AQU Inner Track - nice knowing ya

[SG4]

Love it or hate it, the AQU inner track is no more. Being converted to a 2nd turf course & the main track will get treatment to handle the winter in better fashion.

I was under the impression horsemen really liked the AQU main surface, wonder their take on this.

Happy that this will increase the options on distances they can write over the winter along with some additional turf distances too, still will always believe the winter meet would've been better off converting the inner to a synthetic surface though.

[PaceAdvantage]

Tiz true...the horrors!

http://www.drf.com/news/aqueducts-in...me-turf-course

[johnhannibalsmith]

This is really a turn-off for me. I'm sure that there a trillion great reasons to do it, but the inner was the part of the circuit that I fell in love with first and still make an effort to enjoy today.

[SuperPickle]

I don't get the negativity. I'll conceded it's weird to add a second turf course to a meet that has 8 weeks of turf racing at BEST.

However the inner isn't going away as much as the outer is becoming the inner. It's going to be the same surface.

Here's the upside. Aqueduct runs November to April. You've got a ton of young horses, late 2's to early 3's who have a choice of six furlongs or a two turn mile. Trainers can now gradually stretch horses out versus 6 or 8 furlongs being their only choice.

Also you have a nice collection of horses at NYRA who's best trip is longer than six furlongs but can't get a two turn mile. Seven furlong and one turn mile specialists. This makes it more attractive to race those horses in NY.

This is a good thing.

[098poi]

As long as they still have winter racing​ and we have a contest fine by me. I live to smash my head on my computer after getting knocked out in the first leg. Ahh the memories.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by SuperPickle

I don't get the negativity. ...

Like I said, a trillion good reasons to do it, I'm sure. Part of the inner's charm is the track itself. Not the surface, but the configuration. We have plenty of one-turn everything on the NY circuit. Milers suddenly having to deal with the short run to a first turn was a major component of finding live plays. The turns leading to different biases than you see elsewhere. There is a different vibe about the inner meet and it revolves around the track being, well, inner. I don't really want to see an elongated main track meet called the inner meet or whatever distinction I'm not supposed to care about. The real inner meet was unique - both in good and bad ways - but this outie innie meet just makes the regular Aqueduct meet plus the inner meet that much less interesting to follow and to play. For me, at first blush, anyway.

[classhandicapper]

I think this is a good move for all the reasons in the article (better distance options, field size etc..), but I thought this was especially interesting.

"Another potential benefit of adding a second turf course at Aqueduct would be to conduct racing there for an extended period of time should there be a renovation of some sort at Belmont Park that would require it to close temporarily."

That means there may actually be some renovation plans for Belmont.

I would have to hope that if they are taking on this additional expense there is very little chance of AQU closing any time soon.

[SuperPickle]

I'll sum it up this way. SoCal is geo-fencing players to try and shake a few more nickels into the till.

NYRA is eliminating tracks to try and keep up better with places like Gulfstream so they can run the same distances.

Whether you like the management or agree with them the reality is they're taking big swings which is what the sport needs. I'll also bet anything Exchange wagering is legal in NY before CA. NYRA management sees the whole board.

It's chess versus checkers. NYRA going to go down swing while SoCal is literally ripping the copper wiring out of walls.

[Andy Asaro]

Originally Posted by SuperPickle

I'll sum it up this way. SoCal is geo-fencing players to try and shake a few more nickels into the till.

NYRA is eliminating tracks to try and keep up better with places like Gulfstream so they can run the same distances.

Whether you like the management or agree with them the reality is they're taking big swings which is what the sport needs. I'll also bet anything Exchange wagering is legal in NY before CA. NYRA management sees the whole board.

It's chess versus checkers. NYRA going to go down swing while SoCal is literally ripping the copper wiring out of walls.

Well said. Couldn't agree more.

[johnhannibalsmith]

I mean, come on, I didn't post a fourteen-page Chris Kaye manifesto and declare it a horrible decision. I more or less conceded straight away it is just one of those inevitable, logical decisions. But, I don't like it. I'll get over it if I haven't already, but there's this vibe about all the negativity and near as I can tell, I'm the only one being remotely bitchy, and even I'm willing to come to grips with it before it happens. Not really a lot of passionate disagreement that seems to be driving the posts, but hey, if it spawns better conversation then I won't spoil the fun.

[zawaaa]

When Aqueduct’s current incarnation opened in 1959, it had one dirt track and two turf courses. In 1975, the outer turf course was replaced by a one-mile inner dirt track. The inner track had a limestone base that enabled it to handle winter weather better than the main track, which had a clay/silt/sand base.

The main track will have a limestone base and a sandy loam cushion, according to Glen Kozak, NYRA’s director of racing surfaces.

“All we’re doing is putting in a limestone base, similar to what the winter track had or what the [Belmont] training track has,” Kozak said. “The only thing that we’ll be doing to the cushion is add clay to hold moisture and tighten the track up.”

Though Aqueduct conducts turf racing for only about eight weeks a year, NYRA officials believe a second turf course will enable it to offer additional grass races, which typically fill better than dirt races.

waow, i had no idea Aqueduct used to have two turf courses!

[zawaaa]

also, a fantastic, fantastic article; on the subject

Aqueduct: A History of the Inner Track

a couple relevant quotes -- the safety issue is a bit worrying

NYRA first raced year round in 1974, and then-chair of the New York Racing Association, Jack Dreyfus, asked, “What do we need to do for year-round racing?” King told him, “We need a second dirt track.” The main track was clay and soil based, and thus susceptible to damage from winter weather and freeze/thaw cycles.

King recalls the conversations. “The worst case scenario is that we’d limp through the winter with one track, and then in the spring, we’d have a beat-up, worn-out track just as prime racing season was coming up. What were we gonna do, punt?”

“We didn’t have a lot of options then,” King said. Aqueduct at that time had a main track and two turf courses, and according to King, “A second dirt track was more important than a second turf course. We could race on the turf in April, and then we’re not back at Aqueduct until October, and off the turf by November anyway.”

What was necessary, King said, was safe racing all year around, and that concern led to the opening of the inner track in the fall of 1976.

NYRA’s current track supervisor, Glen Kozak, explains the benefits of limestone. “The stone dust—limestone—bottom of the track stands up better than clay, and the base drains better than clay.” Asked why Aqueduct needs two dirt tracks given the benefit of the inner, Kozak says, “The main track’s base is clay, and horsemen find that more forgiving. And the winter track is easier to maintain because it drains better; it doesn’t heave and separate the way clay would."

[Inner Dirt]

I no longer have a reason to live.

[cj]

Originally Posted by SuperPickle

I don't get the negativity. I'll conceded it's weird to add a second turf course to a meet that has 8 weeks of turf racing at BEST.

That is the part I don't get. Seems like a waste of money. But since it isn't my money, the only thing changing for me is some programming and figuring out a model for the new turf course.

[Tom]

Do they really card enough turf races at Aqueduct to make if worthwhile? Not a lot of time the track itself is open.

The draw to the inner, although easily fought off, was two turn routes. But until I see palm trees, no bets on either track for me.