Del Mar Racetrack

"Where the Turf meets the Surf".. indeed, the beach is just some metres away from this North American oval dirt track (now synthetic) with an inner turf track.


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The data
Dirt Track: 1 mile
Backstetch chute: 7f
Stretch chute: 2f (good for 1 1/4 mile races)
This, as in most north american tracks, means that 7 1/2 dirt races are not run.

Turf track: Overall length 1450m
Length from the wire to the start of the inner chute: 385m (it is used only for 1 1/8 furlong races).

The set-up of the tracks implies that only some distances can be run.

In the turf track, only 5f (from the top of the backstretch), 7 1/2f, 8f, 8 1/2f (from the stretch), 9f (from the inner chute) and 11f (from the backstretch going around twice) are run.

Los Alamitos Race Course

This is a quarter-horse racing venue in Los Angeles, California. It has a 1000m dirt oval with a 500m straight and a 900m chute off the backstretch.


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Yellowstone Downs

Look how small this track is! Just four furlongs or about 800 metres around! It is used for different breeds, but for thoroughbreds the two distances run here are 5 and 1/4 furlongs (using the chute on the stretch) and 7 furlongs (starting on the chute on the backstretch and then going around a second time).


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Santa Anita Racetrack

This classic west coast oval has it all: the dirt oval with a special chute, the inner turf, and the famous downhill 6 1/2 furlong turf course, that starts straight, takes a right and then makes a sweeping left hand turn, crosses over the dirt track and finishes. The dirt oval measures around a mile and the grass oval a little over 7 furlongs. The track has one dirt chute for 7 furlong races and another one for 10 furlong races.

The most usual distances are 6 to 7 furlongs, 1 1/16 miles and 1 1/8 miles over the dirt and 1 mile, 1 1/8 mile and 6 1/2 furlongs (almost) on the turf course.

North America´s longest turf race, the San Juan Capistrano Handicap, is run here over a distance of almost 1 3/4 miles. The race starts at the top of the downhill turf course and then the horses go around one extra time around the turf oval.


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