Turfway Track Renovation
Oct 17, 2013 22:55:47 GMT -5
Post by racinggal on Oct 17, 2013 22:55:47 GMT -5
How much would it cost to go back to dirt? Ool, Wax and Fiber? As kids say - Icky! Will this renovation help Turfway?
Turfway Park to undertake renovation of its Polytrack surface
Louisville Courier Journal
by Gregory A. Hall
Turfway Park is about to start a $500,000, three-year plan to upgrade its Polytrack racing surface.
Chip Bach, general manager of the Florence, Ky., track said Monday that the surface has “performed below our expectations,” and officials can’t wait for hoped-for expanded gambling revenues to solve the issue. He also disclosed that the Florence track’s longtime chief financial officer is no longer with company.
Regarding the surface, Marty Maline, the executive director of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association that includes owners and trainers, said Tuesday that trainers have complained about horses having trouble getting hold of the surface, which has deteriorated into a sandy-powdery consistency.
Bach told the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund Advisory Committee on Monday that the track’s majority owners, Rock Ohio Caesars, have approved the $500,000 plan.
The first step, before the Holiday Meet opens in December, is a $230,000 addition of new oil, wax and fiber to the synthetic mix.
Next summer, Turfway will spend $200,000 doing more of the same. The final year will be between $70,000 and $80,000 of what would be more routine, annual maintenance. Bach said in an interview on Tuesday that the annual ongoing expense would be more in the range of $50,000 and would be based on the recommendations of University of Maine surface guru Mick Peterson.
“We won’t let the track get behind us again,” Bach said during the Monday meeting, even if the business continues to struggle. But “we are treading water to keep alive. Make no mistake about it.”
Bach also disclosed, after a question by a committee member, that longtime Turfway chief financial officer Cliff Reed is no longer with the track.
“When we reduced our racing days and reduced our racing profile, he was kind of a victim of that,” Bach said. Turfway dropped its September meet this year.
Turfway Park to undertake renovation of its Polytrack surface
Louisville Courier Journal
by Gregory A. Hall
Turfway Park is about to start a $500,000, three-year plan to upgrade its Polytrack racing surface.
Chip Bach, general manager of the Florence, Ky., track said Monday that the surface has “performed below our expectations,” and officials can’t wait for hoped-for expanded gambling revenues to solve the issue. He also disclosed that the Florence track’s longtime chief financial officer is no longer with company.
Regarding the surface, Marty Maline, the executive director of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association that includes owners and trainers, said Tuesday that trainers have complained about horses having trouble getting hold of the surface, which has deteriorated into a sandy-powdery consistency.
Bach told the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund Advisory Committee on Monday that the track’s majority owners, Rock Ohio Caesars, have approved the $500,000 plan.
The first step, before the Holiday Meet opens in December, is a $230,000 addition of new oil, wax and fiber to the synthetic mix.
Next summer, Turfway will spend $200,000 doing more of the same. The final year will be between $70,000 and $80,000 of what would be more routine, annual maintenance. Bach said in an interview on Tuesday that the annual ongoing expense would be more in the range of $50,000 and would be based on the recommendations of University of Maine surface guru Mick Peterson.
“We won’t let the track get behind us again,” Bach said during the Monday meeting, even if the business continues to struggle. But “we are treading water to keep alive. Make no mistake about it.”
Bach also disclosed, after a question by a committee member, that longtime Turfway chief financial officer Cliff Reed is no longer with the track.
“When we reduced our racing days and reduced our racing profile, he was kind of a victim of that,” Bach said. Turfway dropped its September meet this year.