Safety Woes Delay Start Of Season At Turf Paradise

On the eve of the start of the 2024-25 racing season at Turf Paradise, track management announced late on Friday that Saturday's opening day card has been called off.

“In order to address some final track maintenance issues, there will be no live racing at Turf Paradise on Saturday,” the track's social media feed on X stated late in the day Nov. 1.

The news comes on the heels of a Thursday recommendation by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) that the Arizona track-which has a well-documented recent history of safety concerns–delay the Nov. 2 start of the racing season because of problems with the dirt surface.

“Live racing is expected to commence as soon as these track maintenance issues are resolved,” Turf Paradise stated in a separate X posting. “That could be as soon as next week. We will have updates as soon as there is new information.”

The next scheduled day of live racing at Turf Paradise is supposed to be Tuesday, Nov. 5, with cards for Wednesday and Thursday also already drawn.

A HISA press release on Thursday evening stated: “Based on recent reports and assessments from racetrack surface experts, concerns raised by on-site racing participants, and first-hand observations of HISA staff, HISA is not confident that the main track racing surface at Turf Paradise is ready for racing to begin as currently scheduled this Saturday.

“Therefore, out of concerns for the safety of horses and riders, HISA has communicated a recommendation to Turf Paradise and the Arizona Department of Gaming to delay the start of the upcoming meet and cease all training and racing activities on the main track racing surface until such time as adequate adjustments and preparations have been made and the track has been retested to verify conformance with industry standards.

“HISA will continue to monitor the situation and may initiate an enforcement action if necessary,” the HISA statement concluded.

Prior to the start of the 2023-24 season, horsemen had complained to state regulators that the main track rail was not up to spec even after HISA had issued a non-compliance warning to Turf Paradise and track management had made what it thought were adequate repairs at the end of the previous meet. A HISA inspection in the spring of 2023 turned up “numerous gaps and exposed edges in the railing material that could inflict serious harm upon jockeys.”