Rain, Rain......Go Away!

Standardbred race horses compete all year long, in all types of weather, over all sizes of race tracks. How much does a rainy or sloppy track surface affect the horses, their drivers and trainers?

Some horses are much better in the mud, for the main reason that the track is much easier on their feet. Flat footed horses often get sore feet, and some just love the mud. Especially if you are a trainer who races a lot of old, conditioned claiming horses, you will find that these horses love the mud. These are tough, old race horses with lots of aches and pains, and very commonly, they have sore feet. A consistently hard racing surface will take its toll on a horse's feet over time.

Sometimes a trainer will change the warm-up proceedures on a muddy night. For instance, a horse that normally warms up two trips, might only go one, but they may go an extra mile in that single trip. This is usually more for the trainer's sake, than for the horse's, and for the caretaker, who has to sponge the horse down after he's warmed up. Mud makes equipment very untidy!

As well, a trainer may replace brace bandages with a boot on a muddy night. The water from the track gets onto the bandages and adds unwanted weight to the leg, so a light boot offers the same protection, without that extra weight.

Trainer Tony Alagna, who conditions horses for the Fox Valley Stable of Sherman, Illinois, had this to say. "Since we mostly train and race two and three-year-olds, we really don't change anything when the track gets wet. Sometimes we'll warm them up a race earlier than normal, in order to get them used to the track, and to give the grooms more time to clean them up in between trips."

Illinois track veterinarian Paul Smith, noted that in years past, muddy tracks were of a greater concern than today. "Years ago the mud was a much bigger factor. We used to have 'mud marks' in the program for horses that were considered to be 'mudders.' Now, we can scrape the track inbetween races and do so much more for the racing surface than we used to be able to do. Plus, most of these horses wear swedge shoes in front, about three-quarters of them, and about 35% of them wear swedge shoes behind. Add some borium to that, and these horses can grab the track no matter what the condition."

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