All-Weather Racing Although all-weather racing is comparatively new to Britain, it has now firmly established itself in the racing

calendar and is providing second-line trainers with plenty of opportunities with their more moderate horses. However, to the racing fraternity as a whole, all-weather racing has been greeted with a mixture of enthusiasm and indifference, and in some quarters, downright hostility. Older and more conservative race-goers and punters have been slow to come to terms with this new concept of the game, but the newer generation of backers may adapt to it more easily and the following paragraphs contain advice that will be of great assistance to those who do intend to take an interest. The surfaces of the all-weather tracks are composed of entirely different substances. The surface at Southwell is composed of Fibresand, whereas Lingfield is overlaid with equitrack material. A runner which performs well at Lingfield will not always run to the same level of ability at Southwell, and vice versa. The suitability of "footing" to a horse is so important to its performance. The circuits are flat and sharp in formation with fairly tight bends, so in a good-size field it must be an advantage to be drawn close to the rails; although the draw does not seem to count so much on the all-weather tracks, mainly due to the fact that many of the runners are extremely moderate and could not win - even from a good draw. It is an advantage for a runner to possess a low, fluent action - the sort of action that is most suited to a fast surface. Underneath the top layer of the track is a fairly hard surface which is advantageous to the horses possessing this action, combined with some speed. Having stated this, some poor actioned horses will still manage to win because, as previously stated, the overall level of ability of many of the all-weather track contestants is lamentably low. Always take note of course specialists; they often prove hard to beat - even under a penalty, but be wary of backing them when they return to turf racing. Generally speaking, turf and all-weather racing are worlds apart and, with few exceptions, the form-lines when transferred from one to the other are usually very tenuous. Of course, some trainers do use the all-weather tracks to prepare some of their runners for a spring campaign on the turf when fitness is at a premium, and is a point to bear in mind during the very early weeks of the Flat-racing season proper. Inspect closely the runners from the stables which have a high percentage strike rate at the all-weather tracks, particularly if one of those yards is in good form. Note when top jockeys take the trouble to go to an all-weather meeting. Often they will be riding against second or third-rate jockeys, and so their mounts will have an immediate advantage in receiving greatest assistance from the saddle.

Due to the sharp nature of the track, horses will usually stay farther on the allweather course than when racing on the turf. It is, unless one has good reason to believe otherwise, best to watch a horse run on the all-weather first in order to ensure that the animal will act sufficiently well on the surface to win: some horses run below their turf form, while others excel when racing on the all-weather. Due to the nature of the surfaces, some horses resent the "kickback" of surface material produced from the runners in front during races run on the all-weather tracks and will not run to form. They are therefore usually fitted with an eyeshield, which is a piece of equipment similar in appearance to blinkers, except that in place of the two leather cowls - or cups - the eyes are covered with mesh or transparent material.

Note: The eye-shield should not be confused with the eye-cover, which is also a device similar in appearance to blinkers but is fitted to horses with the proper sight in just one eye. Only the defective eye is covered, and in place of the eye cowl a nontransparent (opaque) cover is fitted