Fair Hill Training Center to upgrade synthetic surface with Tapeta 13
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The Fair Hill Training Center will upgrade its seven-furlong Tapeta Footings track this summer. One of the first facilities to embrace synthetic in 2006, Fair Hill will replace the current installation with Tapeta 13, the newest iteration of the surface.
Materials are still being acquired for the project, which should begin in mid-July and take approximately six weeks to complete. The new course will be installed in the current footprint inside the one-mile dirt track. Funding was acquired through fees from the Fair Hill Condominium Association, a business loan, and grants from the state of Maryland.
Created by former trainer Michael Dickinson, Tapeta is a surface made using silica sand, wax, and fibers intended for all-weather use. The formula for Tapeta 13 does not include rubber, which will give the surface a lighter color. The same surface will be installed at the new Belmont Park.
McLane Hendriks, a trainer and member of the Fair Hill association board, said that the training center is seeking upgrades in order to stay on the cutting edge. He believes that the American industry will continue gravitating toward the synthetic surface.
“Fair Hill offers a great hub for Mid-Atlantic trainers with so many tracks within a two hour, three hour ride,” Hendriks said. “Having the new Tapeta is going to be great going into the winter. Hopefully we'll have it by then alongside the turf course across the road. I think we're sitting in a good spot here.
Graham Motion, Brittany Russell, and Arnaud Delacour are among the dozens of high-profile trainers who have approximately 700 horses at Fair Hill. Keri Brion, a trainer with experience in both flat racing and steeplechases, considers the Tapeta upgrade an exciting opportunity.
“It’s fabulous to have the Tapeta option at Fair Hill in general and going to be great to have an updated version installed,” Brion said. “Just another great part of being at Fair Hill. I find it really beneficial to work turf horses over it, as many don’t really get over the dirt that well.”
Founded in 1983 using land leased from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Fair Hill originally consisted of a wood-chip track, which remained for 23 years until it was replaced by Tapeta.
The dirt track was added soon after the wood chips, and the 350-acre facility has since grown to include 18 privately owned barns and an equine therapy center. A one-mile turf course adjacent to the main track, used for training as well as the Fair Hill Races steeplechase meet, recently reopened.
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