Apr 2, 2009

Del Mar Racetrack

"Where the Turf meets the Surf".. indeed, the beach is just some metres away from this North American oval dirt track (now synthetic) with an inner turf track.


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The data
Dirt Track: 1 mile
Backstetch chute: 7f
Stretch chute: 2f (good for 1 1/4 mile races)
This, as in most north american tracks, means that 7 1/2 dirt races are not run.

Turf track: Overall length 1450m
Length from the wire to the start of the inner chute: 385m (it is used only for 1 1/8 furlong races).

The set-up of the tracks implies that only some distances can be run.

In the turf track, only 5f (from the top of the backstretch), 7 1/2f, 8f, 8 1/2f (from the stretch), 9f (from the inner chute) and 11f (from the backstretch going around twice) are run.

Mar 20, 2009

Club Hípico de Santiago

This is the main track in Chile´s capital city, Santiago. It is a big turf track with 2 turf tracks and 2 inner dirt tracks as well. The wire is at the upper right corner of the picture.


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Here is the data (chutes ennumerated counter-clockwise):

Main Turf Track
Length: around 2430m
First chute: 1200m
Second chute: 1300m
Backstretch chute: 2200m
90º backstretch chute: 2400m

Inner Turf Track
Length: around 1960m
First chute: 1200m
Second Chute: 1000m (YES! That is correct, the second chute is shorter thatn the first one, I do not know if they even use it, I´ll try to find a video).

Dirt Track
Length: around 1830m
From the top of the backstretch: 1560m

And then the inner track, in which I didn´t see a finish line even though it does have a backstretch chute... maybe some Chilean friend can shed some light on this.

Feb 16, 2009

Brighton Racecourse

This is Brighton Racecourse in Brighton, in southern England, and it is definitely WEIRD!! It is similar to Epsom in that both are U shaped one-way tracks. This one has a very steep (it goes up by 7 metres) uphill straight, it has a road crossing over at 1200m (no, I´m not kidding, it is paved), and 1400 and 2000m chutes. There is also another cross-over (this time, a dirt road) at 1850m mark. It´s overall length is a little over 2400m. I left the big A marking the grandstand just in case you had a hard time locating the track :D


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Feb 9, 2009

Galopprennbahn Bremen

Finishing my tour through Germany, I post Bremen´s racetrack, a clockwise triangular turf track of 1850m, with a 1550m chute in the backstretch. It also has a 1750m inner turf track, and then all sorts of tracks going through the infield, which apparently is used for steeplechase races.

Oh, and also, here you can see some pictures of the track:

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Feb 8, 2009

A racetrack in Berlin

I couldn´t get the name, but there is a similar one to the north-east. It is a 1200m oval running clockwise, with 320m straights, and it seems that there are two distinct surfaces, one on the inside and one on the outside. Also there is an inner track too. It is curious that neither this one nor the other I saw in Berlin have chutes.


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Feb 3, 2009

Galopprennbahn Bremen

Continuing my virtual journey through Germany, this is Bremen Racetrack, it is almost rectangular in shape, with very long straights (they are about 650m long), no chutes at all and an inner Steeplechase track (with some tracks crossing the infield). The track is 2010m long, runs clockwise, and measures almost 1600m from the wire at the top of the backstretch and less than 1000m when they are entering the far turn. Maybe they start 1800m races from the middle of the "turn" (it isn´t much of a turn, more like a little straight). All in all, pretty unique.


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Feb 2, 2009

Galopprennbahn Frankfurt-Niederrad

Ok, this is in Germany, in Frankfurt, it is a triangular-shaped racetrack, with both a main turf course (1700m) and an inner turf course (1600m), running counter-clockwise. The main course also has a 1600m chute off the clubhouse turn. Very functional, they can have races for most distances between 1000m and 2400m


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Feb 1, 2009

Hipodromo Dos Hermanas

This is located in Sevilla, in south Spain, and it is home to that country´s winter racing meetings. It has a main turf track measuring exactly 2000 metres, with a 1000m chute off the top of the straight, a 1600m opposite straight chute and a 90º chute for 1800m races in the clubhouse turn. It also has two inner dirt tracks (one measuring 1880m and the other 1600m) and an inner turf course. Notice how elongated the turns are!


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Jan 31, 2009

Ippodromo Capannelle

This is Rome´s main racetrack. Located south-east from Rome, it has a 2650m main turf track, with a 1200 straight course. The track has two different turns, the shortest one takes 500m from the overall length. It also has an opposite straight chute for 2300 m (1800 m. using the shortest turn). It also has a chute that opens up from the main track in the opposite straight (so horses have to turn left and then right) for 2400m races (using the longest turn). There is an inner All-Weather track and inside that one a steeplechase track (with an 8 configuration). Pretty interesting overall!

EDIT: Also, look to the south-east, that´s a BIG training track!


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