On the Cover
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Photo by Michael Peterson
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Horses have been racing on tracks of dirt, turf and other natural
materials for centuries. But while track grooming and maintenance
standards evolved through the years, no systematic testing existed to
measure the effects of these racing surface changes on horses. That’s
why University of Maine Professor of Mechanical Engineering Michael
Peterson invented a testing device that provides in-situ measurement of
track performance characteristics based on the biomechanics of the gait
of a galloping horse. Testing data can be used to compare tracks based
on the response the horse would experience when racing or training.
