Santa Anita Park and Del Mar Park Configurations

[Cratos]

With the BC races at Santa Anita Park next month I am putting up track layouts for both Santa Anita Park and Del Mar Park.

I included Del Mar because there will probably be a significant number horses running at Santa Anita on BC Day that previously had run at Del Mar.

[ultracapper]

The turf sprint track is "flat" from the beginning of the right hand turn to the wire? Visually, watching the races, it looks as though there is a slight slope from the right hand turn to the dirt crossing. Is this just a camera angle illusion?

I found those "maps" very interesting. Thank you for posting them.

[fromoffthepace]

LOVE these. Thanks, Cratos.

[Cratos]

LOVE these. Thanks, Cratos.

I am glad that you find value in the layouts. Therefore you might find from the layouts and using historical data that compared with straight-line sprinting at similar speeds, a horse sprinting around a turn requires additional force perpendicular to the initial moving direction in order to change the direction of the velocity vector and deflect the trajectory of the center of mass (CoM). The additional force required to negotiate a turn increases with higher speed and with turns of smaller radii (centripetal acceleration is velocity squared over radius).

This is why I say looking at surface resistance only as the impact to a horse’s speed performance is one-dimensional and tells very little if anything at all.

There are 4 major resistances to a horse’s speed performance.: Air Resistance, Wind Force Resistance, Surface Resistance, and Geometric Track Turn Resistance.

[thespaah]

With the BC races at Santa Anita Park next month I am putting up track layouts for both Santa Anita Park and Del Mar Park.

I included Del Mar because there will probably be a significant number horses running at Santa Anita on BC Day that previously had run at Del Mar.
What's the link to these maps?

[thespaah]

One oddity I see is while both Dmr and SA's main tracks have 420 ft radii, the turf courses while both 7f have different turn radii.
SA is 340 ft while Dmr's is 321ft....
That indicates that the turf courses have different widths. Having stated that, then I must ask, at what distance from the rail is each track measured?
Is there a 'standard' distance from the rail at which all tracks are measured?

[Cratos]

One oddity I see is while both Dmr and SA's main tracks have 420 ft radii, the turf courses while both 7f have different turn radii.
SA is 340 ft while Dmr's is 321ft....
That indicates that the turf courses have different widths. Having stated that, then I must ask, at what distance from the rail is each track measured?
Is there a 'standard' distance from the rail at which all tracks are measured?

Santa Anita Park and Del Mar Park as shown on the layouts I posted do not have the same radii. Santa Anita main dirt track has a 420-foot radius whereas Del Mar has a 426-foot radius; both metrics are clearly shown in the layouts.

As I understand it from many inquiries that I have made to various track maintenance personnel is that a racetrack width is measure from the line of tangency to rail outward.

This makes sense because if there a is space between the rail and the inside measurement line for determining the track’s width it would have to be smaller than 19 inches in width because Trakus records horses running as close as 1.6 feet from the rail.

Incidentally, there are not any links to the layouts which I post because they are created by me.

However the data is available at Google Earth and DRF.com

[thespaah]

Santa Anita Park and Del Mar Park as shown on the layouts I posted do not have the same radii. Santa Anita main dirt track has a 420-foot radius whereas Del Mar has a 426-foot radius; both metrics are clearly shown in the layouts.

As I understand it from many inquiries that I have made to various track maintenance personnel is that a racetrack width is measure from the line of tangency to rail outward.

This makes sense because if there a is space between the rail and the inside measurement line for determining the track’s width it would have to be smaller than 19 inches in width because Trakus records horses running as close as 1.6 feet from the rail.

Incidentally, there are not any links to the layouts which I post because they are created by me.

However the data is available at Google Earth and DRF.com
The font was a bit difficult for me to read...TI mistook the "6" for a "0"
I think you may have misunderstood my question on how the distance or circumference of each track is measured. Simply put, what makes a one mile track, a one mile track. There has to be a set distance from the inner rail at which someone puts one of those measuring wheels on the track and starts walking until he gets back to the starting point.
For clarity....NASCAR mandates that sanctioned track distances are to be measured 15 feet from the outer wall of the racing surface.
Now a question about trakus.....On which side of the horse is the trakus chip installed? I assume it is fastened into the saddle cloth, correct?
Lastly. How would one find the data you posted on Google Earth? Is there something on that site on which one can view the data?
Or did you create the data yourself? If so can you give me the short short version on how this was accomplished.
Mapping and geography are one of my hobbies....So...Inquiring minds want to know!

[Cratos]

The font was a bit difficult for me to read...TI mistook the "6" for a "0"
I think you may have misunderstood my question on how the distance or circumference of each track is measured. Simply put, what makes a one mile track, a one mile track. There has to be a set distance from the inner rail at which someone puts one of those measuring wheels on the track and starts walking until he gets back to the starting point.
For clarity....NASCAR mandates that sanctioned track distances are to be measured 15 feet from the outer wall of the racing surface.
Now a question about trakus.....On which side of the horse is the trakus chip installed? I assume it is fastened into the saddle cloth, correct?
Lastly. How would one find the data you posted on Google Earth? Is there something on that site on which one can view the data?
Or did you create the data yourself? If so can you give me the short short version on how this was accomplished.
Mapping and geography are one of my hobbies....So...Inquiring minds want to know!

What makes a one mile track, a one mile track?

The easy answer is its intended design. However if a racetrack is to be “one mile” in circumference by design then the decision has to be made to have either straight-always and turns equal in distance (e.g., Santa Anita) or straight-ways and turns unequal in distance (e.g., Churchill Downs).

If the straight-ways and turns are unequal there are numerous track layout configurations that can be made and it will depend on which one the track’s owners decide upon that will determine the straight-ways and turns distance.

To the best of my knowledge, I don’t know of a central governing body in thoroughbred racing that is like NASCAR that determines the dimensions of a race track.

Also virtually all of the thoroughbred racetracks in North America are “grand-fathered” in with Gulfstream Park being the newest of all major racetracks.

Which side of the horse is the Trakus chip installed?

I am not sure which side of the horse that Trakus fixes its tracking sensor to the horse’s saddle cloth, but I would agree that the side nearest the rail would be preferable given that the rail is a reference and they are collecting 2-dimensional data (X & Y) to determine instantaneous velocity (speed).

How would one find the data you posted on Google Earth?

Google Earth is an open free website and once you launch it; go to the search box and insert the location of the racetrack you are seeking and Google Earth will automatically bring it up for viewing.

Also you can use Google Earth Professional which is not free, but have better “measuring tools.”

Did you create the data yourself?

Yes, I did create the track layouts myself from the data I collected from Google Earth and DRF.Com. I am a mechanical engineer with many years of CAD/CAE experience and I have my own CAD/CAE software tools.