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COMMENTARY JULY 13, 2007 Synthetic Disaster: Changing the Game for the Worse by John Mucciolo I have had enough! Average animals taking home the trophies in our biggest events, ridiculous results from day-to-day, top horses failing to produce on synthetic ovals, when will the madness stop? It's like a never-ending nightmare that only seems to worsen. I don't know how all of this began or if there will ever be an end, but the ever-increasing dominance of synthetic racetracks is doing its best to push me out of this game. It took me years, and I'm still learning, to understand many aspects of Thoroughbred racing and handicapping, and now I must start from scratch as these new surfaces have metamorphosized the sport. It's a new game. In the following, I have shed some light on a few of the stars of this new game: SUN BOAT (GB) (Machiavellian), sent off at 13-1 in a $40,000 claiming event two starts back, returns with a nose miss in the Californian S. (G2) last out. The well-bred allowance type never looked capable of threatening a graded stakes field on turf or dirt, but on the synthetic (Cushion Track) garbage the five-year-old runs like a star. That doesn't sit well with me. BIG BOOSTER (Accelerator) was a fairly reliable high-level claiming type but morphed into one of the top handicap horses on the West Coast once attempting his craft on the Cushion. In 12 stakes tries prior to the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1), the six-year-old managed just two thirds, both coming in 2004. Enter the synthetic racing surface, and we have a runner who was possibly two jumps from earning (and I use that term lightly) a Grade 1 win. BILO (Bertrando) is now a Grade 1 winner following his triumph in the Triple Bend Invitational H. (G1). Yes, the gelded seven-year-old was offered for claiming tag in his prior race. And he's the same horse who owns just two stakes placings against California-bred competition, never reaching the wire first in a black-type contest before. DOMINICAN (El Corredor) closed from well behind a ridiculously slow pace (:26 and :51 2/5) to top eventual Kentucky Derby (G1) hero Street Sense (Street Cry [Ire]) in the Blue Grass S. (G1) this spring on Polytrack. A useful runner who could register only two third-place efforts from four main track tries, Dominican returned off his Blue Grass conquer to finish 11th in the Derby. The jury is still out somewhat on the sophomore as he may simply be an improving sort, but it's hard to imagine that he'll be factor with major players on a dirt oval later this year. Grade 2 heroine MARY DELANEY (Hennessy) is the perfect example of a need-the-synthetic type of runner. The Eddie Kenneally charge has attempted dirt twice and been beaten a combined 43 1/4 lengths. On the turf in England, the miss registered a second from two starts versus cheaper competition, but the filly is a three-time stakes victress on the Polytrack. A. P. XCELLENT (A.P. Indy) is a front-running monster on the Cushion at Hollywood, just missing in the Gold Cup last out. In four previous main track efforts, the four-year-old has been crushed by a combined 51 1/2 lengths. Also winless in three turf ventures, the colt is now a multiple graded stakes-placed runner who could be one of the top two or three handicap horses on the West Coast. Really! JADE'S REVENGE (Quiet American) was never regarded as a top individual, winning three of 16 tries before his initial Poly endeavor. A win in the Tejano Run S. followed by a score in the Ben Ali S. (G3) turned this one-time claimer, who was third twice for a $40,000 tag, into a graded winner. I have only touched on a few of the horses that have moved up considerably over these un-natural grounds, and there are certainly countless others. There is no certain formula for winning on these types of surfaces, but my observation is that it seems to reward plodders and one-paced types and takes away from the truly gifted athletes in our sport. Isn't the Thoroughbred bred for speed? The answer to that is a resounding yes, leading to my next question. Why change the breed? I shiver just thinking about it, but these rubber/wax/glue/sand/castor oil/banana peel/mayonnaise/hair gel surfaces will also do severe damage to North American breeding in the near future. Polytrack sires? I could see the ads now, "Horse A was a quite slow claiming type, but the Polytrack made him a Grade 1 winner. We recommend running his progeny in slowly run races on solely synthetic." And then we could have different classifications for stallions: P1 for Polytrack, C1 for Cushion Track, T1 for Tapeta, T2 for Turf and N1 for Normal. There's nothing like a good dose of mediocrity to improve the breed, wouldn't you say? In regards to the Eclipse Awards, I have three suggestions: 1. I'd completely abandon this idea as it's not fair to reward champions for
un-championship like efforts. As for the Breeders' Cup, it looks like only two options exist: 1. Keep the venue as one without the fake stuff (Belmont or Churchill only). I would do one of two things to the Graded Stakes system: 1. Make all synthetic graded races denoted as a Grade IV. Synthetic racing rewards the wrong attributes of our Thoroughbreds and gives average horses a more than realistic chance at winning our biggest prizes. That's just wrong!
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