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The Penetrometer |
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Introduction
The Penetrometer has been used for many years assisting Racecourse Managers and Stewards with track ratings. This device comes from the road building industry where they used a device to measure the road profile prior to the final surfacing of asphalt. The device was modified to measure soil hardness turf.
Description
The Penetrometer is used in the thoroughbred industry by many metropolitan tracks and now some major provinical clubs and is constructed out of a metal (stainless steel) and manufactured in Melbourne.
The penetrometer description is as follows:
A 1 kilogram weight is released by a trigger action and falls 1 meter down a shaft, which in-turn hits a 1 centimeter square rod into the soil profile. The centimeter square rod has 1 centimeter increments as the measurement for the depth of the rod that has entered into the soil profile. This action is undertaken 3 times in the one position, therefore giving 3 readings eg: 2.5, 4.5, 6.5.
Reading
A formulae is used to calculate the reading and is based on the average figure. To obtain this figure there are 6 readings taken every 200m around the course. Three of the 6 readings are taken 2m from the running rail and then the remaining 3 readings are taken 4m from the running rail. Each reading is recorded and then all figures are entered into a formulae that will provide an average. This average then becomes your Penetrometer Reading and will correspond to the ratings as set out below:
| Rating | Scale |
| Fast | 0 - 4.0 |
| Good | 4.0 - 4.6 |
| Dead | 4.6 - 5.2 |
| Slow | 5.2 - 5.6 |
| Heavy | 5.6 and above |
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