Synthetic Race Track Surfaces By: Jiselle Sorenson

What is synthetic surfaces? A man made surface. A mixture of: Sand Rubber Fibers And Wax.

What is it supposed to do? Cost Less Money after it is installed. (Installation is $6 to $11 Million.) So hopefully it pays for it’s self in the next 20 years. Less Maintenance than Traditional dirt track.( Virtually no water, less harrowing.) Reduce Injuries and Breakdowns by cushioning the horses landing hoof. Try to modernize the racing industry further to make more money on people training at the track, entering their horses in races, and bring in the crowds to bet and wager.

What is a Breakdown? When a race horse is either pulled up in a race for taking a bad step or when the horse falls. Barbaro: 2006 Kentucky Derby Winner. Went on to the Preakness and Shattered his right hind ankle. X-Ray above shows how they tried to fix it. Eight Belles: Took Second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby and right after crossing the finish line shattered both front ankles.

How the Synthetic Track is put together The old dirt track is scraped down to it’s bare bones with the start of the new year. Workmen install the perforated drainage pipes around the one-mile oval track. Lay down covering of filter fabric. 4 inches of clean stone provide a sturdy, yet permeable base. Porous macadam effectively seals the base but is still permeable. The synthetic track is then brought or made at the track and stored there and the piles are usually 100 FT wide and 30 FT tall. Then is installed on the track at a depth of 7 inches, all 16,000 tons of it.

Different Surfaces for Racing Turf Dirt Synthetics

Statistics from At tracks across California, 186 horses had to be euthanized after racing and training accidents during the last fiscal year. 79 horses died at tracks from other causes including, intestinal and respiratory disease. 2009: Dirt per 1,000 starts Synthetic per 1,000 starts Turf per 1,000 starts 2010: Dirt per 1,000 starts Synthetic per 1,000 starts Turf per 1,000 starts

What do trainers say about it? Some trainers say that it is hard to switch a horse that has been running on a dirt surface to the synthetic because they synthetic gives more than the dirt. It’s like a runner on a track that is flat going to a beach and trying to sprint 100 meters. It’s goes from flat hard surface to not flat and loose surface.

Synthetic Race Tracks in the U.S. Arlington Park- Chicago, Illnios Del Mar- San Diego, California Keeneland- Lexington, Kentucky Woodbine- Toronto, Ontario Canada Turfway- Florence, Kentucky Hollywood Park- Inglewood, California

Brands of Synthetic Surfaces Polytrack-recycled polypropylene fibers, recycled rubber and silica sand. Lexington, Kentucky. Tapeta Footings- recycled fibers, rubbers, and wax with sand. Cushion- recycled fibers, rubbers, and wax with sand. Pro-Ride- world's first polymeric binding system. Fibresand- recycled fibers, rubbers, and wax with sand.

Is synthetics truly better than traditional dirt surfaces? Yes and No. Statistics do say that there have been great results for cut downs on injuries and break downs, but will it last into the future is another question. Some people think more research will need to be done to make it more reassuring, because of the high cost of installing it some racetracks don’t want to spend money on a mystery.