"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand." So said the great American economist Milton Friedman and, crikey, it rings true of South Africa's current condition.A sliver of the country, the Vaal Racecourse, will have a notable shortage of sand come the end of October. They're digging up the sand track there and replacing it with another turf surface, to run alongside the two already in place.One doesn't want to start comparing our racing administrators to the ANC government because, quite simply, they're nowhere near as incompetent. But one must reflect a degree of anxiety among the racing fraternity over this move, with fears that removing racing options reduces potential earnings for owners and trainers.Some horses love galloping on sand but don't perform on turf. Vice versa, of course, and some are decent on both surfaces - or stink wherever they run, as I have painful experience of.The sand track was built in 2001 as an alternative to the Highveld turf circuits, particularly during winter when the ground gets rock-hard and puts stress on horses' legs and backs. There was plenty of free sand on the nearby Vaal River banks, so it seemed a brilliant wheeze.But, as Friedman also said, there's no such thing as a free lunch. The routing of the new track meant the run-in was a lengthy one, which proved extremely testing for many horses. "Kickback" from hooves left horses and jockeys covered in gooey yellow mud; the riders had to fashion plastic visors to peel off during a race so they could see where they were going. The filtered sand used was criticised for being too yielding - making it even more arduous for the animals - but a change to unfiltered threw up a new set of problems.So, after 14 years, an interesting, entertaining, frustrating, infuriating interlude in our racing history is nearing an end.When the change was announced, passing mention was made of a possible Polytrack installation on the Turffontein inside course - to bring respite from both concrete-like winter ground and rainy- season meeting cancellations.But operator Phumelela's dismal shareholder trading announcement this week suggests it isn't flush with the sort of cash needed to finance such an expensive synthetic track.One of the highlights of the Vaal sand has been the success of its annual R1-million race to crown the country's best sand racer. It's always been a good family day out, with bands, braais and brats' stuff.The final iteration of this meeting takes place tomorrow. Interestingly, it features a new sponsor in SAP. Obviously the international computing giant wouldn't get involved in an event with the whiff of failure about it - as the sand track has - without something considerably bigger and better down the line in mind. Toe in the water.SAP has experience and expertise in info tech for sports, so an educated guess is that it sees business potential in the old sport of kings.Tomorrow's race?It's called the Supreme Cup sponsored by SAP and it's a tough one to call as some of the better-performed runners are new to the doomed sand. Some with good sand form have wide draws for the 1450m scramble around a bend.I foresee a tight contest between battle-hardened top-weight Uncle Tommy under seasoned jockey Ian Sturgeon and the younger, feather-weighted Solar Triptych under apprentice rider Callan Murray.A battle of opposites fit to bid farewell to a racecourse of extremes...