Breeders Cup/Keeneland

That would depend if the hard core below the dirt surface gave way due to some water issue. I would say I have seen more horses break down on the turf than the All Weather, no evidence for that, just from watching races.
Didn't they scrap AW jumping because of the number of injuries caused by the impact on the hardcore underneath the sand?
 
Didn't they scrap AW jumping because of the number of injuries caused by the impact on the hardcore underneath the sand?
i I can't remember now tbh. I do remember watching something on how they make all weather surfaces, I think it was Lingfield years ago. It is a bit similar to making a footpath, hard core then the AW surface on top. That would suggest that it couldn't be a good thing for jumps, basically it's like a firm surface with sugar on top.
 
I watched the race a moment ago.

I look forward to seeing if SR does a sectional analysis. It looked to me like Flightline wasn't ridden to best effect, chasing an over-fast pace. The leaders were about 12 lengths clear towards the end of the back straight but the chasers had closed Flightline down to about six lengths at the furlong pole. He was going too well for it to have been a concern but if he had been ridden more conservatively in the first half of the race he could have won by a long, long way.
As I suspected:

Sectional Spotlight | At The Races
 
Are horses more likely to be injured running on dirt than turf? I only wondered because I find it a bit scary seeing horses running on dirt/all weather tracks.

According to this report from the US Jockey Club, synthetic surfaces produce the fewest fatal injuries in flat races (0.75 per thousand starts). Dirt produces twice as many (around 1.5 per thousand), with turf producing 1.25:

https://equimanagement.com/news/2021-equine-injury-database-report-for-u-s-thoroughbreds/

I imagine that the average US turf race takes place on firmer going than is typical in Europe?
 
According to this report from the US Jockey Club, synthetic surfaces produce the fewest fatal injuries in flat races (0.75 per thousand starts). Dirt produces twice as many (around 1.5 per thousand), with turf producing 1.25:

https://equimanagement.com/news/2021-equine-injury-database-report-for-u-s-thoroughbreds/

I imagine that the average US turf race takes place on firmer going than is typical in Europe?

Yep, they don't race on it when it rains heavily, they move the turf races to the dirt tracks

Aqueduct completely cover their turf track in the winter
 
Turf tracks inside the "main" track so are tighter which brings its own problems.
They had plenty artificial tracks but dug a few up. Keeneland and Santa Anita especially, the latter could not take the heavy California rain.
Shades of Albert Hammond here, no connection to Micky or Alex.
 
On a tangent from this meeting, previous Saudi Cup winner, Maximum Security, it seems was previously doped, and could get his trainer up to four years banged up.

What a name for the horse!

You could barely make it up...
 
Last edited:
Back
Top