Quote:
Originally Posted by SG4
Also before the initial Dubai races there was lots of talk about the surface being similar to Churchill Downs, is there any known quantity to what the Saudi surface is like?
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The track is big. Frankie Dettori compared it with Belmont Park because the turn is wide and sweeping. My guess is it's almost 2-miles in circumference with 2f (400m) homestretch. Of course as you must know already that the race itself is one-turn.
The track superintendent is ex-Bay Meadows track superintendent who worked there for 38 years until its closure. Been taking care of Saudia's race track for past six years. He states that it's a fair surface with very fine sand and very little kickback. He also mentioned that he keep track of biases and horses' running style and said horses can win on the lead or from the back of the pack. Pretty fair in that sense according to him. He also said that it may favor horse moving from Turf to Dirt because of softer base and cushion. Additionally, his comment was that the surface could be little over a second slower than traditional US dirt track.
