According to a report Friday in the Daily Racing Form, the opening of the synthetic Tapeta track at Gulfstream is on hold. The surface was expected to be put into use Sept. 23. However, according to DRF, there will be a delay of about one week before the Tapeta track will be unveiled for races in the afternoons.
The problem has arisen because the rail for the new course has not yet arrived from the U.K. and has been stuck in customs.
“We have a temporary rail we can take from the turf course, but we didn't want to actually conduct races with that,” Aidan Butler, the CEO for 1/st Racing, told the Form. “We've spent so much time, money, and effort on this thing there was no sense rushing around for the sake of another week. We'd also like to give horses the opportunity to gallop and work over the Tapeta, to allow them to get used to the new surface. Our intent at the moment is to open the track for galloping on or before the 23rd and aim to start racing on the Tapeta track on the 30th.”
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