Playing To Win

SURFACES

Track Conditions

Prior to each day's races, the track is given a "rating", or condition, by the track superintendent. Obviously, this can change at any time due to the weather.

When you go to the track on a nice dry, sunny day, the fast track will usually have a "rough" look to it. This is from the harrows that the tractors drag behind them to "turn" the surface, keeping it uniform throughout. If it's dry all day, the tractors will be out harrowing between races to maintain that consistency. You might also see the trucks putting water on the track so it doesn't become too powdery. On the other hand, if rain is in the forecast, the tractors will be out "sealing" the track to keep the rain from getting into the cushion. A sealed track will have a very smooth look to it. And if you've got a sloppy or muddy track, you'll see the tractors "floating" the track. Floats are boards that the tractors pull that pack the dirt, forcing the water to the top, so it can run off of the surface.

Take a look at the chart of all the track conditions used for both dirt and turf. Both lists start with the "best" condition and work their way down. Note that the Heavy and Slow conditions, once used for "off" tracks, are obsolete. Also, Wet Fast is a relatively new term; used when a track first gets rain, but it hasn't penetrated the surface.

Dirt Conditions	Turf Conditions
Fast	Firm
Wet Fast	Good
Good	Yielding
Sloppy	Soft
Muddy
Frozen
Heavy*
Slow*

*Heavy and Slow are no longer used.

As with our previous topics in this section, you can look at a horse's past performances to see how they've done on a fast or off tracks in the past, or if there's no data for them yet, how their Tomlinson number stacks up versus their opponents. Beyond a horse's preferences, there are some tracks that favor horses with a certain running style depending on track conditions. For example, say you have a horse that usually closes with a late run from far back in the pack. On a fast track, they'd be getting dirt thrown into their face from those in front. On a sloppy track, that dirt is now mud. If you look at the past performances and that usual kick isn't there, it could be what's hitting them in the face as much as the track itself. To sum up: There's no steadfast rule that says any particular surface favors a horse with a certain running style, but be aware of how track conditions affect each horse individually.

Turf course conditions are a little different than dirt. As a turf course gets more moisture in it, it generally becomes softer, with more give to it. Also, horse hooves tend to tear up the sod. You can see this in any race over an "off", or one not rated firm, course. Like dirt races, some horses take to turf courses of all conditions. As a rule, European horses like turf with more give to it, so a "soft" or "yielding" course might favor them.

However, once they become acclimated to the firmer American courses, particularly those in California and the Southwest, they are usually comfortable running over them as well. South American imports also tend to like the California tracks. When your looking at the past performances of a turf, take a look at which horses have performed well on turf courses that are similar to today's track.

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• -Life Cycle

303-Track Conditions

• Intro
• Dirt
• Turf
• Distances
• Track Conditions