False Rail/Spurs

Why are we the only racing jurisdiction to have false rails(that I know of anyway).In Hong Kong for example they have course 1,2,3 etc which are basically just how the different course configurations are labelled once the movable rail has been shifted to allow the grass on the old ground to grow,but are false rails not a major cause of the 'canter and sprint' racing that we often encounter here.

I just find it perplexing that we in SA seem to think we know better than all the other racing jurisdictions around the world in this regard.

It would be interesting to hear an official response,but I am hardly holding my breath in anticipation.

Uk use false rails,to save ground for big meetings, safety issues and to try and sort out draw imbalances.

Hi JAP not sure this answers your question, but we try and please our MVG posters.

A false rail is generally in place to protect the horse and spectators since the perminant rail may cause injury or break away. The significance of noting the rail distance is that the race course is measured without the rail. So if a race is run at one mile and a quarter (sorry, I don't know the metrics) and the rail is out 10 feet (or so many meters), the race time or training time would be slower than if the race was run with the rail out 5 feet. At least in the USA, rails are adjusted to let the grass on part of the most inner course regrow, particularly after races have been run on soft ground.

I don't know if it's true outside of the USA, but USA tracks sometimes keep horses in workouts even further away from the rail using cones called "dogs". Running around the dogs will slow the workout time considerably so it is worth noting if the workout included dogs or not

JAP, the spurs probably are a cause of the 'canter and sprint' racing we often have, but personally I think I'd rather have that than regular cases of being boxed in on the rail with nowhere to go, or horses going 10 wide on the bend because there's no other route.