MJC Now Rehabbing Both Track Cushion, Base At Laurel; June Estimate For Project Completion

During Thursday's meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission, board members dug in to the issues with the dirt track at Laurel Park, grilling the senior vice president of racing for The Stronach Group (TSG), Steve Koch.

Racing in the state has already been moved to Pimlico on an emergency basis, but a finite timeline for the repairs to the Laurel surface has been hard to nail down, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

“I hesitate to put a firm timeline on this for the moment,” Koch said, adding: “I would not anticipate this running past the end of the current Pimlico meet.”

That meet is scheduled to end on May 31, with racing at Laurel booked to resume on June 4.

Initial estimates suggested that replacing the dirt surface's cushion would be the primary focus of the project, but Koch explained that the base of the track has been repaired in piecemeal locations over the past years, and now the Maryland Jockey Club is looking at completing “significant work” on that base to restore consistency.

Currently, experts are comparing three test strips of different base compositions in a location on the backstretch chute, working in concert with the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory to determine which is the best for local conditions.

A large part of the problem, Koch explained, is that the MJC has not been able to source the required materials from local quarries, and is subsequently shipping material from significant distances.

“These are very scarce, very technically specified [base] materials, and in fact they're much more scarce than the cushion materials,” Koch said. “We will continue to subscribe to the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory top-to-bottom quality control program. What we cannot do is control every aspect of winter racing and winter weather, and we cannot control the fact that sourcing stone from quarries all over the eastern half of the United States requires a significant shopping and laboratory exercise.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Experts Say Difficult Winter Could Be To Blame For Woes With Laurel Track Surface

Thursday's announcement that live racing would be not be held at Laurel Park until further notice, with this weekend's races cancelled and future racing moved to Pimlico Race Course, stemmed from concerns about the safety of the racetrack surface. Officials from the Maryland horse community appeared on a teleconference meeting to discuss the issues with the surface, which Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory's Dr. Mick Peterson believes may originate from a tough winter in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The entire track cushion will be rehabilitated in the coming weeks, with a timeline that is expected to take less than three weeks as light training (no workouts) continues over the Laurel Park main track. Meanwhile, horses will be able to ship to Pimlico for workouts using the Maryland Jockey Club shuttle.

Training tomorrow will be held from 5:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., with no break. Only jogging and galloping will be allowed at this time.

“From a race track operator's perspective, we have a couple of responsibilities,” said Aiden Butler, Chief Operating Officer, 1/ST RACING. “The most important one is to make sure that the sanctity and the safety of the racetrack is the best it can be at all times. Varying degrees of weather and varying degrees of protocols mean that it's not always as optimum as we would like … When we got the heads up last week that the track was not performing quite as well as we'd like it to, we immediately rallied and put a team together.

“We decided that for Maryland to be as good as it can be, there was only one approach, and it's one that's a heck of a lot of work, and unfortunately going to be a heck of a lot of inconvenience for everyone on this call. But there really is no other way. Maryland has the opportunity to be as good a racing jurisdiction and as good a racing surface as any in the country, and we're not going to get there if the track isn't as good as it can be.”

A total of four equine fatalities, one during racing and three during morning training, have occurred at Laurel this year, Stronach Group chief veterinary officer Dr. Dionne Benson told the Paulick Report. The four fatalities resulted from different types of injuries and occurred at different locations on the racetrack, Benson said, adding that the numbers are very similar to this time last year. One morning fatality occurred in February, the racing fatality on March 7, one morning fatality during March, and one morning fatality over the past week.

“The bigger issue was that we weren't happy with how the track came out of winter,” Benson explained.

The general consensus was that the issues with the track surface have been a concern for the past two weeks.

“I don't want to focus on how we got to this point,” said Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association President Tim Keefe. “I would like to focus on how to avoid it in the future.”

Butler continued the conversation by adding that he'll be on the grounds in Maryland over the next several weeks and is looking forward to speaking with horsemen, both formally and informally, about how to open a more direct dialog so similar issues can be avoided in the future.

“We definitely want to be proactive on this, not reactive,” said Peterson, adding that the MJC has implemented the some of the RSTL's improvements over the past couple years, including an on-site weather station and other rapid-response testing abilities.

Peterson went on to explain that the issues with the Laurel Park track cushion stemmed from several factors.

“Winter racing on a dirt track is challenging, and it's clear that in the Mid-Atlantic region, some years are more challenging than others,” Peterson said, “especially with these years where the freeze/thaw cycle leads to a lot of salt usage. The other challenge, and this is not unique to the Mid-Atlantic tracks, is getting consistent materials in the quantity required for racetrack maintenance.

“The key is not only meeting the immediate needs, but in changing the operation mode for the Maryland Jockey Club.”

1/ST RACING's Senior Track Superintendent Dennis Moore and the Maryland Jockey Club's Track Superintendent Chris Bosley have located a supplier and began the project on Friday, stripping material off the track. Moore has experience mixing the material on site for consistency, and will be confirming the process along the way with additional samples sent to the RSTL and Peterson.

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Races Cancelled At Laurel Due To Track Conditions; Racing Moved To Pimlico Starting April 22

1/ST RACING and the Maryland Jockey Club announce today that live racing will be cancelled from Saturday April 17 through Monday April 19, due to the ongoing evaluation of the main track surface conditions. As part of regular track maintenance, the Maryland Jockey Club identified on April 14 that the main track had not responded sufficiently to wintertime cushion repairs. Gallops will be allowed during an abbreviated training schedule Friday, April 16.

Dr. Mick Peterson, from the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory (RSTL) along with 1/ST RACING's Senior Track Superintendent and the Maryland Jockey Club's Chris Bosley have been working together to assess the cushion replacement options using RSTL approved materials and to identify a project timeline.

“We understand that the timing of this Laurel Park main track maintenance is not ideal for our horsemen, but the safety of the horses and our riders must be our top priority,” said Aidan Butler, Chief Operating Officer, 1/ST RACING. “We have full confidence that Dr. Mick Peterson, Dennis Moore and Chris Bosley will manage this project quickly and will deliver a rehabilitated main track surface cushion that will offer superior training and racing to the benefit of Maryland horsemen for years to come.”

Due to the uncertainty of the timeline to rehabilitate the main track surface cushion at Laurel Park, 1/ST RACING and the Maryland Jockey Club submitted an application to the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association to move live racing to Pimlico Race Course, effective, April 22 on an emergency basis. The application has been granted and live racing will be moved to Pimlico Race Course until further notice.

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Laurel Park Timed Workouts Put On Hold While Track Surface Evaluated

The Maryland Jockey Club issued the following media advisory on Wednesday evening concerning the dirt racing surface at Laurel Park and a temporary halt to timed workouts while an assessment is done on replacing the track's cushion.

“1/ST RACING and the Maryland Jockey Club, as part of regular track maintenance protocols, have identified that the main track at Laurel Park has not responded sufficiently to the necessary repairs following wintertime cushion changes,” the statement reads.

“While we work to assess cushion replacement options in consultation with Dr. Mick Peterson from the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, the track will be available for gallopers only, tomorrow morning, Thursday, April 15.  No workouts will be permitted until further notice.

“Dennis Moore, 1/ST Racing's senior Track Superintendent and MJC's Chris Bosley will work directly with Dr. Peterson to oversee the assessment.  We anticipate more complete project details during the day on April 15 and will be sure to provide relevant updates in a timely manner. We appreciate the impact this will have on our horsemen and we thank you in advance for your patience and trust.”

Laurel is scheduled to resume racing on Saturday.

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