What's behind Turf Paradise's frequent cancellations?

When Turf Paradise canceled its Monday card, it was the fifth day of the last seven scheduled that racing was scratched at the Phoenix track after an unusual amount of rain.

"It's an inconvenience for the owners, the trainers, the horseplayers," said Leroy Gessman, executive director of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association. "It’s an inconvenience for everybody."

The cancellations began on Dec. 3, when racing ended after the first race. The track was dark on Dec. 4, and racing was canceled the next three days. Turf Paradise then had racing on Thursday and Saturday (it was dark on Friday), with no racing scheduled for Sunday. And then Monday’s card was canceled.

Vincent Francia, general manager of Turf Paradise, could not be reached for comment.

But a statement on the track’s website Wednesday said that track superintendent "Steve Woods worked the track all afternoon Tuesday. There are still a few spots on the backstretch and far turn that did not drain as well as the rest of the track. Mr. Woods will be working those areas following Wednesday’s training."

The statement went on to note that training would be allowed, but no workouts and not from the gate.

Gessman said the problem is that the track surface has caliche clay, “a layer of hard clay subsoil or sedimentary rock,“ according to one definition.

"It does not mix with water," Gessman said. "And when it gets wet, it's very greasy and slippery."

Or, as jockey agent Scott Stevens said, "it's the stuff that when you walk in it, it sticks to you. It just starts building up on you."

Stevens, who represents Turf Paradise leading rider Harry Hernandez, said, "The (cancellation) today surprised me. This track can't handle the water. And last week, the track was not sealed. And once it gets wet, it takes forever to dry. Now last night, the rain was forecast, they had the track closed, they had it sealed, and I was very surprised they called them off today. But there's more rain in the forecast. So if they open it up and it rains, then we miss more days."

Gessman said the track has had this surface for 20 years, and he acknowledged that the problem could be mitigated "if they had a different mixture of soil."

"But I mean, that's not going to happen," he said. "You're not going to haul dirt in from another part of the country."

Stevens said he knows that track officials can’t control the weather and that "it’s easy to blame people." Still, he said, "last week, it was their fault. You know, when they didn't have it sealed when the big rain hit."

Turf Paradise also posted a notice about rescheduling races to make up for the cancellations. But some of those were to be held Monday, so stay tuned.