Cushion depth

[TGJB]

Someone posted here a few days back that the cushion depth at SA was 3 1/2 inches. Can you tell me where you found that?

[drbillym]

www.santaanita.com.  Left side of page they list the track conditions daily-nothing up today as no racing, but that is where it was listed opening day.  My question, which no one answered, was how that might affect the speed holding up, as I have no idea if 3 1/2 is normal, deep or shallow.

[TGJB]

No comment on the bias issue, but it\'s going to affect track speed. I wrote about this in Are Racehorses Getting Faster, cushion used to be about 3\" in NY. Last I heard it was around 4\", Miff would have a better idea of what\'s current.

[paniolo]

Google Horse Racing Track Maintenance for all the info you will ever need.

[miff]

JB,

Santa surface playing extremely fast, most services have it playing consistently 10 lengths fast,raw.Some may be confusing the rocket fast raw times with a speed bias,it aint\'so. Granted, up close types are best right now with plodders suffering from being run away from.

Cushion depth is reported at 3 1/2 at Santa but with rain and tons of moisture holding in that surface, they are back-raking to try to slow the surface down. There have been some injuries(more than synth) but the trainers are not complaining too loud to my knowledge.

Without saying something you do not wish to, can you generalize about how many days you have added and generally how much.I\'m assuming you get a raw first then adjust,like Beyer, which may not be the case.

Mike

[TGJB]

I\'ve done through the end of 2010. It\'s been jumping around, but basically running about 3-4 full seconds (!) faster in sprints than Aqu that week. What\'s the cushion been in NY, if you know?

[miff]

JB,

Been told that NYRA track super Glen Kozak kinda leans to more cushion,slower raw times, and no inside speed bias.The present inner track at AQU does not play anything like it\'s former self when inside speed was giant and horses caught wide had very little chance.The inner was a fairly easy meet to beat in the past, not so anymore.

The rail is not as dominant as it once was,nor is speed.NYRA track super seems very quick to seal, back rake,and fluff an extra inch whenever there are fast raw times or a speed bias.I\'m seeing them water it the same but raw times are still on the slow side.

They may deny it but there is substantial evidence/results which confirm the above.The posted cushion at NYRA tracks has been somewhat irrelevant as to raw times since Kozak came on board.



Mike

[sighthound]

3 1/2 is pretty \"standard\" or normal for various tracks.   Water in that track, as it\'s more sand than the same track before, will speed it up (composition matters)

[Dana666]

The December 18, 2010 issue of the Thoroughbred Times (page 12) has an article and diagram of the new track surface; they allow up to 10\" of sand loam surface in the diagram pictured. The focus of that article was that the track wouldn\'t be that fast; obviously, they\'ve not opted for that -- I don\'t know whether or not that has to do with the record rainfall they\'ve received and how that might have changed the surface. I\'m fine with anything as long as it is consistent and doesn\'t kill the horses, but except for a few days, the rail has been a golden path, and the track does seem to return a lot of energy to the runners making it a pro-speed bias; they\'ve certainly brought the brilliant performances always known to California racing back to the forefront.I think it is a little too early to say (as some are) that the track is that insanely quick - if you look at California times from many years ago (I was doing that today), they\'ve always run very fast times on their dirt surface. It\'s not that unusual, really. Now you\'ve got the added phenomenon of synthetic runners exploding on dirt; I think that is more of a factor than anything else. Most horses hate synthetic and when they feel their feet on a dirt track, you\'re going to see much faster numbers. The interesting thing will be what happens on the second and subsequent efforts. If I were making numbers (and, of course, I leave that to you, Jerry) I would think that a lot of these runners have indeed exploded in their first dirt races, and I would think the numbers MUCH faster, not simply the track surface. Just my opinion.

[Michael D.]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/60225/training-begins-on-new-santa-anita-surface

[sighthound]

Heard SA was closed for training this AM due to drainage problem near wire.  Anyone?

[miff]

Sight,  

Heard that also.More being said about the number of horses \"going bad\" so far, quite a few. Synth loving trainers barking already about the new surface.


Mike

[Michael D.]

miff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sight,  
>
> Heard that also.More being said about the number
> of horses \"going bad\" so far, quite a few. Synth
> loving trainers barking already about the new
> surface.
>
>
> Mike




Mike, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most speed-favoring, how would you rate the SA dirt surface over the past week? I haven\'t had the chance to watch many races.

Anybody else have an opinion on how the track has been playing?

[miff]

Mike,

Like an 8, with up close/speed/stalk types best by far.Can\'t recall any deep closers winning lately,deep closers and plodders deceased on this surface, so far. Races just do not fall apart nearly as much as the old rug, even with pace wars.Best jocks, esp Bejarano, Rosario sending horses more than usual,imo.

They are still fooling with the surface which remains fast but not as fast as opening week.

The issues re horses going bad is almost certain to get them to try to slow the surface down even more.Cali increased takeout a disgrace! Good Luck

Mike

[Michael D.]

great stuff. thanks Mike.