It all sounds Bon to me!
We have received a few questions this week about the difference between UK and French official going descriptions, and how the surface is measured in these two prominent global racing jurisdictions – and rightly so with one of the most important race meetings in the world about to take place at Paris Longchamp this weekend!
The official word
Officials in both jurisdictions still walk the course and use traditional methods e.g. wooden sticks to form their own opinion which is the basis for the ‘Official Going’ or ‘Etat du Terrain’ in French terms.
In the UK there is typically a primary worded official description often accompanied by a secondary description (‘in places’) to indicate either variability e.g. as displayed on TurfTrax Going Maps or a borderline description when a track is on the cusp of two descriptions.
In France a one word description is used but there are more incremental stages on their scale than in the UK and not all the descriptive words translate or correspond exactly with how ground is described in the UK.
Measurement methods
The Penetrometer is a device that has long been used in France and was deployed on a small number of UK tracks, but that was over 20 years ago now. Below is a photo of the TurfTrax GoingStick (left) and a Penetrometer (right) in use at Deauville.
With the Penetrometer, a standard weight is dropped down a metal rod forcing the probe into the ground and numbers are recorded manually.
On the Penetrometer scale, because it measures how far the probe penetrates the surface, lower numbers mean firmer ground and higher numbers mean softer ground. Penetrometer average readings range from about 2.0 (very firm) to 5.0 (very heavy).
The GoingStick
The TurfTrax GoingStick measures both penetration and shear. It also calculates an index value based upon these two data sets combined.
Data is recorded and downloaded electronically and mapped automatically.
The device measures resistance in the turf as it is pushed in the ground and pulled back, acting as a proxy for the forces a horse’s hoof exerts on the surface.
Higher numbers equals more resistance and a firmer surface, lower numbers equal less resistance and softer ground.
The GoingStick can measure from 1.0 (a puddle!) to 15.0 (like the proverbial road!) but because an average reading is published, most readings fall between around 4.5 and 12.0 and in the UK readings above 10.0 are very uncommon these days.
The GoingStick is used on all UK turf courses and has been in regular use at key France Galop venues for over two years now including Chantilly, Deauville, Longchamp and Saint Cloud.
French Adoption
In July of 2021, France Galop decided that adopting the TurfTrax GoingStick and publishing maps and readings at least for Group 1 events would be beneficial and would broaden the industry understanding of how ground is described across Europe as well as being a useful tool for participants and punters at home.
(For more information on the above, click here.)
As a result, it has been fascinating to collect and analyse these data sets with our colleagues at France Galop and we have all learnt from the experience.
Differences in Terminology and Going Descriptions.
In general terms we have found that the French descriptions differ by about one official going ‘degree’ when compared to the UK, particularly in the middle of the scale.
In other words when the French are describing Longchamp as ‘Good’ the measured GoingStick readings indicate much closer to ‘Good to Firm’ compared to the UK GoingStick range.
But once extremes of very Firm or very Heavy are reached the differential is negligible.
Below we have produced a table showing the French descriptions, a translation to English, UK official description and an indication of the corresponding GoingStick reading.
It is worth considering that translating/converting from Penetrometer to GoingStick is a bit like changing currency… or perhaps a better analogy would be comparing Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometers - with one of them upside down!
*Hard whilst still an official description in the UK has in effect become obsolete because no race meetings have taken place on Hard ground in the UK for many years now.
Closing Thoughts
We are very pleased that our UK designed and manufactured technology has been adopted by our colleagues in France and is also being used very widely across Europe in Germany, Italy and Spain to name a few.
As well as Europe, the GoingStick is now very widely used in Australasia, the US and Middle East meaning we have the same tool and method in use and the same data to reference whether it is the Melbourne Cup, Breeders’ Cup, Royal Ascot or the Arc.
We hope that in time GoingStick readings will form part of a worldwide standardised benchmarking process for assessing racing surfaces with a description system that can be easily understood and translated across the globe.
In the meantime, we have an excellent data set so far from France and will continue to provide up to date going and weather information for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe this weekend here https://twitter.com/TurfTrax.
Whatever the ground at Longchamp we can look forward to some top-class Flat racing at one of the world’s most iconic racing venues.
If you'd be interested in learning more about that or any other TurfTrax products, please get in touch with us today:
W: www.turftrax.com
T. +44(0)1480 408970
E. turftrax@turftrax.co.uk