Derby Trail Forums - SA Fixing Track....Again

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SA Fixing Track....Again

Make it stop.

The decision to add sand was made after track officials consulted with horsemen. Haines said that the amount of sand added to the sand-and-clay surface would range from 300 to 500 tons, depending on advice from Michael DePew, a soil scientist advising track officials.

http://www.drf.com/news/santa-anita-...racing-surface

Seems like they are doing the right thing.

Greed....Plain and simple

I would think most tracks add sand after a sustained period of heavy rain. 300 to 500 tons is not that much considering the size of the main track. Spread evenly, I would think 300 tons would equate to about 1" of sand over the whole track (assuming 80' width and no chutes), if my math is remotely correct.

Obviously, I oversimplified it, I'm sure they would concentrate on the bad spots and would not be spreading it evenly throughout.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coach Pants (Post 743948)

Seems like they are doing the right thing.

But of course

Quote:

Overall, Vienna said the members of his organization are pleased with the surface, which was installed in late November and early December and used for the first time during racing beginning Dec. 26. The track has played extremely fast, with track records at six, 6 1/2 and seven furlongs.

Vienna described the surface “as an improvement” over the preceding synthetic track but acknowledged that there are concerns that the surface favors front-runners.

“You need a track that is safe and a track that is fair to all runners,” he said. “A horse shouldn’t sustain a detriment because of a style of racing.”

Wow - what a great quote "a horse shouldn't sustain a detriment because of a style of running"

I wonder if he also added "no person in this world should ever go hungry"

In an effort to make the Churchill Downs track "fair" - they made the rail dead for the Breeders Cup.

The Thoro-Graph people probably recognize only about 30 to 40 cards a year - from several thousand - as dead rail days. Major props to Churchill Downs for getting recognized as having a dead rail on Kentucky Oaks day, Kentucky Derby day, and Breeders Cup Classic day. A man-made dead rail on the biggest racing days of the year is a truly wonderful accomplishment.