The 22nd annual Track Superintendent Field Day took place this week at Horseshoe Indianapolis, with an agenda that ranged from soil science to HISA to Canada Geese.
With recent media coverage focusing on racing safety, it has become more important than ever to understand everything that goes into making surfaces safe and consistent.
Here are a few of the things we learned from Monday's sessions:
–When it comes to dirt surfaces, ideal condition doesn't depend just on the proportion of ingredients – it also depends on the sourcing of ingredients used. Clay, sand, and silt all have different particle sizes and chemical properties, which means they interact with water and machinery differently. Michael DePew, a social scientist who works regularly with Horseshoe Indianapolis, said that for him, the idea equine surface would be 70 to 85 percent properly-sized sand with the remaining material 15 to 30 percent silt/clay.
DePew said track supers often end up blending sand from two or three sources to get the amount they need. There's a significant range in particle sand particle sizes, which makes the composition more complicated. Natural sand is preferred because manufactured sand particles have jagged edges to them and continue to break down further as they're worked. Natural sand remains more consistent under machinery but it can be difficult to source, and tracks sometimes have to switch suppliers to keep surfaces refreshed.
–Chemistry of the soil matters. The water used to irrigate dirt surfaces is often richer in sodium than rainwater. That means a lot of positive ions are being poured into the surface, which can weaken the bond between some types of surface particles, causing them to break apart more easily when worked by machines.
–DePew was asked about his preferred machinery for rock removal. Rocks do appear in shipments of new dirt surface materials, and DePew likes to use beach cleaner devices because they handle moisture in the surface pretty well. There is another type of device which he described as being similar to a tiller with fingers on the back. This hit rocks in the surface and push them down through the cushion, but for DePew, that doesn't result in removing the problem so much as burying it.
–There is no single set of track conditions that's going to be ideal for all tracks and climates. As such, there's no single standard for maintenance measurements that's considered the safest option for everyone to use. Ann McGovern, who oversees the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Racetrack Safety Program, discussed the Authority's requirements for racetracks to report specific condition measurements. The Authority is asking for a small number of measurements at the quarter poles of each racetrack. Many track maintenance programs are taking measurements in many more spots around their ovals than what's required by the Authority. McGovern let superintendents know that the primary goal of this reporting requirement is data collection so the Authority can develop a sense of ideal ranges for a given region.
–Geese on racetracks are no joke – just ask jockey Chantal Sutherland, who suffered serious injuries in a fall she said happened after her horse spooked at a goose. Jessica Merkling, urban wildlife biologist for Indiana's Department of Natural Resources, outlined a few strategies for discouraging Canada geese from settling in racetrack infields. While some tracks may allowed limited hunting or trapping and relocation or euthanasia, Merlking said these may not be ideal solutions for a racetrack. It is legal to harass geese as long as you don't physically harm them, but you have to be persistent, sometimes chasing them away daily for weeks at a time, and many times they will come back. Also, during June and July, goslings are molting and physically unable to fly away when chased, so shooing them at certain times of the year is ineffective.
–The best strategy, Merkling said, is to make infields less inviting for them. Canada geese like areas of open, fertilized grass that comes to the edge of a body of water and will seek out those environments as their natural habitat disappears from urban development. Adding a buffer of native vegetation such as wildflowers at the edge of waterways – at least 30 feet wide and 30 inches tall – makes the area less appealing to ground-nesting geese.
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