Turfway to replace Polytrack with Tapeta surface

Turfway Park will install a new Tapeta synthetic surface to replace the current Polytrack surface, a representative from track owner Churchill Downs Inc. said at a meeting of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday.

The removal of the current Polytrack and the installation of the Tapeta surface to the one-mile main track will begin immediately after the current racing meet closes on March 28, and will be completed in time for the track’s 2020-2021 season, which begins Dec. 2.

Tapeta, invented by trainer Michael Dickinson, is also in place as a racing surface at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania, also owned by CDI; at Golden Gate Fields in California; and at Woodbine in Ontario, Canada.

The change in racing surface at Turfway was one of the capital improvements to Kentucky Thoroughbred and Standardbred tracks and gaming facilities planned for 2020 that were outlined in presentations to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission at its first meeting of the year Tuesday in Lexington.

Mike Ziegler represented CDI at the KHRC meeting. Ziegler also referenced future plans for a seven-furlong inner dirt track at Turfway, but said that surface experts have advised against installing the two tracks simultaneously.

CDI has said it plans to bulldoze and then rebuild the aging grandstand and other existing facilities at Turfway shortly after this meet ends. CDI also plans to install historic racing machines.

“The agreement with Tapeta is the first of many exciting initiatives to come for Turfway,” Churchill Downs and Turfway president Kevin Flanery said in a release sent out Tuesday. “By partnering with Tapeta to provide the safest racing conditions for Turfway’s winter meets, we will be able to deliver one of the key elements supporting our goal of bringing a first-class racing product to Northern Kentucky.”

In updates to Churchill’s other capital expenditures, Ziegler said that the 20-horse starting gate acquired by Churchill Downs to accommodate the maximum field size for the Kentucky Derby is en route from Australia and will arrive in California on March 11, before shipping on to Kentucky to be assembled. The gate, which may be tested in a handful of races Derby week before its major debut, will replace the combined 14-horse main gate and six-horse auxiliary gate arrangement previously needed to accommodate the Derby field.

Ellis Park, Keeneland, and Kentucky Downs also made presentations on their capital improvements. Ellis Park is working toward the installation of lights to allow for night racing, which it expects to have in place for its race meeting this summer. Keeneland, which is in year two of a five-year renovation of the barn area, says that it plans to make a “significant spend” in order to make sure the facility is fully prepared to host its second Breeders’ Cup this year.