Equestrian
Estates Manager and Head Groundsman at Lingfield Park, Jon Harris
racing. The challenge for Neil and Jon is to balance the three courses and their upkeep over one hundred fixtures. It’s a big job. There are National Hunt fixtures from November to the end of February; flat turf racing from May to September, and all-weather racing mainly between November and March. The all-weather course, which gives Lingfield Park its ‘third dimension’, is a Polytrack surface, which was renewed last September, eleven years after the previous Polytrack had been installed. Polytrack is a wax-coated synthetic surface designed specifically for equestrian uses, notably racing. Manufacturers and installers, Martin Collins Enterprises, describe it as ‘a surface structure that mimics turf, allowing horses to work on top of the surface.’ It differs from cambered horizontal systems, which can cause huge variation in going, and provides level vertical drainage.
It’s important that the all-weather is
kept level and though its characteristics never change - unlike turf - it is inspected pretty much in the same way the turf courses are and Neil does
Walking the course. The final bend on the round course is where the going is most critical and correct level of watering essential
regular depth testing. “Polytrack provides a consistent surface for horses, which is key,” says Neil. “It’s especially good for a young horse starting out - very forgiving on their legs - but, at the same time, providing a quick surface which is what flat horses generally want. Trainers will readily send their expensive, promising young horses to experience running on it. It’s a great asset here.” “The majority of gallops around the country are all weather surfaces, so horses are familiar with its feel. Most race horses are worked and exercised on them.” A real plus, apart from its all-weather characteristic, is that there are no real variations in going. Neil says that going on the Polytrack is set at ‘standard’, yet maintenance and preparation is required to achieve this and, since the installation of the new surface last September, it’s taken a bit of getting used to. The nature of the new material is very
sticky. It comprises seven inches of silica sand, pvc granules, jelly cable, elasticated fibres and polypropylene, all bound together in a wax coating. It’s this wax coating that prevents the surface from
freezing and enables Lingfield Park to stage meetings in temperatures as low as minus 12O
C. It keeps the show on the
road in even the worst winter conditions, and this pleases owners, trainers, and riders.
In certain circumstances, such as waterlogging, it does allow Neil to switch a race from turf to all-weather, but this has to be done in a strict time-line. Notification of such a proposed change has to be at least forty-eight hours before the scheduled race day to the British Horseracing Authority. Looking at weather forecasts helps anticipate extreme weather, and Neil would alert the BHA earlier if at all possible, even if this is simply a change in the balance of races between the two surfaces to ease the pressure on the turf track. Any such changes are done in conjunction with Peter Hobbs, the course inspector at the BHA, and the BHA racing department who facilitate any necessary changes to handicapping and withdrawals from trainers who do not want their horse to run on the all- weather surface.
It is a valuable option, and one that is appreciated by the racing industry and
Close up of the Polytrack material 106 PC JUNE/JULY 2013
The Polytrack all-weather course looking towards the grandstand
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