Parx Racing begins turf course renovations

Parx Racing began long-awaited renovations to its turf course Wednesday, with plans to reintroduce racing on the surface this year. The track has not held racing on the grass since September 2024, as poor weather and safety concerns about the old surface led officials to limit racing to dirt for the entire 2025 season.

“We expect this course will be held to the highest safety standards and we are looking forward to the return of turf racing here at Parx,” Joe Wilson, chief operating officer of Parx Racing, said in a press release.

Course renovations had to wait until the end of a harsh winter in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The installation, which is expected to take approximately four weeks, is being handled by Hummer Turfgrass System Inc., a Pennsylvania-based company that partners with several professional sports teams in Philadelphia.

Logan Freeman of C6 Turf Management LLC will oversee the installation, having previously done work at Laurel Park, Pimlico, and Gulfstream Park. The sod will be sourced from Tuckahoe Farms in Hammonton, N.J.

Though turf racing at Parx was briefly reintroduced in the fall of 2024, issues with the old turf course were already well known. Racing on the surface was temporarily suspended after a horse broke down in late August, and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority performed tests and found that the course lacked moisture and had holes posing a danger to horses. The track attempted to find a solution, but its efforts did not permanently resolve the issue.

There was an attempt to hold turf racing on the 2024 Pennsylvania Derby card, but the Grade 3 Turf Monster had to be moved to dirt after a horse was vanned off in a race earlier on the card.

Parx officials cited a harsh winter as the reason for its decision to not conduct turf racing last summer, and officials eventually decided to hold off for the entire season. Local trainers were forced to find turf racing elsewhere, namely Penn National and Laurel, but with renovations underway, the track is once again preparing to offer multiple surfaces to its horsemen.

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