Track Conditions – Racing Guide

Clarify the Confusion

#1. Track Ratings – yep this was a beauty for a long time. Not all rankings are created equaly.

Rating	Numerical Rating	Old Rating	Description of Numerical Rating
Firm	1	Fast	Dry hard track
Firm	2	Good	Firm track with reasonable grass coverage
Good	3	Good	Track with good grass coverage and cushion
Good	4	Dead	Track with some give in it
Soft	5	Dead	Track with a reasonable amount of give in it
Soft	6	Slow	Moist but not a badly affected track
Soft	7	Slow	More rain-affected track that will chop out
Heavy	8	Heavy	Rain affected track that horses will get into
Heavy	9	Heavy	Wet track getting into a squelchy area
Heavy	10	Heavy	Heaviest category track, very wet, towards saturation
Synthetic		Synthetic	There are a few synthetic tracks now in Australia, which allow for racing in any weather conditions. Synthetic tracks are often given a track condition of Good 3.