Safety is one of the largest contributors in establishing the sport of horse racing's ethicality. Horse racing is a dangerous sport, where both riders and horses face the risk of fatal or debilitating injuries. Regulating the surface properties of the racetrack is one way horse racing facilities try to prevent accidents from occurring. Keeping moisture distribution consistent using a traditional water truck proves difficult, as the outside of the arm moves faster than the inside when rounding curves. 

Typical water trucks distribute around 4000 gallons of water in 7 minutes. The tracks are watered on a tight schedule between races, so operators must move efficiently to cover the 1 1/16th mile long track. Horse racetrack facilities often have limited staffing available to drive and maintain the truck and racetrack. When considering the operator it is important to consider vehicle laws and the changes to the weight distribution of the truck caused by arm operation. In addition, to create an implementable solution, cost must be competitive with other boom systems currently available.

The proposed solution is a made up of an arm, five electrical solenoid valves, five nozzles, and an electrical control system scaled down to 1/5th the length of a standard 30 ft. arm. The arm’s body is made from a 3-inch aluminum pipe attached to a pump with a hose and globe valve equipped to turn the whole system on and off. The arm spans 6 feet in length, and is equipped with five nozzles, each spaced 1 foot apart. At each nozzle, a solenoid valve controls the flow distributed onto the track. The nozzles were chosen based on rated pressure and flow rates. 

The final design consists of a 2" diameter PVC pipe. Four 9.5 in. sections are connected by tee joints. Two 22.5 in. pieces of PVC are located at each end. A removable end cap is located on the outer end of the arm, and a standard garden hose thread is connected on the other end for attachment to a water supply.  One proportional valve is located at each tee joint. An additional tee joint is used to attach a pressure transducer and nozzle to the proportional valve. An electronic control system consisting of an Arduino Mega, three 0-10V I2C modules, and GPS control the amount of voltage sent to the proportional valves which modulates the flow.

1. Add a pump to the inlet to allow for higher flow rates into the arm

2. Add pressure transducers across the length of the arm to measure pressure losses

3. Test the on-site code at Keeneland to ensure functionality