal Bullet kept Zensational boxed in but in doing so used his horse up on the pace and may have cost him any chance of winning. In a thrilling finish, one of the best in recent Breeders’ Cup memory, Cal-bred Dancing in Silks made it two in a row for the California contingent, out-bobbing another Cal-bred Cost of Freedom and an unlucky Gayego.

BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE

Another thrilling finish as Goldolphin finally wins one with Vale of York (GB) over a very unlucky Lookin At Lucky. The difference was the brilliant ride by Dubai jockey Ahmed Ajtani. Lookin At Lucky lost nothing in defeat, expect him to move forward and be one of the early favorites for next year’s Kentucky Derby.

BREEDERS’ CUP MILE

Pretty much as expected, Goldikova repeated as the Mile champion. Nice patient ride by jockey Olivier Peslier. Trained by Freddie Head, who was the jockey on the great Miesque, also a two time winner of the Mile, Goldikova’s two Cup wins were nearly mirror images of those of Miesque. Last year Goldikova won the Mile with a breathtaking acceleration, similar to Miesque’s dash up the rail in the 1987 Mile. This year, parked outside early, Goldikova had to bide her time and circle the field, similar to the way Miesque won the 1988 Mile.

BREEDERS’ CUP DIRT MILE

Betting favorite Mastercraftsman had a nightmare of a trip, still appeared to have a chance while making a move on the rail but refused and stopped running when asked to move through a hole between the rail and eventual winner Furthest Land.  The winner was claimed by his current connections for $35,000 just over a year ago is now 3 for 3 on synthetic surfaces and brings new meaning to the term horse-for-course.

BREEDERS’ CUP TURF

In the smallest field in Breeders’ Cup Turf history, the only questions were how many lengths Presious Passion would open up, and which of the European horses would run catch him. As expected, ‘Passion opened up a 10 length lead, and jockey Elvis Trujillo was able to get him to relax. When the real running started, he had plenty left in the tank and put up a game effort but in the end was outfinished by Conduit, who duplicated his 2008 Breeders’ Cup turf victory.

BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC

Zenyatta…wow. Let’s leave it at that.  Unless, of course, you’d like to open the debate about Horse of the Year.  Should she win out over Rachel Alexandra?  Post a comment and let us know your opinion.

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TrackMaster, an Equibase company, is your complete source for Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and Harness Racing information. Products ranging from Thoroughbred Past Performances, Harness Racing Programs, and Thoroughbred Handicapping software to Horse Racing Picks from our experts, are provided for all levels of handicapping sophistication.

Trying to rate contenders from Europe and elsewhere, handicappers had to rely on published articles and/or the excellent Timeform ratings. Often it was a guessing game. In the early years of the Breeders’ Cup it was clear that the horses who performed well in Group 1 races worldwide were competitive with North Americans. However there was no clear way to rate all horses using one rating system.

The Development Team at Trackmaster set about to tackle this problem and after years of painstaking research, a breakthrough in the Spring of 2008 led to methods to assign Speed Figures and Class Ratings to most foreign (not run in North America) races. These ratings are on the same scale as the Equibase Speed Figures and Class Ratings used in our North American past performances, so foreign entrants in North American races can now be easily evaluated. More details can be found in a prior blog post.

We’ll take a look at some of the top European contenders in the major 2009 Breeders’ Cup races and how they compare to their North American counterparts. But first a look back at last years Breeders’ Cup Classic:

2008 BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC

Europeans ran 1-2 beating the mighty Curlin, and though Curlin’s owner Jess Jackson is convinced it was the Pro Ride artificial surface that got him beat, a quick look at each horse’s last three Speed Figures might tell a different story.

Curlin was the betting favorite. He had beaten just about everything that came his way for the past two years, and his 2008 win in the Dubai World Cup stamped him as perhaps the best dirt horse in the world. Duke of Marmalade was the was the top European male of 2008 but clearly came out of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe worse for wear and ran a dull ninth in the 2008 Classic. Raven’s Pass and Henrythenavigator were considered top milers in Europe but despite that finshed 1-2 after passing a one-paced Curlin in mid-stretch. For those paying attention to the Equibase Speed Figures, Curlin at 4-5 was a bad bet. Raven’s Pass was certainly playable at 13-1 and paid his backers $29 to win. Henrythenavigator, also a contender on the Equibase Speed Figures, paid $22 to place. A $1 exacta box on the three main European contenders returned $159.80

A similar situation may present itself in the

2009 BREEDERS CUP CLASSIC

The 2009 Classic may draw up to three top European contenders. It may also draw the undefeated filly Zenyatta, whose dominance over her own gender and experience over the Santa Anita Pro Ride surface will give her a home field advantage. On numbers, it would appear that she may be vulnerable and the astute bettor would be advised to try and beat her – under the right conditions. Likewise, the top 3-year old male in North America, Summer Bird, will be well backed here and is by no means a standout.  The Europeans will not be as well-represented in this race as in 2008. The best of the lot, like the 1-2 finishers from 2008  is a miler – Rip Van Winkle (IRE). Lesser fancied, and likely to run in other Cup races are Twice Over (GB) and Mastercraftsman (IRE). Using the same criteria as above (most recent SR listed first), the top contenders in the Classic are:

The numbers say that Rip Van Winkle appears to be the horse to beat, and certainly looks to be the best of the Europeans. Bettors are likely to drive the odds on Zenyatta and Summer Bird down below 5-1. The other two mentioned above are likely to be overlays. And what to make of Twice Over’s 128 earned in his last race? Mastercraftsman may run in the Dirt Mile instead.

For Zenyatta fans, it should be noted that in many of her races the early pace has been excruciatingly slow, which often leads to low final time speed ratings. The pace in the Classic will be honest, and by all accounts Zenyatta should have no problem with the classic 1 1/4 mile distance. However, with jockey Mike Smith’s penchant for moving very wide into the stretch with her, and a much better cast of contenders here, she’s going to have to run the best race of her life to remain (and probably retire) undefeated.

Moving on, here’s a quick look at a two of the other races with multiple European entrants.

2009 BREEDERS CUP TURF

For the 2nd year in a row the Breeders’ Cup Turf will not have a full field. In fact it is possible that this year’s event may have as few as 7 runners led by 2008 Turf winner Conduit (IRE).

Summer Bird will likely go in the Classic. Da Re Mi (GB) is also entered in the Filly & Mare Turf (2nd preference). Clearly the North Americans are up against it here. This will likely be the easiest race on the card to handicap. There is no secret as to how this race will run. Presious Passion goes out, opens up a huge lead and everyone else tries to catch him. Conduit (IRE) and Da Re Mi (GB) are clearly the class of the field and will be the ones chasing ‘Passion home.

2009 BREEDERS CUP MILE

The impressive winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile, Goldikova (IRE), returns to defend her crown. Let’s face facts…at her best, there is no horse in the world that can beat her at a mile. However those who are looking to try have to be encouraged by the fact that she lost her most recent race, the Group 1 Prix de la Foret, without showing her characteristic burst of late speed. Here’s the field:

Awesome Gem and Colonel John have first preference for the Classic. Assuming that those who go for the bigger prize, Goldikova (IRE) again looks to be the one to beat. If she is not the filly she was last year though, the race looks wide open and the Mile is usually one race on the Cup card that is often decided by inches.

Speed and Class Ratings for Foreign Races are a vital in the handicapper’s toolbox. Armed with these exclusive ratings, the handicapper can confidently attack the Breeders’ Cup races and for that matter, any race with an entrant who has not previously raced in North America.

On a related note, we are excited to announce the availability of Timeform reports for Breeders’ Cup days.  Their in-depth commentary and bios for each of the foreign entries will prove to be a valuable tool on days when they expect a record number of horses to be shipping in from across the pond.  Look for these reports in the TrackMaster Winner’s Circle starting on Thursday.

J Stone
TrackMaster Foreign Racing Analyst

On Saturday Keeneland cards the Grade 2 $150,000 Fayette Stakes on closing day. A field of 10 will face the starter with the role of favorite likely going to 6-year-old Parading, from the Shug McGaughey barn who will be ridden by Kent Desormeaux. Up and coming 3-year-old Blame, from the Albert Stall barn, who was runner-up to Regal Ransom in the Super Derby  has yet to finish off the board in three career starts. It should be noted that both contenders won their only previous start over the Keeneland Polytrack surface. Longshot players might consider Giant Oak, a talented former Kentucky Derby contender who’s been badly mismanaged but has shown flashes of talent; and Medjool, who does his best running on the grass, a colt who has earned excellent and competitive Equibase Speed Figures in those races and figures to be a HUGE price on the tote board.

Going from a one day format to a two day format was a big step for the Breeders’ Cup. This will now be the third year with the new format. Going to two days gives more of a racing festival type of vibe and allows for a much bigger handle. In the future, this format does not seem to be set in stone, so it will be interesting to see with the current economic situation, how many more years this will continue until a decision is made to pare down the number of races or stay committed to the expansion.

Last year, as opposed to this year, the Breeders’ Cup Friday was billed as a “Ladies’ Day.” One of the biggest changes was to change the name of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff to the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic. Many were upset with the name change and have voiced their opinion that the name should be changed back. The argument for keeping the name is that many people at the track, much less the population at large, don’t know what the term “distaff” means, so the new title makes it easier to understand that the race is for female thoroughbreds.

This is the first time the Breeders’ Cup has been held at the same venue in back to back years. The thought being that the Los Angeles area is one of the largest markets in the nation and that there would be increased synergy by holding the event at the same site from one year to the next. Another plus was that certain marketing agreements could be made for two years instead of a single year. Also, bad weather is virtually a non-factor in Southern California and the all-weather surface will perform well, even if there is rainy weather. Many didn’t want another repeat to happen soon after the rain-soaked, sloppy Breeders’ Cup event held at Monmouth Park. Unfortunately, even when a venue does all it can to put together a first class event like Monmouth did, the inclement weather can spoil the fun, especially on a traditional dirt surface. The connections of some horses that are skipping the event this year have voiced their opinion that the Breeders’ Cup shouldn’t have been held on an all-weather surface in back to back years. Jeremy Plonk recently contributed an excellent piece to ESPN outlining the fallacy of those jumping to conclusions about the horses that raced on traditional dirt prior to last year’s Breeders’ Cup and their subsequent poor performance on the all-weather surface.

Some owners and trainers have stated that they don’t want to run their horses on the all-weather tracks, while the connections of other horses like to train and race on these surfaces. The final verdict on all-weather surfaces is still not in, but here are some of my thoughts from last year on all-weather surfaces in general. One thing seems certain for now, when a Breeders’ Cup is held on an all-weather track, there will be increased participation from horses based in Europe. Last year a record thirty-one horses in the Breeders’ Cup had an international racing background and another strong contingent of foreign horses is expected. This definitely helps support the billing of “World” Championships. Also, the spectacular, new, state-of-the-art, Meydan Racecourse in Dubai which opens at the end of January, has just installed the Tapeta Footings all-weather surface. If an owner or trainer wants to take a shot at the winner’s share of the $10,000,000 purse of the Dubai World Cup, they will have to embrace the all-weather surface. I think that the synthetic surfaces get a bad rap from many here in the United States. I’m glad that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, an intelligent man with a huge stable of horses and vast resources, has not listened to any of the synthetic naysayers and has kept to the task of installing the all-weather surface at the new facility. Would anyone with his expert level of experience with horses really install a surface that would undermine the health and well-being of any of his expensive, well-bred thoroughbreds?

In August it was announced that there would be a switch from the purple saddle towels to the standard colored saddle towel system. I have been a proponent for this change for a long time and mentioned it in a previous blog posting. I don’t know how the economy and other factors will effect the overall handle, but I can guarantee that more money will be wagered with the switch than would have had the change not taken place.

After last year’s ho-hum ticket sales, ticket prices were drastically reduced for this year’s Breeders’ Cup. Also, ticket holders can choose to have a seat on Friday and/or Saturday rather than last year when they were forced to buy tickets for both days. Hopefully more fans will attend this year and handle will be higher since the savings from buying seats can be used for making wagers on the exciting race cards.

This year the Breeders’ Cup has launched a new website, Breeders’ Cup 360, which is loaded with lots of great information for the serious handicapper. You can also find Breeders’ Cup on Facebook and other information on the Breeders’ Cup website. All of these web-based efforts help promote the big day. Other promotions include a “Tweeters Cup” tie-in with Twitter and the Breeders’ Cup Classic Lottery Sweepstakes through the California Lottery.

In recent news, a proposed rotation of tracks is a possibility in the near future. This seems like a good idea since a schedule would be in place well in advance, and the host sites would be in a closer partnership with the Breeders’ Cup.

There is one last thing I’d like to mention, a new TrackMaster Marketing initiative if you will. Just in time for the Breeders’ Cup, TrackMaster has improved the offerings of two of our most popular selections reports. The Turf Club Analysts now propose a ticket to be played for the Super High Five wager when warranted, which is likely to happen on both Breeders’ Cup days (Filly and Mare Turf on Friday and the Classic on Saturday). Also newly added, the TrackMaster F.A.S.T. Sheets now offers wagering suggestions for most exotic wagers. These suggested wagers can be found at the back of the report. Tickets to be played for Exactas, Trifectas, Pick Threes, etc. are laid out for the horseplayer that wants some extra help when making exotic wagers. Perfect for the Breeders’ Cup and other major racing days when large pools offer the chance of  large exotic payouts, or any of the other days you want some solid advice when going out to the track.

Which Breeders’ Cup marketing initiatives have been a success in your opinion and which need to be tweaked or dropped altogether. Be sure to add any ideas you think would make the Breeders’ Cup become an even bigger success. Should there be a prime time, “night time” Breeders’ Cup? Should the Breeders’ Cup ever be held outside of North America? Please tell us what you would do if you were in charge of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

Craig Walker
TrackMaster Senior Product Development Specialist

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TrackMaster, an Equibase company, is your complete source for Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and Harness Racing information. Products ranging from Thoroughbred Past Performances, Harness Racing Programs, and Thoroughbred Handicapping software to Horse Racing Picks from our experts, are provided for all levels of handicapping sophistication.

The other big race of the week is the $300,000 Grade 2 Lexus Raven Run Stakes for 3-year old fillies. A large, evenly matched field is set to face the starter for, this 7 furlong test on the Keeneland Polytrack. Heading the field is another Godolphin runner, Flashing, winner of the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga at this same distance, and the consistent Just Jenda. Those looking for longshots might consider Pretty Prolific, and the improving Sky Haven.

The run-up distance can have a large influence when calculating speed figures and especially when calculating pace figures. In the extreme, some run-up distances for the same distance, on the same track and the same surface, can vary widely. This is especially true for the turf races due to the measures taken to protect the grass from getting worn down. At a track such as Laurel Park for example, a mile and a sixteenth race on the turf can have a run-up distance as short as 20 feet and as long as 100 feet. By having the run-up distance recorded, the Equibase Speed Figures and even more so the Pace Figures, can be calculated much more accurately than ever before.

One of the advantages of having an automated process calculate speed figures rather than a real, live person, is that it makes it easier to test and implement any new data elements that are introduced. (Other advantages include the ability to easily create figures for all tracks, consistency in the figure making process, use of mathematical principals to determine unusual Track Variants, and the absence of any personal bias that might cause one to increase a horse’s figure because of the horse’s reputation or the reputation of the horse’s connections.) The good news is that the inclusion of the run-up data in the figure making process, has made the Equibase Speed Figures and Pace Figures more accurate. We are currently in the middle of the process of putting the newly calculated figures in place. We are updating all of the figures from October 1st, 2008 forward. The update should be completed by the end of the week.

This update comes just in time for the Breeders’ Cup and all of the TrackMaster and Equibase products will have the improved figures. The updated figures should help you pick more winners, more often on Breeders’ Cup day and throughout the year.

Craig Walker
TrackMaster Senior Product Development Specialist

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment by clicking the “Comment” link directly below.

TrackMaster, an Equibase company, is your complete source for Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and Harness Racing information. Products ranging from Thoroughbred Past Performances, Harness Racing Programs, and Thoroughbred Handicapping software to Horse Racing Picks from our experts, are provided for all levels of handicapping sophistication.

The Grade 1 $2 Million Canadian International drew a small field in a race that is traditionally oversubscribed. Marsh Side is back to defend his title after taking down the 2008 running. Virtually any of the 8 have a chance here making for a great betting race. Champs Elysees lands in a good spot here as does Jukebox Jury. Both have been running against top class horses on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

The Grade 1 $1 Million E.P. Taylor Stakes has also attracted a small but talented field. The British invader Rainbow View has been installed as the 8/5 morning line favorite.

The lone Grade 1 in the US this weekend is the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge at Keeneland. Gozzip Girl will be heavily favored with Kent Desormeaux aboard, but beware of Miss World from the crafty Christophe Clement barn, who always seems to be at his best at Keeneland.

Steve has graciously agreed to participate in our Handicapping Series where we pose various questions of industry leaders and professional players. The subject this week is synthetic race tracks.

TrackMaster: Steve , give us some of your views on synthetic tracks and explain how the synthetic surfaces have changed your handicapping process or style, if at all?

Steve Davidowitz: We should all remember that synthetic track manufacturers said these artificial surfaces would require almost “no maintenance,”  that they would be “free from the effects of rain or bad weather” and be “bias free.”

What a joke.

The simple fact is that they are more sensitive to track maintenance than any other track known to man. The people who put them in play are still experimenting with their approaches to keep these tracks from falling apart or becoming hopeless mush. These tracks react radically to rain, humidity and temperature shifts  as well as how much use they get.

Because of climate and weather issues, Del Mar’s Polytrack is different than the Polytrack brand that was installed at Turfway, different from Keeneland and different from Woodbine, or Arlington.

The Pro Ride surface at Santa Anita, which replaced a faulty Cushion track in the winter of 2008 played very fast and yet played to extremely wide rallying track bias during the Breeders’ Cup races last fall.  And there were days during the winter of 2009 that this same track played towards a speed bias or with no bias at all.

Cushion Track at Hollywood played fast, but more like a dirt track after so much sand replaced much of the synthetic mix of fibers, sand and wax polymers. We are now being told that Hollywood has changed the mixture and brought the synthetic track back, to well, a synthetic track. But we’ll see about that and that is the crucial point. Track maintenance is the single most important factor in determining how a synthetic track plays and nothing could prove that more than what happened to the Polytrack installed at Del Mar in 2007, and what changed for ‘08 and ‘09.

After the cool and wet coastal clouds drifted out to sea each morning, the wax melted in the Del Mar surface under the hot summer sun and created one of the slowest main tracks any of us have ever seen. The Grade-1, $1 million Pacific Classic was run in 2:07 and change, a clocking that would be slow for a $5K claiming race at Thistledown.

For 2008 they decided finally to add water to this track to keep the wax polymers cool. That set up a relatively fast surface with a stalk-n-go profile. In 2009 they altered the watering pattern somewhat and the stalker’s profile persisted except for some rally wide days and some speed biased days on a few of the Friday twilight cards conducted in cooler temperatures.

Meanwhile the Tapeta track at Golden Gate Fields and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania played mostly normal as did the Polytrack at Arlington and Woodbine after some early difficulties.

The bottom line is this: As I stated in the chapter on synthetic track handicapping in Betting Thoroughbreds for the 21st Century, the new synthetic tracks are difficult to deal with, but there are patterns that occur that can be believed in and when they do occur, the player who is watching races carefully will catch horses who fit the pattern that others will miss. $20 horses, $40 horses, logical horses under the special conditions you will be dealing with.

Turf bred horses and horses who gained some stamina from longer races and/or longer workouts usually do well on these tracks. Stamina is important on synthetics, even the ones that play blazingly fast. While it is true that most experienced horseplayers wish that we would get rid of the synthetics and go back to dirt,  there are rewards for players who are quick to see what is going on and take accurate trip notes.

The best way I can put this is something I learned a long time ago. The race is not only to the swift on the track, it is to the swift in the grandstand too.

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment by clicking the “Comment” link directly below.

TrackMaster, an Equibase company, is your complete source for Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and Harness Racing information. Products ranging from Thoroughbred Past Performances, Harness Racing Programs, and Thoroughbred Handicapping software to Horse Racing Picks from our experts, are provided for all levels of handicapping sophistication.