Cup at Keeneland? Maybe not

Keeneland, the morning news said, will study the feasibility of hosting the Breeders’ Cup when the opportunity presents itself.

Keeneland is one of the best places on the planet for racing and would, though smallish, provide a perfect setting for the Breeders’ Cup.

Keeneland, however, has one problem, the same problem that will confront the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita this year and next – the synthetic course. What happens on these man-made tracks is something other than American racing as we know it and while it may be perceived as kinder than dirt to the animal – though the data is insufficient at this point and years away from sufficiency -- it does not act like anything present in nature insofar as the conduct of racing is concerned.

Keeneland saw the result of horseplayers’ disdain for its surface in the form of steep declines in betting handle during its last meeting and is destined to absorb more of the same in the fall. Santa Anita and the Breeders’ Cup will have a similar experience in October and the event itself will stages without the presence of Curlin, winner of the Classic last year and Horse of the Year. Trainer Steve Asmussen is reluctant to run Curlin on a synthetic course.

There is the chance that Curlin’s connections will opt for the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but should they eschew the trip to California altogether his will be a lamentable absence that will overshadow the entire event. Asmussen is not alone in his stance on synthetic tracks and the selection by the Breeders’ Cup of venues where they are in place cannot possibly be a positive move.

There is no chance that Keeneland officials will swallow hard and replace the synthetic surface with dirt. While, from a handicapping perspective, it was possible to deal with the surface formerly in place there, it was bizarrely speed-favoring, probably the result of maintenance inadequacy but nevertheless unacceptable. Keeneland is a partner in the company that manufactures Polytrack and though it is unlikely that another synthetic surface will be installed at any racetrack in the foreseeable future, replacing the surface in Lexington is not an option.

The perception of the enhanced safety of synthetic tracks has obscured the real issue, which is the decline of skilled track-maintenance experts. If safety is an issue, it is an issue that follows on the heels of the fairly recent and universally embraced introduction of sealing and compressing dirt surfaces.

Maintenance of racing surfaces is an important area of study overlooked by the Jockey Club’s safety committee (see post below), a practice, since it goes hand in glove with the changes in shoeing procedures recommended, that should be banned along with steroids (though, the initial report is disappointing in its failure to address the possibility of a return to medication-free racing) and abusive use of the whip. --PM