NYRA Considerers Adding All-Weather Track at Saratoga

As a synthetic course is being built for the new Belmont Park, an all-weather surface also could be coming to Saratoga Race Course.

New York Racing Association president and CEO Dave O'Rourke said Aug. 31 that NYRA is taking "a hard, internal look" at installing a synthetic surface at the famed 160-year-old racetrack.

"We are taking a hard, internal look at synthetics and what options we have and are studying a synthetic track at Saratoga," O'Rourke said. "This is not a new thing specifically for this management team. (NYRA executive vice president of operations and capital improvements Glen Kozak) and I have been looking at synthetics for 10 years and we are both proponents of it."

One possible configuration would be replacing the inner turf course with a smaller synthetic course, which would widen the Mellon Turf Course and allow for increased rail placements.

The current 40-day meet that ends Sept. 4 has illustrated the problems of maintaining two turf courses, especially during unusually prolonged periods of rain. NYRA has been forced to move 65 races to the main track through 36 days this meet. Only 61 races were moved during the past two full, 40-day meets combined.

"With the amount of rain we are seeing it makes sense, but the safety record of synthetics stands on its own with the data," O'Rourke said. "Using one of the two turf courses as an all-weather option is on the table."

Equine safety has also been an issue at this meet—and for the industry as a whole—with seven horses suffering catastrophic injuries during races and another having a fatal cardiac episode. NYRA currently is exploring myriad options to improve racetrack safety for horses and riders, including the Aug. 30 implementation of a new protocol requiring private attending veterinarians to perform a physical exam and attest to a horse's soundness and fitness to run before it can enter a NYRA race. 

O'Rourke and members of NYRA management also held a meeting with racing participants prior to the Aug. 27 card to discuss safety and stress the need for communication and cooperation in dealing with problems.

"Right now our industry needs to contemplate all options, specifically those derived from technology and the improvement of safety," O'Rourke said, "be it racetrack surfaces, imaging technology, tracking technology, data analytics, artificial intelligence. The list goes on. We are leaning heavily on what we can apply to improve the safety of the game."

Along with the talk of adding a synthetic surface at Saratoga, there is also the possibility of adding a synthetic surface at Aqueduct Racetrack, which will become NYRA's lone downstate racetrack once Belmont Park is closed for renovations.