Some horses excel in muddy conditions, as the old racetrack saying goes: born to slop, with a father who was a mudder and a mother who was a mudder too. A sloppy track is even slower than a muddy track and usually has standing water but a firm base underneath. A heavy track is drier than a muddy track but still slower, due to the weight of the wet sand. A muddy track has looser soil that lets horses pull their hooves out more easily, while a heavy track feels more like running on damp concrete and slows the pace even further.
Wet turf tracks are usually faster than muddy dirt tracks. When weather and track conditions are ideal for turf, the surface stays firm and even, allowing for the fastest pace. When conditions are less than ideal but still fairly dry, turf tracks are considered good, and faster horses generally do well on firm and good turf. Stalkers can also do well by staying close to the front of the pack and making a late charge for the win. As track conditions slow down, closers stand a better chance of pulling out wins with late charges. When a turf track holds a lot of moisture, the surface becomes spongy and is considered yielding, absorbing some of a horse’s energy and slowing it down. A rain soaked turf track is considered soft, due to its water saturated surface, and slows the pace considerably. Horses that pace themselves well and finish strong generally do best under these conditions.