Slow Classic raises questions about Polytrack

By: JEFF NAHILL - Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 21, 2007 10:42 PM PDT ∞

DEL MAR -- Even after the biggest race of the meet -- Sunday's Pacific Classic -- one of the main stories was the racetrack. Or, more specially, the Polytrack.

The 1 1/4-mile race was slow. Very slow.

It took winner Student Council 2 minutes, 7.29 seconds to go around the Del Mar track. The previous slowest Pacific Classic was last year, when Lava Man won in a time of 2:01.62.

Running on the Polytrack this season has added an average of two to three seconds per race, depending on the distance, but adding nearly six seconds is just staggering.

But time doesn't really matter -- except to owner Ahmed Zayat and trainer Bob Baffert, who left Del Mar in a huff. It's all about the horses.

That's why it was so interesting to hear the winners, trainer Vladimir Cerin and jockey Richard Migliore, talk about the Polytrack after the race.

Cerin is a staunch proponent of Polytrack. Migliore is still on the fence, although he does believe in synthetic surfaces like Cushion Track, which is used at Hollywood Park and is being installed at Santa Anita.

"I've been a proponent for three years," said Cerin of Polytrack, "ever since I stepped on it at Keeneland on the training track. It's the best thing we've ever done for racing. We have so many fewer injuries than we've ever had at Del Mar ...

"Del Mar has stepped up and spent a little bit of money and they are being rewarded for it. The fields are bigger, the handle is bigger, the purses are bigger. Everyone is rewarded for it. It's such a comfortable feeling. The fact that people are fighting this at all ... I work six horses on a Tuesday, Wednesday morning, I don't pray that three of them are OK because I know three of them are done. I walk in Wednesday morning and know all six are OK."

Despite the winner's share of $600,000, of which he takes home 10 percent, Migliore said his opinion hadn't changed.

"Not really." Migliore said. "I'm not 100 percent sold on Polytrack, to be perfectly frank. I think maybe the missing ingredient is that jelly cable they talk about, because I've seen other tracks that seem a little more consistent from morning to afternoon. You can work horses in the morning and they go brilliantly, and then in the afternoon not so. I think there has to be a reason for that.

"It's hard for me to assess the horses I'm on, working them in the morning and what shows up in the afternoon. Sometimes I work a horse and think, 'Gosh, this horse can't lose today,' and then you're slogging through it in the afternoon. I think temperature plays a big role in it and I don't know the answer to that."

A lot of people don't, and it's an issue Del Mar will try to address after the meet is over.

Cerin believes you will start hearing a familiar term called "dosage" again in the sport.

The Dosage Index was big for years with bettors of the Kentucky Derby. The DI supposedly told you whether a horse could get the 1 1/4 miles in Louisville, Ky., the first Saturday of each May. Then horses started winning the Derby without the required DI -- and, quietly, the formula left the horse players' vernacular.

"I think if we have more synthetic tracks, you will hear the word dosage again, because we've become quarterhorse trainers and not thoroughbred trainers," said Cerin. "We buy horses that run an eighth of a mile in 9.9 seconds instead of ones that run a mile and a quarter."

But that might change in the future -- at least in California.

Here to stay

One of the more heartwarming stories of the Pacific Classic was the win by Migliore.

Migliore is one of the nicest and well-respected jockeys in the sport, but he had fallen on tough times in New York, his home base. He decided to make a move to California late last year, but it meant the sacrifice of being away from his family five days a week, catching a red-eye flight on Sunday nights and returning to SoCal in time to ride on Wednesdays.

This summer hadn't been the best for "The Mig." Sunday's win was only Migliore's 11th of the season, ranking him 10th in the jockey standings.

But unlike other jockeys who come West, struggle and then return to the East Coast, Migliore is planning on staying.

"This doesn't change anything," he said. "I had been pretty committed. When I do anything, I do it 110 percent. I didn't come here on a whim. It was a thought-out, talked-about plan to come here and regain a foothold I seemed to have lost in my career over the past few years mostly due to injury.

"This is a giant step in that direction. I think people can see how enthusiastic and how I appreciate and love what I do."

And sometimes nice guys really do finish first.

Bitter Bob

Every time you hear trainer Bob Baffert quoted lately, he is ripping Southern California racing -- and Del Mar in particular.

His latest attack came in Friday's editions of the New York Daily News when Sherry Ross asked Baffert about racing more in New York and Saratoga Spring, N.Y., in particular.

"It was nice to come back here," Baffert said. "You guys have some serious fans here. Your horses are appreciated here. At Del Mar, everybody's just getting drunk and going to the beach."

Nice how Baffert has turned on the people who buttered his bread for years.

Now, just because Baffert doesn't want to change training methods or the way he buys horses for clients, he is ripping everyone in his path.

"I was in crisis mode (at Del Mar)," Baffert. "For now, I'm going to set up at Belmont (Park) and send more horses out here and be a bigger presence. In the wintertime, I'll be at Santa Anita, but I'll be bringing the horses that are more conducive to dirt and prep for the Breeders' Cup out here."

I think Baffert has worn out his welcome in Southern California and should think about relocating permanently. His act has gotten boorish.

Remember the old saying -- "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say something at all." It's time for Baffert to put that one to use.

Bush move of the week

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club receives the honor this week for changing its programs on Pacific Classic Day.

Normally, at the top of each race's page there are boxes for fans to fill in the win, place and show prices of the horses.

On Sunday, however, Del Mar got rid of the boxes in order to put the sponsors of each race.

There should have been a way to put both on the page and not forsake something that is there the other 42 days of the meet.

-- Contact staff writer Jeff Nahill at (760) 740-3550 or nctnahill@aol.com.

Jeff Nahill's spot play

Leading rider Michael Baze got home one long shot winner on Monday, and we showed a nice profit for the day. Today, we have the first 2-year-old race of the season going two turns -- and on the grass. Love these races. Bet $22 to win on Top Shore and then bet a reverse exacta with all the other horses on top of Top Shore ($18).

Today's wager: $40

Monday's result: $55

Season result: Minus $115.90

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