Haskin: Track Should be Fair

After the slow times turned in on Sunday’s opening day card, and the forecast of freezing low temperatures for Friday and Saturday, the typical warning flares went up.

How fair will the track be for the Breeders’ Cup and what can be done to prevent the track from becoming cuppy, a condition no trainer wants to see, especially those coming from harder surfaces and synthetic tracks?

Track superintendent Butch Lehr has had his share of pressure over the years, dealing with the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), but with the Breeders’ Cup, he has to make things as fair as possible for well over 100 horses, who will be running at distances ranging from five furlongs to 1 ¾ miles, and on dirt and turf.

“There’s definitely a little bit of pressure right now, because a lot of these horses have never run on dirt,” Lehr said. “But it’s more so for the general public than it is for the racing people. We try to be the same all year round, so in that respect, it’s not very different from what we’re always trying to do. But let’s just say I’m glad I’m not a rookie.”