NEWS
Arlington Park to convert to Polytrack
Posted: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 4:34 PM
After 80 years of running races on a dirt track, Arlington Park will convert its main track to Polytrack surface for the 2007 race meet, track officials announced on Tuesday.
Installation of the synthetic, all-weather surface is expected to be completed before the 2007 meeting begins at the suburban Chicago track on May 4. The estimated cost is $10-million.
Arlington previously announced it would convert to a synthetic track for the 2007 meeting but the specific surface was not revealed until Tuesday.
“Arlington Park has always considered the health and safety of the horses and riders as our most important priority,” said Arlington President Roy Arnold. “We are confident that our new Polytrack surface will provide the safest and best racing surface possible and will strengthen our leadership in the racing industry.”
Arlington is the fifth North American track to announce it is converting to Polytrack. Turfway Park, Woodbine, and Keeneland Race Course are already racing on Polytrack, and Del Mar has announced it will replace its dirt surface to Polytrack this year.
The Polytrack surface is comprised of sand, synthetic fibers and recycled rubber that are combined and coated with a special wax. The mix utilized by Arlington will have the same composition, including jelly cable, as the surface currently used at Keeneland, track officials said.
“The specific mixture of the Polytrack surface that we’ve selected has been tested at Keeneland in one of the nation’s premier race meets involving many of the best horses in the country,” Arnold said. “There have been outstanding results with no significant maintenance issues and consistent praise from the horsemen.
“With this decision, we expect to improve our quality of racing with more fit, healthier horses and by attracting more trainers with better horses, including horsemen from Keeneland who want to run their horses on Polytrack at Arlington Park, too.”
Arlington began construction of the new track’s base during the second week of December and is scheduled to complete the installation by April 16. The main track will be open for training on April 25.
Since construction began, the old dirt cushion and pad have been removed and the base has been graded. Trenching for the drainage system began during the week of January 22, and the drainage pipes and drainage stones were delivered last week.
The Polytrack materials will be produced locally in Troy Grove, Illinois, and will be delivered to Arlington in stages starting sometime around the beginning of March.
“We are honored that Arlington Park has selected Polytrack for their surface,” said Keeneland President Nick Nicholson. “We have admired and respected [Arlington Chairman] Dick Duchossois for many years, and look forward to working with him on this project, as he has been instrumental in making Arlington Park into a showcase for Thoroughbred racing worldwide.”
