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Originally Posted by Sightseek
Maybe this is a stupid question, but I'm putting it out there anyway; how is that much different than a horse who is very specific to a particular dirt track?
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The bottomline is that its not a 'dirt alternative'...its Polytrack...not dirt or even close to dirt other than its tan in color....it might as well be called a 'turf alternative' too....
Its not dirt...its not turf...it is rubber and it is very soft and cushiony....imagine runnnig on the road, and then running on the grass....and now imagine running on a bed mattress....it is DIFFERENT....different horses with different bulids get over it just like turf horses are bred to handle the grass with their big, dish feet and high action to easily pick their feet up out of the tall grass...
It is all BIOMECHANICS.....good dirt horses usually like a 'fast' surface - like a road....when you have that much bounce and cushion in the Poltrack it changes the entire feel for the horse and the entire way a horse has to adjust his echanics to compensate for the spring and cushion in the track....
Think about it for a second......MANY Throughbreds that are great dirt actors love to 'hear their feet rattle' - to use an old expression.....this stuff is too boyant and bouncy....Believe me, I collected about 5 pounds of it when was at Turfway earlier this year and I walked over the track for a half a mile studying it....it is NOT a dirt alternative...no way, no how...
Mark my words when I tell you that if this track is instituted everywhere, it will change the way we breed horses today....Horses like A.P. Indy and Storm Cat would NOT be leading sires on this surface....they pass on breeding to be superior on dirt, not rubber....who knows, horse like Lemon Drop Kid could be the next great stallion if he passes down the mechanics to his progeny to be top class on the rubber.....
It is VERY discouraging for a traditionalist in this sport because I understand the deeper effects that it will have on our game and IT WILL CHANGE THE BREED...I, for one, don't like the fact that we are essentially inventing a new surface which will invent a new way to breed horses and change the roots of our successful and classical bloodlines going forward...