Review of Safety of Turf Versus Non-Turf (Synthetic and Dirt) Racing Surfaces

1. Introduction
Under headlines such as “Surface Wars,” there has been vigorous debate in the international racing media and veterinary circles regarding the impact of a new wave of synthetic racetrack surfaces on the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries and rates of fatalities for horses competing on these surfaces. Early results from North America indicate that the new synthetic surfaces are safer than dirt racing surfaces. However, the most recent results continue to show that neither dirt nor synthetic surfaces are as safe as turf.

The “inherent safety”¹  of the turf racing surface seems to have been overlooked with the recent focus on synthetic and all-weather racing surfaces. Furthermore, the synthetic or all-weather surfaces have been described as a “double-edged sword,” because there is evidence that new, different, and equally life-threatening injuries occur with horses that race and train on synthetic surfaces. These new and different injuries are reflected in different patterns of fractures and injuries seen with horses racing on non-turf compared with turf surfaces. In addition, there are indications that training on a synthetic surface and subsequently racing on a turf surface may have an impact on the injuries sustained. [...]