Synthetic surfaces gaining traction at major horse racing tracks

By BETH HARRIS
AP Racing Writer

Some North American racetracks have replaced traditional dirt with a synthetic surface made of wax-coated sand, fibers and recycled rubber. Such surfaces could be a potential answer to creating safer training and racing conditions as horse racing grapples with a spate of deaths at Churchill Downs in Kentucky and California’s Golden Gate Fields. Statistics from The Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database show the surface with the fewest deaths per 1,000 starts is synthetic. Dirt still rules in the Triple Crown cities of Louisville, Baltimore and New York, although Belmont Park is adding a synthetic racing surface.