Saratoga: Pletcher, Cox, Asmussen voice track concerns

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

With the Labor Day close of the 40-day Saratoga summer meet nearing, the New York Racing Association is responding to concerns about the main track expressed by three of the game’s most prominent trainers.

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, in discussing the condition of the surface from July 14 opening day through mid-August, described it as being “the deepest Saratoga track I can recall.” The winner of a record seven Eclipse Awards as leading trainer in North America has been working at the iconic upstate New York track for more than three decades.

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and Brad Cox, the Eclipse winner the last two years, also said they made their displeasure known.

“It tightened up last weekend, but what took so long?” Asmussen asked. “They were adding clay (Aug. 22). If you were right to do it now, what took so long?”

Cox echoed those comments. “I do prefer a tighter racetrack to what we’ve had,” he said. “Over the last week, it’s definitely tightened up. I like what we’ve seen on the main track at Saratoga the last week. Hopefully, we’ll have the same track over the last couple of weeks until the end of the meet.”

Cox believes a going he found particularly demanding might explain why some of his richly bred 2-year-olds failed to run to lofty expectations.

“I’m a little disappointed with how some of my babies have run that trained awfully well,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the 2-year-olds that didn’t perform quite up to expectations coming back on a tighter track, whether it’s the NYRA circuit or Kentucky or wherever they might land.”

Once Saratoga’s popular summer meet closes, New York racing will shift to Aqueduct instead of the customary move to Belmont Park. That will allow for the construction of tunnels that will provide fan and vehicular access to the Belmont infield.

Glen Kozak, NYRA’s vice president for facilities and racing surfaces, emphasized that extensive soil analysis is performed before, during and after every meet. He also noted that he works closely with independent testing and engineering firms.

“We’re not just relying on one agency to do our testing,” Kozak said.

He pointed out that this summer has been particularly challenging in maintaining the 1 1/8-mile main track because of extreme heat and a lack of rainfall. “When it’s 100 degrees out, you’re trying to put as much water to the thing as you possibly can,” Kozak said.

The track crew also was focused beforehand on the reconstruction of the historic Wilson Chute, which allowed for the return of one-mile races. The Wilson Chute had been dismantled after the 1972 season and returned briefly in 1992.

Kozak said 120 tons of clay were added to the main track recently in an effort to tighten the surface and make it less laborious for horses. He also emphasized that he communicates constantly with trainers as part of his effort to provide the best conditions possible.

“There is not a trainer on the backside who does not have my number to contact me,” he said. Pletcher said he communicates with Kozak throughout the year.

Although any catastrophic injury is viewed as one too many, training and racing on Saratoga’s main track has been relatively safe.

“The first 29 days of racing at the summer meet has featured 296 races, including 2,311 starters. 99.9 percent of those horses competed safely and without incident,” noted Pat McKenna, vice president for communications. “On the training side, 99.9 percent of 5,819 timed workouts conducted since July 14 were completed safely and without incident.

“NYRA prioritizes safety and integrity above all other considerations and continuously evaluates all aspects of the operation to provide the safest possible environment for training and racing, at Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack.”

Asmussen nonetheless said his concern about potential wear and tear caused by the makeup of the main track has led him to do all of his morning work on the nearby Oklahoma training track.

Pletcher said of NYRA’s maintenance efforts, “They are always trying to work on it and get it as safe and consistent as they can, and I understand this year was different because they were reconstructing the chute.”

The Oklahoma training track opened on April 16. The main track became available on July 2.

“I’ve always been an advocate of them opening the main track sooner,” Pletcher said. “First of all, it’s good for the horse population that’s training up here during the offseason to have two tracks so there is not as much traffic on the Oklahoma track. But I also think they need added time to evaluate the main track so they can get it just right. Hopefully, next year they shouldn’t have any new projects to work on and they can open it sooner.”

Meanwhile, Kozak is confident that the addition of clay and other steps he is taking have achieved the desired result. “It’s where we want it to be,” he said of the main track.