New track picks Tapeta surface

Presque Isle Downs, the new Thoroughbred track and casino outside of Erie, Pa., has selected Tapeta Footings to install a synthetic surface on its main track, officials of the track and Tapeta said on Friday.

Presque Isle, owned by Mountaineer Gaming, selected Tapeta, which is in use at a handful of training centers in the United States and overseas, among several other synthetic surface manufacturers.

The racetrack is scheduled to open for its inaugural meet in September, and the synthetic surface will begin to be laid down over the one-mile oval in June, according to Tapeta Footings founder, Michael Dickinson.

"We've been doing a number of installations overseas, and it's very refreshing to have a chance to install so close to home," said Dickinson.

Tapeta's mix of wax-coated synthetic materials over a vertical drainage system is also scheduled to be installed at Golden Gate Fields in California this summer.