Synthetic surfaces

We’re fast approaching the most important prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. This weekend features the 2015 debut of American Pharoah, the colt that could go favored on the first Saturday in May. In this edition of The Friday Show, Scott Jagow and Ray Paulick share their thoughts on the Derby contenders […]

After Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum publicly criticized Meydan Racecourse’s synthetic Tapeta surface last week, its inventor Michael Dickinson comes to its defense. Sheikh Hamdan, whose Mukhadram finished second behind African Story in the Dubai World Cup, told the Gulf News that some horses don’t adjust well to the surface. “It is also inconsistent,” he said. […]

Many of the top Thoroughbreds in the world have arrived in the United Arab Emirates for Saturday’s rich Dubai World Cup program. While the official draw has not yet taken place, it is quite noticeable how very few North American-based horses will compete. Of the eight Thoroughbred races that will be contested, only three U.S. […]

The California Horse Racing Board voted in 2006 to make synthetic or engineered racing surfaces mandatory at the state’s major tracks beginning in 2008. Its members did so with the belief that synthetic surfaces are safer in the prevention of catastrophic injuries and fatalities. They were right. Using only a limited sample size from Turfway […]

Thoroughbred injuries are clearly an ongoing and major concern for the sport of racing. Scientists around the world have been studying the issue for decades, and in recent years, have seen significant progress towards a better understanding of why certain injuries occur and what can be done to prevent many of them. At the University […]

Since its open in March 2009, the Tapeta racing surface at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has received praise as one of the best synthetic surfaces in the world. Horsemen and jockeys alike have expressed approval of the track, describing it as a fair and forgiving racing surface. Tapeta is a patented mix of sand, […]

A recent Paulick Report post pointed out the controversial decision by one Australian racetrack to revert a taxpayer-funded synthetic track back to turf.  We received this response from the CEO of Tasracing, who writes that the situation at Clifford Park in Toowoomba is a unique one and not indicative of the overall view of synthetic […]

According to a recent post on his blog, Horse Racing Business, Bill Shanklin believes that after four years’ worth of data-gathering from the Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database, the numbers are clear: synthetic is a safer surface. Shanklin notes that the mortality rate per-thousand starts for dirt surfaces in the last four years was 2.08, […]

After five track records on Polytrack were established over a one-week period from Oct. 14-20, maintenance crews at Keeneland altered their maintenance of the synthetic surface in hopes of slowing down racing times, Daily Racing Form reported. Harrows depths were lowered by a half-inch Friday morning, from 4 to 4 1/2 inches, though Keeneland director […]

A Thoroughbred track on the Australian island state of Tasmania launched a new $11 million Tapeta racing surface Sunday, to much acclaim. Racing Minister Bryan Green hailed the track at Tapeta Park at Spreyton as “one of the best in the world,” saying the new rain-resistant surface will allow the track to host 18 race […]