Gulfstream will replace turf course, timing system

Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Keenly aware of the problems with the worn-out turf course at Gulfstream Park, track boss Aidan Butler told horsemen Friday it will be completely replaced in a $3 million renovation project this summer.

“In the middle of June this year, in a couple of months, we’re actually going to rip out the whole turf course,” the chief operating officer of 1/ST Racing told Horse Racing Nation on Thursday. “We’re not only going to put in a brand new turf course with new drainage, but we’re going to widen it a little bit as well.”

The project that is expected to take 75-90 days will include the installation of a zone system to water the turf course and a pop-up irrigation system to keep the Tapeta surface at a usable temperature on hot, summer days.

The grass replacement will coincide with the scrapping of the current timing system that was built around Trakus, which uses microchips placed in each horse’s tack. Instead, traditional electric beams that had proven more reliable will be brought back. GPS tracking will be used to augment the basic timing, which Gulfstream management said should be ready to use in June.

During the overhaul, the summer racing program will be split between the main dirt course and the Tapeta synthetic surface that made its debut Sept. 30.

Butler’s hope is that by the time the 2022-23 championship season begins next fall, the ratio of grass races will be back to what bettors had traditionally enjoyed. That was before problems in the past six months forced more races onto the new synthetic track than Gulfstream management ever wanted.

“We never intended to use the Tapeta as much as it ended up being used,” Butler said. “We went from 53 percent turf racing to 15 percent turf racing. That’s a big change. That’s a lot for the wagerers to get used to. I can understand the frustration, because it was really thrust upon people. It wasn’t just eased in. It was like, here you go.”

The artificial surface that runs between the outer dirt and inner turf was intended to serve mostly as a rainy-day alternative for races taken off the grass.

“What actually happened was the turf, when we got into it, was a little worse than even we saw,” Butler said. “The turf course historically just has never been that great here. I’m hopeful that people will be patient and let us get through it. Come the championship meet at least or probably before, we should have three beautiful surfaces, and then the criticism I’m not going to take quite as easily.”

The turf course will be widened to the inside, meaning tighter turns. That will be a new challenge for horseplayers who were still getting used to unintended wave of Tapeta races and the drop in turf fixtures.

Although total handle was down 13 percent, year over year, during the first three months of 2022, Butler’s team pointed out that races taken off the turf brought in 3 percent more betting dollars this season. Part of that is credited to bigger fields for races washed off the grass, going from an average of 6.2 last year when they went to the wet dirt to 7.6 this season when they were moved to the Tapeta track, especially with claiming and starter races.

Butler believes the corner has been turned with the new surface.

“The handle is not telling the same story as the outcry of negativity,” Butler said. “It’s just not. I think certain (bettors) are actually doing pretty well on it. But it doesn’t matter what I think. We’ve got to do what we can to try and bring the people along who are still a little negative. A lot of the big players waited and paused and then stepped up.”