Can anyone tell me the dimensions of a track, specifically looking for 3/4 or 5/8 of a mile? How much room do you have to have for the turns so a horse can make them comfortably? Thanks
Posted 2015-06-15 3:41 AM Subject: RE: Race Track Dimensions
A lot of the bullpen tracks on the east coast are smaller than 5/8's several line up the gates so horses have to pass the grandstands as many as 3 times in order to do a mile TB race...
Tulsa Fair Meadows is a 5/8 mile track and the turns are tuff to make... a lot of riders and horses will blow out of the turns ... they do have a backup tail stretch on the straightaway so they can run 440 and 550 yds in a straight line in front of the grandstands... on these type tracks 660 and 870 have one turn before they hit the straightaway ...
30 ACRES ...
990 FT WIDE AND 1320 FT LONG ..
Step back 50 ft on each end and down the backstretch from your fence lines ...
120 ft step back on the front 1320 ft ... which will be for barns etc etc .. ='s
120x1320 frontage
Which will leave the outside rail 820 ft wide and 1220 ft long ...
outside perimeter of the track will be 3/4 of a mile ...
by the time you do your 60-80 ft wide inside track and round the corners..
your inside rail will be a 5/8 mile track and a 350 yd qh straight away with 100 ft allowance at each end ... one for the gates and one for jockeys to slow down enough to make the turn while slowing their horses down.. width of track depends on how many gates you are going to have and how big is your tractor ...
lots of dirt work and don't even start if your soil is not 80% sand and a good surveyor to level the track ..... and don't forget to run pipes or French drains from the infield to keep it drained from rains and washing out your track ...
If you would like to know more .. my consulting fees are $1000 per PM ...
Posted 2015-06-15 5:40 AM Subject: RE: Race Track Dimensions
Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12704
I trained on a 5/8 mile track way back when. One time I was riding for a time and the colt I was on was so fast that when we came around the last turn he couldn't hold the radius of the turn, continued running down the grass, and had to split between the owners car (parked at the timer line outside the track) and the property fence. It was a tight squeeze - and at that speed was a lil hairy.
I don't know the exact dimensions of that track but it was not long and narrow, more like a miniature copy of a big 1 or 1.5 mile track.
Posted 2015-06-15 8:22 AM Subject: RE: Race Track Dimensions
Namesless in BHW
Posts: 10368 Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs
BARRELHORSE USA - 2015-06-15 3:41 AM A lot of the bullpen tracks on the east coast are smaller than 5/8's several line up the gates so horses have to pass the grandstands as many as 3 times in order to do a mile TB race... Tulsa Fair Meadows is a 5/8 mile track and the turns are tuff to make... a lot of riders and horses will blow out of the turns ... they do have a backup tail stretch on the straightaway so they can run 440 and 550 yds in a straight line in front of the grandstands... on these type tracks 660 and 870 have one turn before they hit the straightaway ... 30 ACRES ... 990 FT WIDE AND 1320 FT LONG .. Step back 50 ft on each end and down the backstretch from your fence lines ... 120 ft step back on the front 1320 ft ... which will be for barns etc etc .. ='s 120x1320 frontage Which will leave the outside rail 820 ft wide and 1220 ft long ... outside perimeter of the track will be 3/4 of a mile ... by the time you do your 60-80 ft wide inside track and round the corners.. your inside rail will be a 5/8 mile track and a 350 yd qh straight away with 100 ft allowance at each end ... one for the gates and one for jockeys to slow down enough to make the turn while slowing their horses down.. width of track depends on how many gates you are going to have and how big is your tractor ... lots of dirt work and don't even start if your soil is not 80% sand and a good surveyor to level the track ..... and don't forget to run pipes or French drains from the infield to keep it drained from rains and washing out your track ... If you would like to know more .. my consulting fees are $1000 per PM ...
If you are talking about Fair Meadows..they only have a 350 yd straightaway. They don't run 660 and 770 races anymore there either.
Posted 2015-06-15 11:12 AM Subject: RE: Race Track Dimensions
Elite Veteran
Posts: 627 Location: middle of nowhere
Thank you for the responses. I should clarify this is not going to be used for race horses. Looking to have somewhere that is safe to breeze horses and good footing (not as hard as the irrigation roads) to get horses back in shape. It's a pretty long and narrow property so trying to figure out if I can make the turns work.
BARRELHORSE USA - 2015-06-15 3:41 AM A lot of the bullpen tracks on the east coast are smaller than 5/8's several line up the gates so horses have to pass the grandstands as many as 3 times in order to do a mile TB race... Tulsa Fair Meadows is a 5/8 mile track and the turns are tuff to make... a lot of riders and horses will blow out of the turns ... they do have a backup tail stretch on the straightaway so they can run 440 and 550 yds in a straight line in front of the grandstands... on these type tracks 660 and 870 have one turn before they hit the straightaway ... 30 ACRES ... 990 FT WIDE AND 1320 FT LONG .. Step back 50 ft on each end and down the backstretch from your fence lines ... 120 ft step back on the front 1320 ft ... which will be for barns etc etc .. ='s 120x1320 frontage Which will leave the outside rail 820 ft wide and 1220 ft long ... outside perimeter of the track will be 3/4 of a mile ... by the time you do your 60-80 ft wide inside track and round the corners.. your inside rail will be a 5/8 mile track and a 350 yd qh straight away with 100 ft allowance at each end ... one for the gates and one for jockeys to slow down enough to make the turn while slowing their horses down.. width of track depends on how many gates you are going to have and how big is your tractor ... lots of dirt work and don't even start if your soil is not 80% sand and a good surveyor to level the track ..... and don't forget to run pipes or French drains from the infield to keep it drained from rains and washing out your track ... If you would like to know more .. my consulting fees are $1000 per PM ...
If you are talking about Fair Meadows..they only have a 350 yd straightaway. They don't run 660 and 770 races anymore there either.
You are so right ... even though 660-770 are sanctioned by AQHA very few tracks other than Fair Meets run these distances anymore.
The step up from 550 yds is to 870yds as max distance for qh racing and for the sprinting TB's you have 4.5-5.0-5.5f for them to run their short races. 6.0f is the most common race for sprinting TB's ...
I am dispersing my entire band of horses and just sold a mare I really hated to see leave my barn ... she ran 550 yds at Evangeline Downs and Remington Park with speed indexes of 97-95-92 which is rare for a mare to show that speed and stamina for the longer distances. I am looking forward to seeing her 2014 colt hit the tracks in 2016 and maybe qualify for the All American .. he definitely has the conformation and presence to make the trip ... http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/coronas+big+gun
Posts: 10368 Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs
BARRELHORSE USA - 2015-06-15 12:18 PM
total performance - 2015-06-15 8:22 AM
BARRELHORSE USA - 2015-06-15 3:41 AM A lot of the bullpen tracks on the east coast are smaller than 5/8's several line up the gates so horses have to pass the grandstands as many as 3 times in order to do a mile TB race... Tulsa Fair Meadows is a 5/8 mile track and the turns are tuff to make... a lot of riders and horses will blow out of the turns ... they do have a backup tail stretch on the straightaway so they can run 440 and 550 yds in a straight line in front of the grandstands... on these type tracks 660 and 870 have one turn before they hit the straightaway ... 30 ACRES ... 990 FT WIDE AND 1320 FT LONG .. Step back 50 ft on each end and down the backstretch from your fence lines ... 120 ft step back on the front 1320 ft ... which will be for barns etc etc .. ='s 120x1320 frontage Which will leave the outside rail 820 ft wide and 1220 ft long ... outside perimeter of the track will be 3/4 of a mile ... by the time you do your 60-80 ft wide inside track and round the corners.. your inside rail will be a 5/8 mile track and a 350 yd qh straight away with 100 ft allowance at each end ... one for the gates and one for jockeys to slow down enough to make the turn while slowing their horses down.. width of track depends on how many gates you are going to have and how big is your tractor ... lots of dirt work and don't even start if your soil is not 80% sand and a good surveyor to level the track ..... and don't forget to run pipes or French drains from the infield to keep it drained from rains and washing out your track ... If you would like to know more .. my consulting fees are $1000 per PM ...
If you are talking about Fair Meadows..they only have a 350 yd straightaway. They don't run 660 and 770 races anymore there either.
You are so right ... even though 660-770 are sanctioned by AQHA very few tracks other than Fair Meets run these distances anymore. The step up from 550 yds is to 870yds as max distance for qh racing and for the sprinting TB's you have 4.5-5.0-5.5f for them to run their short races. 6.0f is the most common race for sprinting TB's ... I am dispersing my entire band of horses and just sold a mare I really hated to see leave my barn ... she ran 550 yds at Evangeline Downs and Remington Park with speed indexes of 97-95-92 which is rare for a mare to show that speed and stamina for the longer distances. I am looking forward to seeing her 2014 colt hit the tracks in 2016 and maybe qualify for the All American .. he definitely has the conformation and presence to make the trip ... http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/coronas+big+gun
They actually run alot of 4 furlong races at Fair Meadows for the TB's. I remember when they did run 660 and 770, was probably one of favorite distances for the quarters besides going 870 with one.
Race Track Dimensions
