Track surface

The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing.[1] These are:

  • Turf, the most common track surface in Europe
  • Dirt, the most common track surface in the US
  • Artificial or Synthetic, the collective term for a number of proprietary man-made surfaces in use at a number of locations around the world.

The style of racing differs between surfaces, with dirt races tending to have the fastest pace,[2] while turf racing often comes down to a sprint in the stretch. Races on artificial surfaces tend to play out somewhere in between. Anecdotally, American bettors consider dirt racing to be more predictable, which makes it a more popular medium for betting purposes.[1] Weather conditions affect the speed of the different surfaces too, and grading systems have been developed to indicate the track condition (known as the "going" in the UK and Ireland). Turf surfaces are the most affected by changes in the weather, and many turf horses will have a strong preference for a specific type of going.

Synthetic surfaces

Synthetic surfaces allow racing to take place in bad weather conditions, when it may otherwise be cancelled, and for this reason are sometimes referred to as All Weather surfaces. Manufacturers of synthetic racetrack surface materials promote the fact that synthetic tracks have drainage attributes that are better than natural surfaces.[3]

There is also evidence that synthetic surfaces are significantly safer than dirt in terms of equine breakdowns, though there are many variables that come into play.[4] The statistics for North America in 2015 showed 1.18 fatalities per 1,000 starts on synthetic surfaces, 1.22 on grass courses, and 1.78 on dirt tracks. The breakdown rates were down for each of the surfaces compared to 2014.[5]

The first synthetic surface used for thoroughbred racing was Tropical Park's Tartan turf, a synthetic surface similar to Astroturf installed in 1966. Tartan turf was never a success with horsemen.[6]

The first synthetic surface to replace dirt in the United States was installed at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1963. This surface, called Tartan, was found to be unsatisfactory and removed and replaced with a traditional limestone surface in 1975.

NameManufacturerCountryDescriptionInstallations
Cushion TrackEquestrian SurfacesUnited KingdomSand, synthetic fibers, elastic fiber coated with wax. The footing is approximately seven inches deep, followed by a geotextile membrane/tarmac.[7]
Santa Anita Park (replaced)


Hollywood Park (closed down)
Courbold Park, Sunshine Coast
Toowoomba, Queensland[A]
Klampenborg, Denmark
Taby Galopp, Sweden (closed)
Al Khor Horse Breeders Park, Qatar

FibresandMansfield Sand CompanyUnited KingdomSand particles and polypropylene fibres.[8]Southwell[9] (until 2021)[10]
PolytrackMartin Collins EnterprisesUnited KingdomA mixture of silica sand, recycled synthetic fibers (carpet & spandex) and recycled rubber/pvc. In cold climates, the mixture may also include jelly cable (plastic insulation from copper phone wire). The entire mixture is coated with wax.Lingfield Park
Kempton Park
Chelmsford City
Dundalk
Chantilly
Marseille-Vivaux
Pau (CLOPF)
Kranji, Mijas(CLOPF)
Veliefendi
Arlington Park
Del Mar Racetrack (replaced)
Keeneland Race Course (replaced)
Pakenham Racecourse, VIC
Cagnes Sur Mer Racecourse
Deauville-La Touques Racecourse
Gokdere & Bedew Racecourses in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Fairview Racecourse
Greyville, Durban South Africa Cambridge and Riccarton Park Racecourse, New Zealand[11]
Pro-RidePro-Ride Racing Australia Pty LtdAustralia6 inches of footing (sand, nylon fibres, Spandex fibres coated in a polymeric binder) on top of a 4-inch IMC layer (sand & nylon fibres) on top of a drainage system.[12]Flemington
Santa Anita (removed)
Rosehill Racecourse, NSW
Warwick Farm Racecourse, NSW[13]
TapetaMichael Dickinson, Inc.United StatesSand, fibre, rubber and wax makes up the top 4-7 inches of the racing surface, installed on top of either porous asphalt or a geotextile membrane.[14]Spreyton
Golden Gate Fields
Albany, California
Berkeley, CA
Presque Isle Downs
Wolverhampton
Newcastle
Woodbine
Dubai Racecourse Meydan
Turfway Park
Gulfstream Park
Southwell (from 2021)[10]
Visco-RideAustraliaSand and fibre coated in waxFlemington, Victoria (removed)
Cranbourne Racecourse, Victoria (removed)
Warwick Farm Racecourse, New South Wales (removed)

Lyon La Soie (France)

Pornichet (France)

EquiPolitrekVisteks LtdRussiaA mixture of silica sand, recycled synthetic fibers (carpet & spandex) and chopped geotextile. The surface keeps the exploitation characteristics in a wide temperature range (from -40° up to +100° С). The entire mixture is coated with wax.[15]Akbuzat Race Track (First in 2007, Renewed in 2021)
International Equestrian Complex, Kazan (First in 2005, Renewed in 2020)
International Equestrian Complex, Pradar
Equestrian Complex, Jump
Equestrian Complex, Nimb
Equestrian Complex, Sady Pridoniya
  1. ↑Toowoomba has converted 1/2 the synthetic track into turf and have the all-weather track as a training track

References
  1. Lesovoy, Amber (16 March 2009). "Why is dirt the best track surface for horse racing?". SportingLife:360. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  2. Allin, Jane (November 2011). "Horse Racing Ground Matters: Part 3". Horsefund. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  3. "The Changing Landscape - Handicapping All-Weather Surfaces". www.brisnet.com. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  4. West, Christy (23 March 2009). "Synthetic surfaces vs dirt and turf". The Bloodhorse. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  5. "Equine Fatality Rate Down 14% in 2015". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  6. Short history of Tropical Park by Hale, Ron (1997) (retrieved May 2, 2008 from about.com)
  7. "Cushion Track Premier Menages Surface". Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  8. "Fibresand Equestrian". 10 November 2010.
  9. "natural turf pitch, fibre-reinforced rootzone". Mansfield-sand.co.uk. 2010-06-22. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
  10. Scargill, Peter (29 April 2021). "Southwell given planning permission to change its surface to Tapeta". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  11. "Big tick for plastic fantastic". 10 October 2023.
  12. Unique 2-Phase cushioning & wax-free polymeric binder
  13. "Pro-Ride Track Profiles". www.prorideracing.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  14. "The System | Tapeta™ Footings". www.tapetafootings.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  15. "All Weather Horse Racing surfaces Politrek™ & RashitTrack™. Also for dressage and jumping. - Home". Archived from the original on 2015-06-20. Retrieved 2015-06-20. and "All Weather Horse Racing surfaces Politrek™ & RashitTrack™. Also for dressage and jumping. - Home". Archived from the original on 2015-06-20. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
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