Spa Track Maintenance

[BitPlayer]

There was an interesting exchange between Andy Serling and David Aragona on Talking Horses on Saturday about the possible existence of a gold rail at the Spa last Friday.  They suggested that there may have been a gold rail early in the card that was mitigated by the maintenance crew later in the card.  Serling suggested that the track superintendent, Glen Kozak (?), is not hesitant about working on the track in mid-card if a bias seems to have arisen.  I assume that trainers concerned that their charges may be put at a disadvantage would not hesitate to bring up the issue.

My recollection is that, at least at some tracks, TG used to keep track of maintenance work.  Am I correct, and if so, is it currently being tracked at Saratoga?  If it is being tracked, I wonder if you have noticed any changes in the frequency of maintenance over time?

[TGJB]

We get some maintenance info, but I would take a lot of the bias stuff with a heavy dose of salt. The exceptions are the data driven dead rails, which we mark.

I particularly like the “bias for part of the card” stuff.

If you haven’t already, check out “changing track speeds” in the Archives, re maintenance, specifically watering. But if you ever see them put dirt down or taking it off on the rail or anywhere else DURING a card, pretty sure it would be a first.