Dishing the dirt on surfaces
Trainers split on synthetic, natural
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It used to be easier. Pick a horse you liked, from any track where thoroughbreds gather and begin their march to the Kentucky Derby. Study your Daily Racing Form, ponder the numbers, make judgments about the quality of the trainers and jockeys, then select your Derby winner.
No guarantees, of course, but you felt more secure after studying the numbers.
Not anymore. Welcome to the world of tracks with synthetic surfaces, where a win may still be a win, but when horses change surfaces, the game changes, as well. The results change, the bettors become uncertain, which trickles down to the trainers, who may see smaller fields with smaller purses.
There was a time when handicappers made judgments about the quality of competition at the California tracks compared with the horses who ran in Florida or New York. Now, it's not dirt against grass, it's natural surface against Polytrack since California's racing commission forced major tracks such as Santa Anita and Del Mar to switch to the synthetic surface. Many tracks in Illinois and Kentucky have followed suit.
Colonel John is one of the favorites in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, coming off an impressive win in the Santa Anita Derby in his last prep race. But Colonel John has never run on dirt, which remains the surface at
"I don't want to run on anything made from my attic," said Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, who has Anak Nakal and Cool Coal Man running in the Derby. "God made dirt. God made grass. I'm very upset about this business right now."
Eoin Harty, Colonel John's trainer, says Polytrack, which was installed to cut down on injuries to horses and jockeys, has provided comfort and security.
"The horses stay sounder longer now," he said. "An average day training on a dirt track is like putting mileage on a car. I don't think you get that with synthetic tracks."
Colonel John and Bob Black Jack, who finished 1-2 in the Santa Anita Derby, will be making their dirt debuts Saturday. Colonel John's sizzling workout of 5 furlongs in 57.8 seconds on the dirt at Churchill Sunday seemed to ease some of the concerns about his transition to dirt.
"Nobody expects a 57 and change," said Harty. "But I wasn't surprised with the way he did it. That's what he has been working like since Day 1 at Keeneland last year when he first came in. I've always had faith in this horse."
Although Colonel John may have answered some questions, Pyro's 10th-place flop in the Blue Grass Stakes over Polytrack at Keeneland perplexed some, but his trainer said there is no mystery.
"I've had some success going from Polytracks to dirt," said Steve Asmussen. "Going from dirt to Polytracks, I've had none. [Polytrack] doesn't make any sense to me. If tradition in racing means anything, they should race on dirt. And tradition means something to me. It's the great neutralizer and people won't bet on it. It makes $2 bettors out of $200 bettors."
Make no mistake. Although a lot of people are looking at the numbers that say in the past year catastrophic injuries on Polytracks are down significantly compared with dirt tracks, everyone is looking at other numbers.
"[Smaller handles on Polytracks] certainly is a concern," said trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won on both surfaces (his Derby horses, Monba and Cowboy Cal, finished 1-2 in the Blue Grass). "It certainly is a concern to me that the handles seem to reflect the big bettors don't have confidence in the surface. Ultimately, we all know that's what generates the purses and we need their confidence in the surface for it to be successful."
The trend seems to be leaning toward synthetic surfaces.
The Breeders' Cup races will be held at Santa Anita the next two seasons, and other than in Florida, New York, and, of course, Churchill Downs, dirt tracks are dwindling.
"It's probably premature to determine whether it's here to stay or not," Pletcher said. "We're all kind of learning as we go along, and what we're finding is that there's a lot that we don't know about it."
"I'm a big fan of synthetic tracks," said Harty. "The tracks in California were very unsafe for too long. The proof is in the pudding. The field sizes have swelled and the horses have stayed sounder longer."
But the old guard would prefer to race on dirt, or, at worst, on grass.
"There's nothing better than a horse race on dirt," said Zito.
Pletcher, who is 0-19 in the Derby, cut to the chase about what will happen in the future, beginning Saturday.
"Probably the best horse is going to win," he said.
Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.
