Keeneland Race Course Going Back to Dirt Surface

When Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, installed a synthetic racing surface in 2006, it was one of only a handful of American tracks to make this change from dirt to an all-weather material. The synthetic surface corresponded with a lower rate of fatal racing injuries in the next few years and had the advantage of being usable in all seasons and weather patterns.

Despite these facts and the initial enthusiasm of many trainers, artificial surfaces did not become the wave of the future. Though a few more tracks switched to an artificial racing material around the time Keeneland made its decision, there have been no new artificial surfaces installed for the last seven years, and several tracks have taken up the synthetic material and gone back to racing on dirt. Keeneland has now joined this trend, announcing that the change will be completed well before its fall race meeting in October. The facility will retain an all-weather Polytrack surface on its shorter training track.

Racetrack officials said the decision reflects the fact that many important races such as the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup series are run on dirt surfaces, and trainers prepping horses for these contests may prefer to school their horses on dirt to accustom the mounts to that surface. As to the question of equine injuries on artificial versus natural surfaces, spokesmen for Keeneland said that the new dirt surface will be constructed to maximize safety for horses and jockeys. Synthetics proved that racing could be safer, and the experts designing the track will use research findings as they choose base and top materials for the track. The current drainage system as well as some elements of the base will be used as the new track is constructed.