Training will resume on dirt roads at Palm Meadows Training Center on February 9 after a longer-than-expected track surface repair, said 1/ST Racing Florida operations manager Billy Badgett said on Feb. 8. Training on the pitch there resumed on Wednesday.
Work on the track surface has been underway this month to correct what Badgett describes as a number of “weaknesses”, including a spot about one-eighth of a mile from the finish line. Dennis Moore, director of tracking at Del Mar, Santa Anita . Parkand for the thoroughbred race at Racetrack Los Alamitosflew in from California for advice and support, Badgett said.
palm meadow, Gulfstream ParkHis satellite training facility in Boynton Beach, Fla., has a 1 1/8 mile main track, a 7 mile grass track, and a mile L-shaped track that borders the main track. The second surface was used by riders to run horses while work on the main track was underway.
No horse has crossed the Palm Meadows main track since January 30.
Badgett said a shuttle was provided during the resurfacing of the track at Palm Meadows for horse riding in the Gulfstream.
“Unfortunately, this isn’t a good time in the Championship Meeting,” said Badgett, who noted that track surface projects are typically done in the summer. “But the riders took it really, really well, and we wanted to be more cautious – wise for the longevity (and for) the safety of the horses.”
