Racing Surfaces Committee releases 'Racing Surfaces White Paper'

Racing Surfaces Committee releases 'Racing Surfaces White

Paper'

The Racing Surfaces Committee that was formed at the inaugural Welfare and

Safety of the Racehorse Summit in 2006 has published a 34-page "Racing Surfaces

White Paper" that details the current state of knowledge pertaining to training

and racing surfaces.

The document, drafted as a collection of published scientific papers and

data, was co-authored by Dr. Mick Peterson (University of Maine), Dr. C. Wayne

McIlwraith (Colorado State University), Dr. Lars Roepstorff (Swedish University

of Agricultural Sciences), Dr. Jeffrey J. Thomason (University of Guelph) and

Christie Mahaffey (University of Maine).

It was distributed Wednesday to participants at the 10th Annual Track

Superintendents' Field Day Conference (June 14-16), hosted by Parx Racing in

Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The document is also available at

www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/resources/White_Paper_final.pdf.

"The fundamental issue behind doing this white paper was the fact that there

has been limited academic study of racetracks," Peterson said. "Veterinarians,

engineers and soil scientists have all studied racing surfaces but it has been a

modest body of study. This paper will tell researchers and scientists what we

don't know and confirm once again that actions taken to improve safety should be

based on sound science and published research."

The white paper, according to Peterson, emphasizes that a number of factors

affect the performance of a racing or training surface.

"Climate and maintenance are two examples," he said. "No one can control the

weather but the safety and performance of surfaces are highly dependent on the

judgment and skill of those who have day-to-day responsibility for surface

maintenance. Our goal is to provide the best possible information to the

superintendents so they can make decisions based on sound test results."

Butch Lehr, track superintendent at Churchill Downs, encourages other track

supers to take advantage of the summit committee and the information provided.

"Personally," he said, "the scientific data we have received by working with

Mick and the committee has been extremely helpful with our knowledge and

practices on the track."

Peterson and McIlwraith are the coordinators of the Racing Surfaces Testing

Laboratory, which was formed in the spring of 2009 with financial support from a

broad industry coalition to enhance surface safety for horses and riders.

The Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory conducts 24 different tests at its lab

and in collaboration with supporting labs. These tests have been performed for

50 different clients inside and outside of the United States, with some of the

racetracks now in their third year of a comprehensive testing program. The

result is that thousands of tests have been conducted for these tracks, which

allow surfaces to be compared over time and between racetracks with similar

climate and design.

In addition to the testing, the lab is focusing on evaluating which tests are

related to track consistency when evaluated over time as well as developing new

tests and the reliability of testing. Procedures are also being developed that

will lead to ISO certification.

Additional information about the "Racing Surfaces White Paper" is available

by contacting Dr. Michael Peterson at

mlpeterson23@gmail.com.