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Track safety has come a long way in a short period of time . Reprinted with permission of. Reprinted owner. copyright BEYOND The Blood-Horse S Copyright©2013, Copyright©2013, SCRATCHING THE SURFACE RICK SAMUEL BY FRANK ANGST s New York-area racing fans get the track,” Kozak said. awakened to pouring rain Fri- While trucks and tractors rolling around Belmont may be a familiar sight, day, June 7, plenty of break- Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory ex- fast conversations turned to ecutive director Dr. Mick Peterson said Aspeculation of the day’s races’ being there’s more than meets the eye. In recent canceled and the dimming prospects years several tracks have added technol- ogy and information gathering to their for a fast track June 8, Belmont Stakes surface maintenance. (gr. I) day. “In New York we’re at the point now where we have this real-time tracking, But well before those conversations weather stations providing updates. started, the New York Racing Associa- Then they have very complete data that tion already had rolled out one of the most they’re entering every day,” Peterson high-tech fleets of maintenance vehicles said. “They go out and measure points on in the world. Each vehicle includes cus- the cushion every day—cushion-depth tom-made equipment designed for the measurements—that goes in the data- challenges of each NYRA track, which at base. They’re measuring moisture con- Belmont can include spring downpours KEVIN THOMPSON tent and how that affects the toe going and strong winds. GPS technology is being used in track into the material.” As the vehicles rolled over the massive maintenance vehicles in New York On Belmont day Kozak would face what Belmont dirt oval, which was scheduled Peterson calls one of the toughest deci- 1 to use both turns of its 1 ⁄2-mile main track information, along with his experience sions for track operators: when to make in the Brooklyn Handicap (gr. II) later and staff input, gave NYRA director of the transition from a sealed track to one that day and in the Belmont Stakes a day racing surfaces Glen Kozak the confi- that has been opened up with harrows. later, signals from space reached the glob- dence to take action after the last June 6 With reliable records adding to the foun- al positioning satellite (GPS) equipment race to prepare for the deluge. Soon, he dation of experience, real-time informa- attached to each vehicle. The sensors pro- would pay more attention to the weather tion, and custom equipment, NYRA’s vided real-time monitoring of speed and report—updated every 15 minutes—and crew met the weekend’s challenge. The positioning—location to the foot—of each adjust plans as needed. previous day, 65 horses completed their vehicle on Big Sandy, which on this morn- Kozak welcomes the wealth of infor- races without incident on a sloppy, sealed ing resembled a lake more than a beach. mation. track. On Saturday 128 starters finished For more than a year before this rainy “There’s no doubt you go with your gut healthy on two yielding turf courses and day, NYRA had been using the space- on a lot of this stuff, but it’s nice to be able a main track that started the day muddy age information generated daily to build to correlate numbers either to the way the and sealed and finished as a fast surface. a maintenance record at its tracks. That track is reacting or to where you’d like to “All kinds of rumors were flying Fri- 22 / BloodHorse.com / JULY 13, 2013 day that we might cancel and what have database may prove more beneficial. So the materials database is getting to you. But the track was prepped Thursday “We’re getting to the point where when the point now where we can troubleshoot night, and although we had a lot of rain they start talking about the track not things,” Peterson said. “If we don’t see Friday, without wind, it wasn’t a factor being the way it used to be, we can now something in the materials database, it with the jockeys,” Kozak said. “The track go back to the database and say, ‘OK, well usually goes back to those core mainte- itself was in real good shape on Friday, it’s clear that you have less silica or more nance procedures, things like when and and we were fortunate to have the rain silica in your sand than you did before.’ how you add water.” end so that we could have a good track for Larry A. Swartzlander, director of op- Saturday’s races.” erations for the California Authority of Racing Fairs, said the RSTL’s scientific Cooperative Effort approach can be particularly beneficial Through groups and events such as the for young superintendents. RSTL, the Track Superintendents’ and “There’s a way to take care of these Arena Managers’ Field Day, the Welfare surfaces, and the lab has done a good job and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, as of formalizing that,” Swartzlander said. well as meetings at the Symposium on “It just puts structure and knowledge Racing & Gaming, track operators are in place for people who may not have as pooling knowledge. Kozak said the big- much background. It’s no longer a case gest difference he’s seen in track main- of just running a harrow across the track tenance is the amount of quality infor- and thinking that’s all you do.” mation available. In early 2012 NYRA While the RSTL compiles and provides followed the leads of Breeders’ Cup and information, the superintendents’ field Keeneland Race Course by adding GPS day allows participants opportunity to technology to its vehicles. hear about new developments and best “Once you have that in place, you’ve practices. This year’s three-day event got data you are able to go back and look will be conducted in August at Del Mar. at,” Kozak said. “We always kept things NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance exec- manually written down. Now you can go utive director Mike Ziegler said it is one of back and see trends. You can go through ON the industry’s most successful racetrack it easily. You’re not thumbing through 50 S continuing education programs. pages of notes to see how much rain we “It has provided an opportunity for EVIN THOMP had. Now you go back to the date and you K these guys to talk and share best practic- have information every 15 minutes on RSTL’s Dr. Mick Peterson es,” Ziegler said. “It’s a great opportunity what the weather did. You know what the wind was. You know the track condition and how much water you put down, what equipment was out on the track, how fast EQUINE INJUry DATABASE the tractors were going. Befitting a sport that takes pride in the depth of information it captures, Thorough- “It’s getting to pinpoint a lot more bred racing has been collecting data in recent years to address safety issues. things, and they’re accurate. That’s the In 2008 The Jockey Club launched the first national Equine Injury Database, which nice thing. Plus, you can explain to horse- houses information on any racing injury that results in an equine death within 72 hours men what you’re doing and why you’re of a race. More than 90 racetracks in the U.S. and Canada participate. doing it. You can show how the track re- While some tracks and states are compiling additional equine injury information—for sponded the last time we received a half- instance injuries during training hours—the database has the advantage of generating inch of rain when it was sealed properly.” statistics using the same parameters each year, which allows for ready comparison. NYRA and other tracks are sharing Dr. Tim Parkin, a veterinarian and epidemiologist who serves as EID consultant, said that maintenance information with the the 1.5 million starts in the database now allows the industry to start identifying in sta- non-profit RSTL, which was launched tistically meaningful ways the individual factors contributing to fatalities. In examining in the spring of 2009 and features wide those starts, the EID said race-related fatal injuries have occurred at a rate of 1.92 per industry representation. With about 60 1,000 starts from 2009-12. Parkin has further examined these numbers, noting differ- tracks participating on some level, the ent risk factors. In the area of racing surfaces the EID has determined the risk of fatality RSTL uses state-of-the-art testing to pro- on synthetic surfaces was significantly lower than the risk of fatality on turf surfaces, vide 24 different soil measurements, in- which was significantly lower than the risk of fatality on dirt surfaces. cluding clay mineralogy and particle size. The Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory is taking a similar approach in compiling Tests on synthetic surfaces look at wax information on the makeup of track surfaces and maintenance. It hopes to combine its composition and types of fibers in the information with data from the EID to improve safety in the sport. track. A machine that mimics a horse’s NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance executive director Mike Ziegler said progress in hoof registers mechanical measurements the past five years in compiling safety information and beginning to use that informa- on how the surface handles the pounding. tion to improve safety has been impressive. Ground-penetrating radar can provide “We went from past performances to now knowing the where, when, how, and who, information on the base.

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