Del Mar dirt track on schedule for April completion

ARCADIA, Calif. – Del Mar continues its progress toward the installation of a dirt main track, president Joe Harper said Sunday.

Harper said the Polytrack synthetic surface should be fully removed by early February, with the installation of the new dirt surface set to be completed by April. The new track will be used for the first time for training in advance of the Barretts May sale of 2-year-olds on May 27. A training preview of sale horses is scheduled for May 25. Barretts will not conduct sales at its Pomona location after February.

The new surface at Del Mar will be used for the first time in races in July. The dirt being used at Del Mar is similar to what is in place at Santa Anita, and it is being stored in Oceanside, Calif., Harper said.

“The dirt has been screened and is ready,” Harper said.

◗ Trainer Richard Baltas and jockey Martin Pedroza were each fined $250 by track stewards last weekend for disorderly conduct. The two were involved in an altercation in the Los Alamitos paddock after a race in December.