GC company affairs - on the right track?

FC Wrote:

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> forget about casinos and slot machines...the open
> bet is more destructive.


Bookies and totes in the UK used to care about it`s punters,now they only care about the slots...fact

will be the same in SA eventually,if you bet the horses fair enough,if you don`t who cares you will spend elsewhere

Good point Ballie

At least now we can look forward to a new Electronic Tote Board and Huge live viewing screen at Greyville

ballie Wrote:

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> so if horses are not trained on the same surface
> as at greyville then their chance of breaking down
> in racing conditions increase???


That wasn't quite what I said. I was just asking what people's thoughts were on the subject of swapping between surfaces.

I know some trainers who train exclusively on the sand, don't bother with grass gallops and are quite happy to take their horses straight from the sand onto the grass. Then there are others who are manic about making sure their horses get enough grass gallops in to 'season' the legs. It seems to be a matter of taste.

Also you use different surfaces for different things. A slow, heavy track will give a different workout to a firmer, lighter track - all depends on what you want to do. Compare for example running on the beach - running close to the water line where the sand is wet and firm is quite different to higher up the beach where the sand is dry and thick. Both are useful - just depends on what you're training for and of course you need to use them judiciously.

I don't have any experience with synthetic tracks apart from what I read, so I just wondered what people's approach / attitude might be.

The literature seems to indicate that a properly installed and managed synthetic should be roughly half way between sand and grass in terms of the concussive forces it exerts, so in theory horses ought to make the transition fairly easily and comfortably. Exercise theory suggests that if you've conditioned your body to a particular surface, then you ought to cope well with it. But of course any athlete will do a fair amount of cross training - weights, cardio, core strength, etc.

The only problem with theories is that horses don't read. Hence my questions

I would say that a horse's chances of breaking down or staying sound are largely dependent on the people who manage them. Obviously accidents happen - that's just life - but part of the skill of being a trainer is getting to know your horse, what its limits are, when to push and when to back off. That's why we pay them the big bucks (*ducks to avoid any missiles from forum trainers*)

You also need vigilant staff to check legs, temperatures, action, appetite, coat and general demeanor - any small changes can be indicators that something is amiss. If you pick up problems early, you can usually remedy them. Most problems / breakdowns happen because small details are missed and a lot of small things can end up adding up to a big one.

Zsuzs,i cannie answer as a trainer but as a punter i remember the old surfaces at Lingfield and Wolves before the poly and it was a rule that as a punter you couldn`t punt a horse without a run on the old surfaces.

But now with the poly the majority of horses can switch between the all weather tracks and grass as a rule and there doesnt seem to be specialists as such..

This could be because the poly is mostly used for the low grade winter season, the other reason is poly gallops are available to all yards in the country..

The yankee horsemen seem to hate the synthetic tracks though,the reason being their horses are bred to run on Dirt and these tracks suit grass horses more than dirt horses

I doubt that genetic predisposition has that much to do with how horses adapt to the various surfaces and track conditions, but rather the way that they are conditioned... if a horse is used to running on a particular surface it has through conditioning been able to adapt to a running style and the joints muscles ligaments and tendons are then shaped accordingly.... horses are generally worked and exercised on sand surfaces of varying textures until they are more or less fit ......moving from training track to favorable turf surfaces is then no problem as turf is firmer than that of alternative surfaces and fit sound horses race with very little problems....artificial or synthetic systems are less dense than sand and turf and even the sound fit horses tend to over work the joint extremities as the lower leg joints are subject to a rotation not normally experienced on conventional surfaces and this causes horses to injure themselves as the over rotation in leg joints causes muscle or ligament tears....when switching surfaces a slow build up is recommended so that the muscles ligaments tendons and joints become accustomed to the gradual build up and eventually adapt through shaping....however genetic predisposition may have something to do with the action or the way a horse moves and this action or style of running which sees a horse do better and favour certain surfaces more than others .....and some how certain USA and South American bred types seem to favour alternative surfaces to that of turf...:S

Will be a fun track to watch,if you think early pace types can get a run on the fields on the turf at Greyville from decent draws,wait until they build a very tight all weather track on the inside...

hibernia Wrote:

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> Will be a fun track to watch,if you think early
> pace types can get a run on the fields on the turf
> at Greyville from decent draws,wait until they
> build a very tight all weather track on the
> inside...

Glad you said it....:S