Synthetic Track the Wildcard in Breeders Cup Betting

The 2008 Breeders’ Cup will be run at Santa Anita on October 24th and 25th over a new synthetic surface. The surface is a Pro-Ride surface that was installed over the summer and replaces the mess of a surface that Santa Anita had last year that wouldn’t drain and cost the track millions of dollars.

Training on the new surface has been going on for weeks and the reviews have been positive but the true tests begin when the meet begins on Wednesday. If the track continues to get positive reviews it could be huge because the owners of Curlin might be persuaded to race in Breeders Cup betting against Big Brown.

If that race occurs it would be the biggest horse betting race in a long, long time.

Curlin is set to run this weekend in the Jockey Club Gold Cup as he attempts to pass Cigar and become the all-time money winner in horse racing history. The key for getting Curlin to race at Santa Anita will be a positive review of the new surface.

"I hate to go out on a limb, because we haven't raced on it yet - no one's lost a race on it yet - but I'm very happy with it right now," Ron Charles, Santa Anita's president, said, "I'm excited about having a track that will perform well."

The surface at Del Mar is Polytrack which has not received great reviews. The difference with Pro-Ride is that most of the surface is natural dirt. "Everything so far I like," trainer Eoin Harty said. "It's a very kind, forgiving surface, with a lot of bounce to it. When a horse puts his foot down, you wait 10 to 15 seconds, and the surface comes back."

Horsemen definitely seem to like the Pro-Ride surface better than Polytrack.

"It takes a little getting used to, but I haven't had any problems with it," trainer Jim Cassidy said. "I lost a ton of shoes at Del Mar. This has been very consistent. One thing I've noticed is early in the morning, with the dew, it's tight. The sun makes it a little kinder, a little softer."

There is definitely a lot riding on the new surface. The 2008 Breeders’ Cup is the highlight of the horse betting season. The most exciting two days of horse racing occurs in late October and if the new synthetic at Santa Anita is as good as advertised, the racing could be great.

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