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Keeping Up September 9, 2006
Maintenance is a word that describes the non-stop effort to fight off the attacks of wear and tear on the surfaces and equipment on a Thoroughbred farm or racetrack. We'll take a look at some of these maintenance problems and efforts both on the track and in the barn. We'll begin with the track. SURFACES Maintenance of track surfaces was under serious scrutiny earlier this year during the summer months, especially at Arlington Park near Chicago where a higher than normal number of breakdowns were reported in the early part of the season. The breakdown of Barbaro in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) also served to focus attention on track injuries, although the track surface wasn't blamed for his injury. Proper maintenance of a track surface is a tricky thing at best; bordering on an art form for those who have learned to handle the intricacies that come with a combination of soil surfaces and changing weather patterns. The surfaces of conventional tracks, generally speaking, are comprised of a combination of dirt and/or sand. The problem is that this type of surface turns to mud when it rains and can freeze during intense cold. At Arlington, the track was examined in-depth by several different entities and no discernible structural problems surfaced. The decision was made to add pine bark to the cushion in an effort to increase moisture retention, and thus provide more cushion or spring to the surface. That had been done with some success at other tracks. Continue Reading [*PDF file, 2.64 MB download] *Adobe Reader is required to view PDF files. |
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