| BUILDINGS & FACILITIES |
YEAR: 2000
 |
| Looking back towards the home turn |
The new, two-sulky passing lane will be in use for the first time at Addington on Friday night, 10th March 2000.
As a result of this, the track has been resurveyed with all starting positions altered by half a metre. An addition is a black and white sighter mark, which gives the drivers something to aim at.
"If the horsemen don't like it, we can take it out. That is no problem," said Mike Godber, the Metropolitan's Chief Executive Officer. He said the width of the lane is three metres, allowing room for two horses, and 250 metres of the track have been dedicated to the change.
This is the second introduction of the passing lane at Addington. It was tried for one meeting, in September 18 months ago
REVIEW:- Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 29Mar00
After just two meetings and 20 races, there are problems with the new passing lane at Addington Raceway. Driver have expressed their concern to Raceway officials. The officials agree, and promise to get it right. They will start with a meeting tomorrow between representatives of the Trainers and Drivers Association, Raceway directors and track engineers.
The issue for the drivers is not so much the passing lane but the camber of the bend and the transition leading into it. John Lischner, president of the trainers and Drivers Association, said the drivers considered Addington the best track in the world "but at present it is not. We thought they had two options, to take the passing lane in, which would have been the expensive way, or come out. This would have meant an alteration to the camber and taking the transition further down the track, to near the 2600m start. But we are not satisfied the camber on the corner into the staight is correct yet. We see good-driving horses lugging down on that corner and horses on the inside hitting the poles," he said.
Senior drivers Ken Barron and Kevin Townley insist the bend must be fixed. "It is going to be a real problem if it is left the way it is when the big races come round at Easter," said Barron. "I am very disappointed in it. You have to physically steer them round the top corner rather than allowing the horse to follow the natural contour and the transition finishes too quickly. It is similar to the one used for half a meeting about eighteen months ago. Anthony Butt said at a meeting we had with the Addington officials that if it is going to be done, do it right," he said.
Kevin Townley said: "It is not what we asked for; it's not right. We are having to drag horses up the camber and many on the inside are hitting the last pole," he said.
Mike Godber, Chief Executive Officer of Addington Raceway, says "I'm not happy with it. I know we have got a problem and it's got to be sorted out.I believe we have the best track and there is no compromise on that. We have got to maintain that standard."
Godber said officials had taken a number of comments from drivers to assist them rectify areas of concern. "Anthony Butt said the horses three and four wide on the corner were tightening those further down and that seems to be an accurate assessment of what is happening. The camber angle drops away too quickly.It should be able to be fixed," he said.
If it is not, Lischner said the likely alternative would be running the Easter meeting without the passing lane. Chief Stipendary Steward Neil Escott said: "I go along with the thoughts of the horsemen. Something will need to be done, especially with the Easter racing coming up. It would be unjust on the horsemen after raising the matter otherwise," he said.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 8Mar00