Amy Gregory
Keeneland Association
 
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A comprehensive article published last week in one of racing’s leading publications unequivocally concludes that engineered surfaces have reduced fatal injuries, saving the lives of hundreds of horses.

The article in the Winter 2010 magazine edition of the Thoroughbred Daily News, also contends that in many cases tracks with engineered surfaces have larger field sizes and have better weathered the decline in betting and handle being driven by a challenging national economy.

The article – Ground Control: The (Real) Truth About Synthetic Surfaces by Bill Finley – asserts that while a number of studies are still being done, or are preliminary in nature, “every report done so far … comes to the same conclusion: when it comes to fatal injuries, synthetic surfaces are considerably safer than conventional dirt racetracks.”

The 12-page article quotes more than a dozen sources, arguing the merits and challenges associated with engineered surfaces. Keeneland installed the Polytrack surface on its main track in Fall 2006. Turfway had installed the same surface on its main track in 2005.

Both tracks have experienced a significant reduction in the occurrence of catastrophic breakdowns since that time, a result that mirrors national statistics, according to the article.

In fact, a report released by Dr. Rick Arthur, the California Horse Racing Board’s equine medical director, that state’s racing industry was averaging 3.09 fatal breakdowns per 1,000 starters on dirt racetracks prior to the installation of engineered surfaces.

Since the state mandated the installation of engineered surfaces on all California tracks, the number of fatalities has fallen to 1.68 per 1,000 starters – a 45.6 percent decrease.

In addition, a 13-month pilot program conducted by The Jockey Club concluded that the rate of fatal injuries on tracks with engineered surfaces was 27.59 percent less than on dirt surfaces.

“Our top priority – our only consideration – in installing Polytrack was trying to improve safety,” said Nick Nicholson, president and CEO of The Keeneland Association. “And in that regard, an engineered surface at Keeneland has been an inarguable success. We’ve been very pleased with our decision and believe it has enhanced the experience at Keeneland for everyone involved.”

Moreover, the primary argument of opponents that engineered surfaces have negatively impacted handle also comes up short, according to the article.  If anything, Finley writes, citing tracks such as Keeneland and Woodbine in Canada, engineered surfaces “seem to have helped tracks prevent the type of devastating handle decreases that are plaguing the rest of the industry.”

The bottom line, Finley suggests, is that engineered surfaces have helped “save the lives of hundreds of horses and have done so at a time when the industry desperately needed to alter” negative perceptions.

“Can whatever problems they may be causes possibly be more important than this?”