by JERRY KLEIN, FOXSports.com

Updated: December 27, 2007, 7:13 PM EST 2 comments

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It also will go down as a milepost in Breeders' Cup history, with its bold expansion program swamped in a sea of mud at Monmouth Park. But the topic that made news for all 12 months was the increase in synthetic surfaces and the ongoing debate over their pros and cons.

To say the jury is still out regarding the performance of fiber and sand mixtures under the stress of full-scale race meetings is an understatement — and that was before the latest drainage problems at Santa Anita. The rush to synthetics, fueled by a simplistic "do it for the horse" mentality, has come to a grinding halt. After eight major venues made the change in the last two years, no others are slated for conversion at this time.

In fact, economic necessity, not an overriding concern about the welfare of Thoroughbreds, was the impetus for Polytrack coming to America. Lost cards at Turfway Park's winter meet led its owners, the Keeneland Association, to install it and Toronto's Woodbine soon followed. Combined with its vertical drainage system, the ersatz dirt generally worked as advertised. Equally important, it needed far less maintenance, i.e. human labor, saving racetracks big bucks.

A byproduct of the material was increased cushion that, theoretically, reduced the concussive impact during a Thoroughbred's stride and lessened the number of catastrophic injuries.

Tracks like Keeneland, Arlington Park and Del Mar, where breakdowns had reached epidemic proportions, embraced the new technology and then California officials adopted the material as a panacea for its chronic shortage of horses. The positive PR didn't hurt, either.

The actual results have been mixed. Front-leg injuries and breakdowns are down but are not nearly as infrequent as anticipated and trainers report an onset of hindquarter problems not previously seen. And the racing strips seem to exhibit fluctuations in consistency due to heat and moisture as they did previously. Evaluating the various mixtures has been further complicated by Keeneland becoming a business partner in the company that manufactures Polytrack.

The newest synthetic on the scene is Tapeta Footings and, if the results at Golden Gate Fields are any indication, it may be superior to the rest.

"Everyone I've talked to about it," said trainer Craig Dollase, who won a stakes last weekend at GGF, "has positive things to say. I sure like it."

Added trainer Art Sherman, who has run horses over all four California synthetic tracks: "I wish they all used this."

Most important for track management, field size through the first six weeks of the meeting has increased from under seven horses per contest to well over eight and races using all the tote board slots are common.

"It will take a little while for word to get out that we're playable again," said GGF's Tom Ferrall. "For the last few years, we didn't have a very attractive product in northern California."

So far, handle is up almost 10 percent.

Additionally, the catastrophic injury rate is well below half that of recent meetings of similar length and trainers say their horses are coming back after a race in better shape than before the switch. With its entry box bulging for the coming weekend, Golden Gate management has to be happy with their investment but it's doubtful that will have much impact on tracks that have yet to cross over. After all, they've heard this before.

A weekly look at six horses to watch: CURIOUSLY SWEET —This miss looks like a stakes-winner ready to happen and Friday's $100,000 Cat's Cradle Handicap for California-breds at Hollywood Park is as good a place as any. The 7 1/2-furlong race is a one-turn affair so she'll have to learn a new trick after three route victories. Purrfectly Fitting, whose career-best was at these conditions, is a longshot chance. HIGH SURF — Pedigree lovers swoon over her lineage, as she's by Storm Cat out of champion 3-year-old filly Surfside, who also won the Hollywood Starlet at two. This juvenile can run a little as well and will have to when she tackles 11 others in the Letellier Memorial on Saturday in New Orleans. She may offer some value behind Grade 3-placed Blitzing and Canadian shipper Call the Posse. SOK SOK — The first of four $100,000 sprint stakes at Fair Grounds on Saturday is the Sugar Bowl for 2-year-olds and though it's doubtful trainer Steve Asmussen has classic plans for this son of Trippi, he's shown enough this year to rate a big chance in the eight-horse field. Mikimoto's Mojo outworked 147 other horses two weeks ago but needs to follow up in the afternoon. ATLANTA HIGHWAY — Third up at Fair Grounds is the Esplanade Stakes, a short dash for fillies and mares that drew 10 starters, including this speedy 3-year-old who is perfect on dry tracks this year. Her recent win over the strip bodes well but she will face strong challenges from Asmussen's Tres Dream and horse-for-course Mykindasaint for the top prize. ZETETIC — He drew the 12-hole in his last Fair Grounds added-money appearance and went one better for Saturday's Bonapaw Stakes with the far outside stall in the 13-horse field. There should be more than enough pace in the 5 1/2-furlong turf race to provide a nice stalking trip for the course veteran behind Texas star Mystery Classic and Stormin Baghdad. BIG BAD LEROYBROWN —The $100,000 On Trust Handicap on Saturday at Hollywood looks like a battle between Greg's Gold and Unusual Suspect but don't count out this 3-year-old from the 7 1/2-furlong race. He's back with state-breds, likes the synthetic and gets a break in the weights from the favorites. Expect him to sit a few lengths off the pace and show a strong late kick. — Jerry Klein

The First Turn

It is a rare year when the BC Juvenile doesn't decide the division's champion and the matter is settled in the Hollywood Futurity (Grade 1). Such was the case in 2004, when an invader from England won the Juvenile while a late-blooming phenom was turning heads in California. They met at Hollywood Park and it was Declan's Moon beating BC hero Wilko for the crown.

Saturday's edition of the $750,000 race, the first under its new name of CashCall Futurity, has no championship implications. War Pass, the BC winner and Eclipse Award cinch, is resting in Florida and there are only four stakes-winners among the 14 starters that will cram the starting gate for the 1 1/16-mile test. But trainers Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, Richard Mandella and Bobby Frankel have entries so there are bound to be some future stars in the field.

The morning-line favorite, however, comes from none of those barns. WinStar Farms' Colonel John, trained by Eoin Harty and riding a two-race win streak capped by an impressive tally in the Real Quiet Stakes last month, earned the honor. However, that race lacked any depth and this is a far tougher assignment for the son of Tiznow. "He's fit, and he's proven the ability to go two turns," Harty said early in the week.

Baffert's unbeaten Massive Drama, who held off Mandella's Into Mischief in the recent seven-furlong Hollywood Prevue despite posting an opening half-mile split of 44.38 seconds, is back, though the trainer noted the first try around two turns for the son of Kafwain is a whole new ballgame.

"I'm just a minor player," he joked last week after his colt worked five furlongs in 58 seconds flat. "Eoin has the best 2-year-old colt in the West and Zito has the best colt in the East. The rest of us are just trying to find our spots."

Though he has shown surprising speed thus far, Into Mischief, a son of Harlan's Holiday, is a candidate for improvement as the distances increase. "We're in good shape," the taciturn Mandella offered this week. Meanwhile, Todd Pletcher's Meal Problem will don blinkers after backing out of a three-horse stretch duel in the Prevue while down on the rail.

Two horses who have excelled on grass, Old Man Buck, who was up the track in the BC Juvenile, and Indian Sun, will try the Cushion Track.

"He just couldn't handle the slop at Monmouth," said Ken McPeek assistant Alan Shell of Old Man Buck. "He runs better on grass but the Cushion Track should be no problem." Indian Sun races for the same connections as Brother Derek, winner of this race two years ago.

"We wanted to keep him on turf at first," said trainer Dan Hendricks, "but he trained on Cushion Track just fine this summer."

Slew's Tiznow is the only horse in the field to finish as high as second in a Grade 1 contest.

"I'm going into this race with a horse I really believe in," said trainer Greg Fox, who inherited the colt when Patrick Biancone's barn was dispersed. "When I've asked him, he has delivered willingly. He's got a tremendous amount of class."

Around the Track

The political wheels continue to grind in New York regarding the future of the NYRA, the latest suggestion being a special committee to administer the sport. Warned NYRA president Charles Hayward, "As I said from the day I took this job, the oversight board can run racing, they just can't run it at Aqueduct, Belmont or Saratoga — it's our property."

Trainer John Sadler, on the ongoing drainage problems at Santa Anita: "We're all horrified. We're all very nervous because this is uncharted water."

NYRA racing secretary Paul Campo, explaining why the Man o' War Stakes was moved from September to July, where it replaced the Bowling Green Handicap: "We had three races in a seven-week span, the Sword Dancer, the Man o' War and the Turf Classic. We found that one of the races was always getting hurt and, usually, it was the middle one."

The Homestretch

Although only first-place votes count towards determining each winner, the Eclipse Awards requires voters to list three choices per category so a set of finalists can be announced prior to January's big night. Yet rarely is there much suspense before "the envelope, please" moment and this year, with so many titles settled at the Breeders' Cup, it took far more thought to decide the third-place horse than the top dog in each division.

There were a few issues to sort out, most notably how much weight to give horses, especially those on the West Coast, who competed primarily or exclusively on synthetic surfaces or whose most important triumph came on Poly. But with most BC winners having done enough beforehand to parlay that last victory into a crown, there will be more drama this year regarding the human recipients than the equine.

Here is this voter's ballot: Two-Year-Old Colt or Gelding: War Pass over Etched and Majestic Warrior. Two-Year-Old Filly: Indian Blessing over Country Star and Proud Spell. Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding: Curlin over Street Sense and Hard Spun. Three-Year-Old Filly: Rags to Riches over Lady Joanne and Panty Raid. Male Sprinter: Midnight Lute over Idiot Proof and Fabulous Strike. Female Sprinter: Maryfield over Dream Rush and River's Prayer. Male Turf Horse: English Channel over Kip Deville and Doctor Dino. Female Turf Horse: Lahudood over Precious Kitten and Nashoba's Key. Older Male: Lawyer Ron over Corinthian and Lava Man. Horse of the Year: Curlin

In the people categories, Carl Nafzger earned my nod for top trainer by being the first to figure out how to win the Kentucky Derby with the previous year's BC Juvenile winner and Garrett Gomez was the choice among jockeys after setting numerous records for stakes victories. And thanks to everyone in the sport for a wonderful year of racing.