The track conditions are a measure of the condition of the ground that the horses race upon. In the US the racing is mostly on dirt tracks and in the UK most races are on turf tracks (grass) the condition of the track is called the "going". As a result of there being different types of track there is a different way of classifying the ground in the different countries. They are as follows.
UK Classification
Hard
Firm
Good to Firm
Good
Good to Soft
Soft
Heavy
US Classification
Fast
Firm
Good
Muddy
Sloppy
Frozen
One of the most important questions you will need the answer when assessing the winner of the race is which horses will race best in the conditions of the course on that day. The condition of the course can have a dramatic effect on which horse wins the race. It is one factor that is often overlooked and shouldn't be, because some horses just aren't suited to certain conditions. Some people say a good horse will overcome the conditions no matter what they are, but this is simply not true some horses who would have easily won a race in dry conditions get soundly beaten when the ground gets wet. Also the longer the race is the more the ground takes it out of a horse so the stamina of the horse can come into play more than speed. It is also worth being aware of conditions changing throughout the day if it has been raining all day the conditions can easily change from good to heavy and the likely winner could change during the day.
