http://www.drf.com/news/pillowtrack-...ed-at-aqueduct
Excerpt:
In order to help combat the breakdown issues plaguing the inner track, the New York Racing Association announced Sunday that a revolutionary new surface will be installed on the inner track- Pillowtrack.
Pillowtrack is a new surface that is designed to be 100% safe. The composition of the track is feathery pillows, which are designed to minimize the impact a horse or jockey takes when he/she falls down. On Pillowtrack, when a jockey falls, they simply bounce on the ultra-soft surface and emerged unscathed. At a vote on the surface, the NYRA board of directors voted overwhemingly- 19-2- to install the surface.
At a press conference Sunday, NYRA officials were optimistic that the surface will prevent injuries like the one suffered by Ramon Dominguez in January, caused by landing on the hard dirt surface.
"We believe with Pillowtrack, a softer and safer environment will be created for jockeys and horses alike" NYRA COO Ellen McClain said. "By having horses racing on pillows, instead of dirt, breakdowns and serious injuries will be a thing of the past".
Pillowtrack creators Arthur Patrick Rice, Ivan Leonard-Falk, and Osborne "Ozzie" Lewis gave glowing testimony of their surface, which took more than three years to create and develop.
"At our private training track, we had 50 horses work out over the surface" Rice said. "None of them were injured, and all owners and trainers gave positive reviews of the track. We also did 10,000 computer simulations of horses running on Pillowtrack, and only a few of them suffered any sort of injury, let alone catostrophic".
The plan is to begin installation of Pillowtrack after the 2013 spring meeting at Aqueduct, with hopes of it being ready for the 2013-2014 winter meet. If successful on the inner track, McClain said consideration will be given to installing it on the main track, and eventually at Belmont and Saratoga.
"Pillowtrack is the future of racing" Lewis said. "We feel that, as Pillowtrack becomes more common around American racing, people will realize its benefits, and it will ultimately make racing in the U.S. a safer sport".
