ARC have launched a consultation process to consider the building of an all-weather track at Newcastle. The proposal is to replace the existing flat track, incorporating the only floodlit straight mile in the world. An option to run some flat races on the turf will remain. If successful it is planned to commence racing on the new surface in 2015.
With the vast improvement in all weather surfaces, I doubt this will be the last. When trainers can train and race consistently on the same (safe) surfaces it should make training less of a nightmare. Also more valuable races attracting top class horses are likely. It's only a matter of time before more investors follow.
I disagree to some regards, I think in the UK we have an old guard of trainers and authorities who don't respect the artificial surfaces and will restrict progress with it for as long as possible. ARC are just a money organisation and aren't in it for the love of the sport, they just want to turn a buck, but I don't think Jockey Club et al will try to follow suit in the short term. Not sure which way I stand on it, British racing has such a big history, perhaps we should retain it with the turf at the big tracks and leave the artificial surfaces for smaller tracks and/or new builds.
You could be right Nass. I am thinking long term. The alternative may be to rip up and re-lay grass tracks with improved drainage to ensure decent surfaces all year round.
Polytrack or whatever else they come up with is just a ruse to get racing on when the weather is dodgy - for me it has no merit in furthering the sport nor the breed. The idea of taking the going out of the equation - ie racing on a surface that is always "standard" - seems ill advised.
its fine as a substitute, but surely what makes uk racing unique is the variation in the tracks and all that goes with that--cant see cartmel rushing to follow etc
I think it's more of a safety issue Oddy. If the surfaces become so good with stats to back up the safety issues it could affect thinking. Bearing in mind the aim of every AW surface manufacturer is to replicate the turf it could be the answer one day. Maybe by then they will be able to regulate the going too but just avoid the extremes where (I'm guessing) most injuries occur.
I am actually all in favour of this as I think there should be an all weather track up north and it will prove very popular. My only hope however is that they make a fair track and that they show some ambition rather than just turn it into Greyhound racing. When all weather racing first surfaced I was not a fan but it has slowly worked its way into my affections since the surfaces have improved. I also find it a very profitable place to bet as all the factors that you need to have a proper punt are easily weighed up and pretty consistent. The horses run regularly, the draw is consistent (low good, high bad) and when following it closely its easy to work out which horse is fancied today and which isn't by watching money and jockey bookings. I also love watching a good jockey and in many ways I think you need be a better jockey on the all weather tracks than most turf tracks as you must ride a start and in most cases be able to constantly asses and react to what's happening quickly, I feel Adam Kirby and Jim Crowley are two jockeys who have improved their riding immensely by putting in the time on the all weather tracks. I will be interested in how Newcastle will compare to the existing tracks as they are all quite different in some respects, my opinion for what it's worth. Kempton This is my favourite as I feel the surface to be a good balance of neither slow nor fast, minimal kick back but most importantly is by far the fairest track. Although a low draw is still an advantage you do not need avoid a horse with a high draw as it can still win with an intelligent ride and only a little luck. Best punting track by far. Lingfield This has probably the best surface and is by far the best run of the tracks with some good pots often be up for grabs in between the usual standard fare. They have really worked hard with innovation over the years and are rewarded with attendances sometimes that the other tracks would never see. The down side is that it can have a few hard luck stories which makes punting hard and frustrating, a cut away like Kempton would transform it into number one for me but due to it's absence relegates it to second. Wolverhampton This track is very much like Lingfield from a punting point of view in as much as a high draw can really kill off a horses chances and make punting more difficult. I also have to say that the new surface laid for this season is not looking good at present as there is much more kick back which ruins everything. They claim it is still bedding in which it may well do but it's not looking great at present. Like Lingfield there are good punting opportunities as long as the draw is in your favour and you have the discipline to let horse you fancy go unbacked because of a bad draw, they will win sometimes even from out wide but as a rule best to leave them to run without money down in the long term. Southwell This track is like no other in the country and course and distance form is essential but the draw less decisive. I have had about 3 bets in my life on races at Southwell and cannot see any attraction in the racing there whatsoever, a place where a 5 furlong sprint will end up a war of attrition whilst add in the kick back and it all looks pretty grim to the naked eye. To provide some perspective the standard time over 6f at Southwell is 1m14s whilst at Lingfield it is 1m 9s and 5 seconds over a sprint distance is huge. I feel that you can tell what a surface and the racing is like by whether the grade A trainers will show up at a course and they are rarely seen at Southwell where as Kempton will always have the Gosdens, Cumanis Cecils and Stoutes running their horses even though the prize money is often not much better. Anyway Lets hope Newcastle put in a good surface and a fair track on which you can win from anywhere, then offer some decent prize money as Lingfield sometimes do to attract the better horses. Do this and it will be a good addition to the Northern scene which will also help some good Northern jockeys earn a living through the winter as the other tracks do.
Hopefully it will have an oval track as well. I suspect they will have a "round mile" and a straight mile, as at Newmarket whilst all races up to 7f will be straight. Sounds like a good move to me as it should mean that not so many races are lost at the start.
Apologies for my late contribution to this thread but I had an uninvited visit from the River Humber last week and have been busy salvaging stuff for most of the intervening days. I feel that I probably have more grounds than most to comment on the continual use of the oxymoron “All Weather racing”. My flat is not “All Weather” unless you have webbed feet! It does not matter what material they choose to build their track from as I think it will be some time before the quality of the racing is raised sufficiently that the tag “bookie fodder” will be removed it. What I do find annoying is this notion that it is a solution to winter days when turf is frozen. The polytrack (or whatever) may well be raceable all winter if they can remove all the snow and ice but the horses, trainers and jockeys still have to get there via roads that could be impassable. We do not have trainers based at the tracks like various other countries. I am no fan of the non-turf racing as it currently does just represent an opportunity for less able beasts to keep racing in the winter months in the hope that they can pay their way. That does not mean that it should not exist because most of racing today does not seem to be bothered whether it loses my patronage and it would be churlish of me to deny the owners of the lesser lights of the sport the opportunity to pick up some cash. Arena have put up the money for this year’s million pound experiment but it is questionable whether this will survive very long if a couple of the big stables show up and clean up all the prize money. I do not expect that attendances will be great at Newcastle as I expect they are not at Lingfield. How much Arena can make through supplying racing fixtures is really at the heart of this venture.
