Playing To Win

Turf or Dirt; Short or Long?

One of the key handicapping tools is determining if a horse is racing on their preferred surface, at their best distance, and on their favored track condition. While it's the trainer's job to figure this out before he or she enters their horse in a race, the bettor is the one that has to determine how good a job the trainer has done at "spotting" their horse. Assuming the horse is in a race where they are competitive, then surface, distance, and condition become huge factors in picking a winner.

Tracks might come in all shapes and sizes, but no matter where you go worldwide; there are only two types of racing surfaces: dirt and turf. This doesn't mean all dirt or turf courses are alike, however. Dirt courses' composition can vary widely, and if you ask most track superintendents, the person whose job it is to oversee the course's condition, they'll tell you it's dependent on the environment and weather. Likewise, a turf course can be made of all types of grasses, again depending on what grows best in a given climate.

No matter what surface, a trainer also has to figure out what distance each of their horses prefers. They might have an idea from watching them train each morning, but until they see them racing, it's really a big guessing game. Breeding can and does play a big part in this, but some horses "outrun" their breedlines. You usually hear this when a horse runs further than they're bred to: for example, Smarty Jones, a son of the sprinter Elusive Quality, was downplayed as nothing more than a miler by plenty of experts; that is until he started winning at longer distances. Bottom line: Bred to go long or short, almost all horses become more proficient at certain distances in their career.

The final factor in "track" handicapping is track conditions. A sudden rainstorm can change a track from "fast" to "sloppy" in a matter of minutes, and should change the way you look at the race. Some horses love wet, muddy tracks, other don't. Some horses love soft turf courses, others like them firm.

Let's look at each of these surfaces a little closer and see how to put them into play.

Play a Game

• -Life Cycle

303-Track Conditions

• Intro
• Dirt
• Turf
• Distances
• Track Conditions