Finley: On the surface

No one is quite sure how the new Pro-Ride synthetic surface will affect this year's Breeders' Cup, but, 10 days into the Oak Tree meet, some answers are starting to emerge. It appears that Pro-Ride is a lot like its synthetic cousins, Tapeta, Polytrack and Cushion Track. It has produced formful racing, is not kind to front-runners and the inside may not be the best place to be. Through Oct. 5, 68 races had been run on the Pro-Ride surface and 21 of them have been won by the betting favorite. That's among the good news coming out of Santa Anita. Racing at Oak Tree has been far from an indecipherable mess. The favorite is winning at a rate of 30.9 percent, which is more or less than national average around the country no matter the surface. Old-fashioned handicapping will still work a lot better than throwing a dart at the... [read full story]