Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Maintaining The Race Track Surface at Odds On Acres
April 30, 2004

Maintaining a racetrack surface at any facility takes precision, care and experience, and Odds On Acres is no exception. It also takes dedication, because no matter what type of weather is on the horizon, the track must be kept in tip-top shape so that all the pacers and trotters at Odds On Acres will have a clean and safe surface to jog and train over every morning.

A "track man" will typically put in between 65 to 70 hours per week during the summer months and more in the winter-anywhere from 75 to 100 hours on average. During heavy snowstorms it would not be unusual to see a track man spend over 125 hours a week groom the track surface so that it would be in the appropriate shape for morning and early afternoon training sessions.

Obviously, Mother Nature can be either the friend or the foe of the track maintenance crew. One of the basic premises of maintaining a solidly built racetrack suitable for harness horses, like the 5/8's mile oval found at Odds On Acres, is the foundation of water, and the amount that is applied to the track at any given time.

During the months of heavy rainfall, such as April and early May, the track crew will spend a lot of time scraping the track and then reapplying a coat of limestone in order to help dry the track up. A combination of 70% limestone and 30% clay is typically used in the warmer months, while that ratio changes to about 95% limestone and 5% clay is used in the winter months. Clay tends to get very dusty in the winter months and is best used during that time only when the track surface is very wet.

During the winter months, the crew must constantly scrape the snow off the track. Snow can be much more difficult to deal with than rain, because the crew can scrape off the rain, but with snow, and cold weather, a layer of dampness might freeze quickly under a layer of snow. Thus, even if the crew can get rid of a top layer of snow, there is the chance that underneath lies ice-either in solid or patchy areas. This can be extremely difficult to remove.

Common table salt, mixed with water is often used in the wintertime to diminish the dust. When the temperatures dip below 22 degrees, salt must be applied to the track surface, so that the crew can continue to harrow it and keep the track loose. If too much salt is applied and the temperatures climb back up above 28 degrees, the track will thaw, so there is obviously a fine line when it comes to track maintenance during the wintertime.

Because the Odds On Acres track is a 5/8's mile, horses that are training will travel a good portion of the track twice during their sessions. Therefore, the crew also has to figure in a "dust" factor. Neither trainers nor horses enjoy traveling through a dust cloud when they are training around the oval, and that's where salt comes into play once again. Salt will also help keep the dust down on a racetrack surface.

Ultimately, the track crew must continue to play with Mother Nature, trying always to figure out how much water the track surface needs and how much it doesn't need. The summer months require that the track be constantly saturated to stay in top shape, while during the winter, moisture is usually not a problem.

Being part of a good track maintenance crew requires dedication, time and attention to detail, as well as knowledge and familiarity with one's racetrack. Track maintenance is a science when performed correctly, and Odds On Acres is fortunate to have a devoted crew who take pride in their facility and their racetrack.