Jimmy Breslin once said that the truth will always come to light when you "follow the money".

IMO some racing official/ politician in California realized fiscal enrichment courtesy of one of the Sinthetic Surface producers. I would love to be able to isolate the inner circle (Vet? Owner? Politician?) (certainly not any horseplayer) of people responsible for getting the Sinthetic ball rolling, with the ultimate outcome being that Sinthetic will be mandated at all California tracks. Member or members of this circle were paid to push Poly.

I actually kind of hope that this decision was bargained for and purchased in the open market, because that would explain to my satisfaction a decision absolutely lacking in logic.

Why is it lacking in logic? If you are the CHRB, and you administer 6 facilities (I'm including Fairplex) at which thoroughbred racing is conducted, wouldn't you want to install Sinthetic at 1 or maybe 2 of the facilities, on a trial basis? It is not like the tracks are connected and you must convert all of them at once.

If I was the CHRB, I would take for starters one or both of the NO Cal surfaces and convert them to Sinthetic (GG and BM look like they are sloppy every time I tune in, which isn't much)(unfortunately these are probably the 2 facilities least able to afford conversion).

My personal opinion is that I would convert 1 No Cal track and whichever of the 2 major So Cals had the worst soundness problems. I am not including Del Mar because it is inane to say that Sinthetic can have any positive effect on a short fair weather meet. Then I would undertake a FIVE YEAR STUDY which would evaluate the following:

a) Field Size
b) Catastrophic breakdowns
c) Number of bleeders
d) Equine surgeries performed (performance related)
e) Bowed tendons
f) etc
g) HANDLE

Now lets see. If a) and g) decrease, and b), c), d) and e) all decrease, whatcha gonna do? Follow the money?

I also have to say that it is a bit hypocritical for California Racing interests to stand up and say that Sinthetic will prevent wear and tear on the horse population. I will say it AGAIN with a big IMO: Surfaces do not by themselves cause breakdowns. Overtraining and overmedicating is really the problem. The overmedication problem in California in recent years is well documented.

TRAIN on woodchips, on Poly, on grass, use lighter exercise help, use common sense in training, but continue to RACE on the 2 traditional American racing surfaces. The total transformation of an entire circuit to Sinthetic is quite risky in terms of business.

Sinthetic will do nothing to bring new fans in; it may drive some fans away. I do not know if I would toss my hobby after 30 years if surrounded by Polyester, but I know I would limit my wagers to traditional surfaces.

Over 30 years, I have collected a rather inefficient but sometimes helpful mental database containing information about pedigrees and different surfaces; some find this information published or collected by others. A brief look at my finances is proof that this database-- of wet track characteristics and wet track pedigrees--has not been a great windfall to me in the long run. I would still hate to have this data rendered useless.