Overview of Surfaces
Level: Beginner
By Lisa Grimm, Hello Race Fans Contributing Editor
For many years, the received wisdom in thoroughbred racing was that North American horses ran on dirt, while European horses were the turf experts – but it’s not quite so straightforward. After the Second World War, many European stallions who had run solely on turf were imported to the US, where they sired dirt superstars – and American-bred stallions like Sadler’s Wells have, in turn, produced top-class European grass runners.
More often than not, however, racehorses stick to the surface on which they are bred to perform best – and in the past, that meant grass or dirt; things are a little more complicated nowadays. And some horses excel on any surface – Secretariat’s final race (a victory, naturally) was over the turf course at Woodbine, John Henry won on both grass and dirt, and more recently, horses like Einstein have proven that sometimes, you just need a good horse – regardless of what the track is made of.
Modern racetrack surfaces fall into three categories:
Dirt
Dirt racing is the ‘traditional’ North American racing surface, and while there are certainly major turf races throughout the US and Canada, many of the most well-known races, including the Triple Crown series, are run on dirt tracks. But each track is different, and there is some not inconsiderable variation among dirt surfaces – some have more sand, some are harder, some are deeper and some drain more quickly than others. While in general a horse bred to run on dirt, as most US-based horses are, can run well over any dirt track, some have clear preferences for particular surfaces – and are tagged as ‘horses for courses’ – although that title can apply to any surface. Dirt racing is also prominent in Japan, where descendants of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Sunday Silence continue to thrive on his preferred surface.
Turf
Horse racing’s history revolves around racing on grass, or turf – the thoroughbred was developed in England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to compete on this surface, and they continue to do so today around the world. England’s Epsom Derby, France’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and Australia’s Melbourne Cup are all run over grass, but there are many important American turf races as well, beyond the Breeders’ Cup Mile and Turf. As more top-class European horses are bred to run on grass (at least compared to their North American counterparts), major turf races in the US tend to draw very international fields – Chicago’s Arlington Million is a prime example. Most major US tracks have a turf course in addition to their primary dirt or synthetic surface; an exception to this rule is Colonial Downs in Virginia, which has a turf course augmented by a dirt track that is primarily used for harness racing – at that facility, the thoroughbreds stick to grass.
Synthetics
Synthetic or ‘all-weather’ track surfaces have long been used in Europe for training purposes, although there are also a number of tracks there that use them for racing as well. Designed to look and perform like dirt tracks (broadly speaking), they are typically comprised of some combination of rubber, wax, synthetic fibers and sand. As with dirt racing, no two synthetic surfaces are identical – in fact, there are a number of competing products that yield rather different results. Santa Anita’s controversial Pro-Ride surface has not lived up to its ‘all-weather’ billing, with many cards canceled for rain, but the same surface has proven effective across Australia, where it was developed. It is the track’s second attempt at a synthetic surface – the first, utilizing the Cushion Track product, had continual problems, although it is still used at Hollywood Park. Another synthetic surface, Polytrack, is used at major tracks such as Keeneland, Del Mar and Woodbine – it is also the primary synthetic product used in Europe. Another option, Tapeta, has been installed at Meydan, where the Dubai World Cup is contested; prior to 2010, the race was held over a traditional dirt surface.
While the switch to synthetic surfaces was driven by a desire to reduce injuries for both jockeys and horses, results have been mixed – with such variation among surfaces (both dirt and synthetic), a true one-to-one comparison is difficult. So far, the data does not support the position that a ‘good’ dirt surface is any more dangerous than a ‘good’ synthetic surface – but the jury is still out. The one generally-agreed upon notion about synthetic tracks is that they are favorable to grass horses; while it is true that races over synthetic often play out more like turf races (fewer runaway winners, more blanket finishes), it cannot be claimed that every good turf horse will easily win on a synthetic surface – nor that the chances of a good dirt horse are somehow entirely compromised. Some horses clearly relish synthetic surfaces over all others, but it’s a bit too early to predict whether stud farms will begin to promote their stallions as begettors of great synthetic stars.
Where can one find info on off-track( mud) breeding?
Hi Charles,
Check our Pedigree section… I don’t think we have anything specifically on off-track breeding (but perhaps we’ll add something!) but there is a passage on soft turf in our Turf Pedigree post.
There’s also information available in the past performance in the upper right hand stats box. Brisnet uses their own pedigree rating system that includes a rating for “wet” or “off” and DRF uses Tomlinson Ratings.
Good luck!
When I was reading the glossary on Equibase, (http://www.equibase.com/newfan/codes.cfm), it stated that muddy tracks slow down fractional times and tire out horses more because the base is covered with moisture. Does this happen on sloppy tracks too?
Hi Ryan,
I’ve seen varying definitions of sloppy and muddy but going by the Equibase definition at the link you included, water has permeated the track when it’s listed as muddy versus water being apparent on the track but no necessarily permeating the track when it’s listed as sloppy. So, I would say a tentative “sure, it could” to your question but your best bet might be to consult charts on the races in question when you’re handicapping. Hope that helps!
What effect does the position of the rail in a turf race have? Why does it vary?
Hi Ray,
That’s a great question. In a nutshell the use of a temporary rail on the turf course helps with the maintenance of the course. If the inside of the course becomes a bit chewed up the temporary rail can be used to keep the horses off that part of the track. The effect is that the configuration of the course changes with each different rail position. For example, if the temporary rail is out the turns become tighter which can mean a slower pace that makes it tougher for closers. If the temporary rail is not being used the pace can tend to be faster giving closers a better shot.
I found a couple of good reads on this subject in relation to the effect of the rail positions:
The first post in this thread further explains the maintenance issues and the effects of the positions:
http://www.derbytrail.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5025
And this post was mentioned in the thread as being insightful (and it is!):
http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/editorial/article.cgi?print=yes&id=3608
One takeaway would be to familiarize yourself with your favorite turf course or courses and keep track of post position stats in relation it rail use and to keep an eye on charts to see what kind of running styles are winnings at the various rail positions. You can find the position in results charts, here’s a recent example from the Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream:
http://helloracefans.com/pdfs/charts/2014-Mac-Diarmida-Stakes.pdf
The rail was set at 12 feet, the pace was slow and the winner sat close. Tracks also tend to have stats in their handicapping sections, here’s a link to Gulfstream’s post position stats (which does not include anything about rail position, unfortunately):
http://www.gulfstreampark.com/racing/handicapping/post-position-stats
But the Track Conditions section of their site is an excellent source of rail position information:
http://www.gulfstreampark.com/racing/race-info/track-conditions
With a little bit of leg work this could be a very interesting angle when playing your favorite track over the course of a meet.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for a great question!
how has track surfaces changed over time? are modern track surfaces faster than in the past?