Turf course gets positive marks for first weekend back

DEL MAR, Calif. – Turf racing resumed at Del Mar over the weekend for the first time since July 31, with five races run without incident over a course where four horses were euthanized as a result of injuries suffered in late July.

After three races were run Saturday and two Sunday, several jockeys and trainers said the course met their satisfaction, with some saying that conditions were softer than in late July.

“It’s better than before,” jockey Martin Garcia said Saturday. “It’s longer, and the horses have cushion.”

Leading trainer Peter Miller said the course “was too hard and too fast” at the start of the meeting July 17. On Sunday, he started Celtic Moon, who finished last of seven in an optional claimer over a mile on turf.

“I have no fear of running on the turf course,” Miller said.

The course has undergone two rounds of renovation in the last month. After the injuries that occurred between opening day and July 26, turf racing was cancelled July 27 for two days of maintenance to allow the course to be aerated and watered. In addition, a half-inch of rain fell July 27.

Turf racing resumed without incident July 30 but was suspended after racing July 31 when the filly Serious suffered a sesamoid injury in a turf sprint that day. In the first week of August, the turf course underwent a more extensive maintenance program. The course may have been helped by an additional storm that produced an eighth of an inch of rain Aug. 2.

Some riders said the course did not feel substantially different over the weekend after the early August maintenance.

“I thought it felt good [then],” jockey Joe Talamo said Saturday of late July conditions. “Horses are coming from off of it and winning close by. It’s got a good cushion.”

Apprentice jockey Drayden Van Dyke said the course Saturday felt “the same to me all around. I’m sure it’s better with the rain and the things they did to take care of it.”

Final times were slower. In Sunday’s optional claimer over a mile, Midnight Storm was timed in 1:35.16. On the opening days of the meeting, two mile races were run in 1:33.83, and 1:33.89.

“The riders all like it,” said trainer Doug O’Neill said, whose Home School was second in Sunday’s optional claimer. “The obvious thing is the times are slower.”

Beginning Saturday through the end of the meeting Sept. 3, turf racing will be restricted to stakes, maiden special-weight races, and optional claimers at a mile or farther. Sprints or races for claimers or starter allowance class horses will not be offered.

That policy is unlikely to change, according to Tom Robbins, Del Mar’s director of racing. He said any changes to the policy would require input from organizations such as the California Horse Racing Board, Thoroughbred Owners of California, and California Thoroughbred Trainers.

“It’s a group effort,” he said. “There are a lot of entities involved in the decision.”

“It’s tough if you have a claimer. You can’t run on the grass,” Miller said. “It is what it is.”

As turf racing resumed, Serious continues to recover. She is recuperating at Los Alamitos and could be bred in 2015, according to trainer Vince Smith.

From Wednesday through Friday, the course will be used twice a day. Over the weekend, the inside rail was set 24 feet from the permanent position for the first time at the meeting. Beginning Wednesday, the temporary rails will be 30 feet from the permanent position.