Grass height

[Tom]

Talking about the 5.5 inch grass height at Arlington Park today......what about other tracks - anyone know if they have standards for grass height? I don't see this anywhere.

[BillW]

Talking about the 5.5 inch grass height at Arlington Park today......what about other tracks - anyone know if they have standards for grass height? I don't see this anywhere.

Keeneland announces their cut (and general track maintenance) daily. I'm not sure if they put it up on their site or not

[bisket]

Talking about the 5.5 inch grass height at Arlington Park today......what about other tracks - anyone know if they have standards for grass height? I don't see this anywhere.
this is one of the reasons i don't play this race. in europe they announce the height of the grass for each track everyday just like track condition. arlington always keeps its grass long. its more like euro turf courses than any other track. its just something you have to know as a handicapper as to which courses are like what. 5.5 inches is long for turf courses in america. at saratoga and belmont, where theres two courses at each track, i think they keep each course a different length.

[andymays]

Talking about the 5.5 inch grass height at Arlington Park today......what about other tracks - anyone know if they have standards for grass height? I don't see this anywhere.


I heard they are considering having a medical marijuana booth at Del Mar for people that can produce a losing ticket (pain and suffering) but I don't know how high you can get.

Hope that answers your question! :D

[rrbauer]

Keeneland announces their cut (and general track maintenance) daily. I'm not sure if they put it up on their site or not

When Keeneland mows its turf course it indicates the grass length after the mow on its website under track maintenance.

[46zilzal]

The length of the grass is not so important as the "give."

Euro's give penethrometer reading averages from around several spots in the course. A pointed device, with a set amount of weight is dropped from a standard height. The amount the point penetrates into the surface gives an accurate (when averaged) idea of how hard/soft the course is.

How much resistance to an 1100 pound animals locomotion will long grass impeded as compared to how much force can be lost to the spring action of an energy absorbing surface??

[Irish Boy]

Is the answer pi?

[dutchboy]

There used to be some conversation about Del Mar's turf course and how it favored different running styles toward the end of the meet due to the grass being worn down.

Have no idea if the length of the grass matters or if it was the result of different group of horses with different styles running in the last half of the meet.

[racingplanet]

Im in UK and never heard of a grass length measurement being given. You cant factor in every variable into your handicapping, it will drive you nuts, and as mentioned above by a poster the ground (going) is by far the most important factor in deciding turf races. It is a key aspect of handicapping turf races in UK because a lot of horses will only run on turf the better the horse the more likely that is. We therefore can build a database of favoured ground conditions for each horse, and it is very rare for a horse to be good on all surfaces, they either prefer it like a road or with a bit of juice in it.

:ThmbUp:

[post time]

Mountaineer dont cut the grass. The mower has been broke for two years.

[bisket]

the height of the grass effects how much moisture stays in the ground

[rrbauer]

There used to be some conversation about Del Mar's turf course and how it favored different running styles toward the end of the meet due to the grass being worn down.

Have no idea if the length of the grass matters or if it was the result of different group of horses with different styles running in the last half of the meet.

SoCal tracks all went to a variety of bermuda grass. They keep it short and it is very dense making for a carpet-like surface. Del Mar used to "deep water" their turf course (pre-bermuda days) on Monday nights after the last race and that made for slower times on Wed and Thurs. I recall one time that someone forgot to turn off the water and they had to take Wed turf races off the turf. I've been skeptical for some time of horses shipping out of SoCal after running on the turf there and going to a track with longer grass just because the going will be different. Maybe as Zilzal points out it's the moisture content more than the length of the grass that affects some runners.

[robert99]

The general racing length cut in UK is 100mm (4 inches) as that is just below the top height of the pop-up sprinklers and does not block their spray pattern. Cheltenham (jumps racing) cuts to 125 mm (5 inches) to increase the cushion and reduce artificial irrigation on a chalky soil. Aintree (jumps) uses a standard 100mm cut for racing.

Turf mixes will vary with soil and climate - ours is often 65% ryegrass, 25% fescue and 10% meadow - which gives a blend that can withstand hooves, recover fast and provide a springy cushion without slippage from crushed broad leaf grasses.

Ascot, York, Doncaster now have sports designed turf plus subsoil which is consistent and evenly drained. The quality of the cushion and tolerance to racing is greatly enhanced.

[socantra]

I've got some old notes from a few years ago. Like the rest of my pile of notes, they lack attribution, for the most part.

Atlantic City mowed their grass at a height of 8 to 9 inches during their meet, as compared to the 5 inches that they claimed most other tracks mowed at. They used a special mixture of fescue, rye and bluegrass called (appropriately enough) ACRC mix.

Pimlico and Laurel cited a cutting hieght of 4-6 inches in season. Both listed a mixture of 65% turf type tall fescue, 25% perennial rye and 10% bluegrass.

That mixture seemed pretty common where I could find anyone willing to talk to me, except for Calder, which used something called Tifton #419 Bermuda Grass, and Del Mar, who used a Bermuda Grass variety called GN-1. named for the golfer Greg Norman.

[BIG49010]

Arlington has been putting out that data for years, and they cut the grass all the time there also. Very very nice grass course.

[ManeMediaMogul]

Making figures with a solid variant takes care of the height of the grass.

The figure maker can get as high as he or she wants.:cool:

[dansan]

only time i worry about grass height is on the golf course :confused:

[Tom]

Making figures with a solid variant takes care of the height of the grass.

The figure maker can get as high as he or she wants.:cool:

I don't agree at all. The height may well affect how the horses handle the courses and how they run ( early, late). Figures don't take care of that.
My idea of comparing grass heights was to try to predict how a horse will handle a specific course before it runs over it.

[ManeMediaMogul]

I don't agree at all. The height may well affect how the horses handle the courses and how they run ( early, late). Figures don't take care of that.
My idea of comparing grass heights was to try to predict how a horse will handle a specific course before it runs over it.

Your figures are not comprehensive enough for turf racing or you are just considering a final time speed figure. Pace, late pace and final time are all required to properly gauge turf ability.

A previous poster mentioned the condition of the ground as a more important factor and was absolutely correct. It far outways the length of the blades of grass. A solid variant will help immensely with that and enable you to gauge how a horse might run over a similar course.

[Tom]

You can "adjust" times all you want, but variants do not have anything to do with how a horse will handle a surface.

[BIG49010]

Your on the money with that statement Tom, we had a horse at Arlington that loved that course when it was very firm and the grass was short. When we would get to Hawthorne where the grass was always long and the course was either hard as a rock or muddy and chewed up he would stink up the joint.