Gulfstream Surface Changes - Wow
 

https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.co...hetic-surface/
Makes sense to me but maybe not to others.

They need to repair that deep tire groove that they have about 40 yards from the finish line on one of the turf courses. In todays 5th race the #1 horse stepped in the groove and almost lost his balance causing him to lose by a nose.

I've been advocating for an idea like this at Aqueduct for a long time to convert one of their turf courses to synthetic in the hopes of keeping some turf horses with a fighting chance in the winter, but I think given the width & overuse of the GP course this would be a good experiment for them to try as well. I think rained out turf races moved to a synthetic surface instead of dirt would benefit almost all parties, and just having another option seems like a worthwhile idea.

If there's room for 3 courses, one should be synthetic.

Hate to say this Aiden, the least of your problems in the spring, summer and fall, is having "mediocre" fields. It has been Gulfstreams consistent refusal to give horseplayers accurate information about their races. The fact is, you made New York racing the standard, and that is not saying much. That track, can not figure out where to park stating gates, so it does not interfere with the beams.

A suggestion would be is to learn how to time your races accurately. In other words, start from the basics.

By the way, the cost of the timing system on all three of your courses, is 1/1000th of the cost of a new synthetic track.

They could host a Breeders Cup and add a few synth races into the mix. :eek:



:faint:

Have they even decided what is ultimately going to happen with AQU?

Some barns just move south, but smaller stables with just a few turf horses are forced to either run on dirt or more likely send them to a farm for a few months for a freshening. A freshening is a good idea in many cases, but that could be the exact point the horse is doing great and you want to run. A turf friendlier synthetic course could keep some of those horses in action.

I'd like to see synthetic ovals at all three NY tracks. They have the room.

Why the hell would they put a synthetic at Saratoga? Losing some turf races to rain is customary and the amount the needle will be moved on handle for races that are transferred to synthetic versus being run on dirt is so small it’d take forever to cover the cost of installation.

If downstate racing is consolidated to one venue, obviously Belmont, you could install a synthetic and still have one very wide turf course that could have multiple rail settings that create “two” courses like Gulfstream does.

It’s too bad it’s not going to be polytrack (I don’t even know if it’s still being made), that would be fun to play with Florida’s humidity

Prop bet....the Knicks win the NBA title before Gulfstream installs a synthetic surface. I would lay a price with the Knicks, by the way, as it could happen someday.

Odds are better than 50/50 to put in a synthetic to have for training AND to replace turf racing when too wet (rain)

For one thing, it rains up there.

Indeed, the heaviest rainstorm I have ever driven in was during an August in Saratoga Springs.

I wouldn't ever expect a synth track to be considered at Saratoga to replace one of the turf courses, but I don't think financially it would be as bad as you believe. The recent Tapeta course for Turfway was reported to cost $5.6 million. Doing some quick & very estimate heavy math, I'd roughly say that's about the equivalent of lost profit from handle if 100 races at Saratoga moved from turf to dirt. They could probably knock that out in 5 years given the weather up there, so long-term it could be worth it from a purely financial decision. This is just one of the reasons why I think tracks with the space should really consider adding a synth surface as a 3rd option.

Another Option
 

With racing at Calder (Gulfstream Park West) now expected to end, does anyone know if there has been any considerations to allow the running of a limited meet at Hialeah Park? They once had a beautiful turf course, and at one time not too long ago there was some considerations of running a TB/QH meet. (Today I believe they still run unsanctioned QH races in order to satisfy their casino license.).