all-weather track

Responding to a rash of recent breakdowns at Woodbine, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which regulates racing in the province, has taken steps it hopes will lead to fewer injuries. Woodbine has now had six fatalities since the Nov. 9 card in which two horses died and the remainder of the day's program was cancelled, as was the next scheduled day of racing. The biggest change is that any horse that has raced within the previous 14 calendar days is ineligible to race and will be scratched...

With a horse having to be euthanized Thursday at Woodbine and another one on Friday, the Toronto-area track has now had six fatalities since the Nov. 9 card in which two horses died and the remainder of the day's program was cancelled, as was the next scheduled day of racing. Woodbine's Tapeta surface has long been considered to be one of the safest tracks in North America, which makes the rash of breakdowns particularly unusual. "We are closely monitoring the situation and remain in continuous communication with our regulator, veterinarians,...

During the finale of a 12-race card at Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday, Flawless Ruler (Honor Code) was eased at the top of the lane during a $15,000 claimer going a mile and a sixteenth over the all-weather course, was vanned off, and after an examination by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)-licensed veterinarians at the barn, the 5-year-old gelding was humanely euthanized, the track said via a press release late Saturday. Following a thorough investigation of the incident, the veterinarians concluded that the injury was unlikely to be...

New long-term media rights extensions were completed between Chelmsford City Racecourse, Sports Information Services (SIS) and Racecourse Media Group (RMG), with the course becoming a member racecourse of RMG. All betting and media rights across retail and digital channels are covered under the agreement, with racing continuing to be shown on the Racing TV channel and in betting shops via the SIS service. The Coursetrack system will also be utilised in order to provide live, in-race timing information at the Essex course, which is set to become the first venue...

As part of a larger $32 million improvement plan, Santa Anita's training track should re-open in mid-January after it was closed for construction Nov. 12, as it changes from a sand-based surface to an all-weather synthetic one, the track said in a release Friday afternoon. Constructed by Tapeta Footings, the new surface is designed to improve safety while also helping to limit weather-related training disruptions. "The main thing is having synthetic will alleviate a complete stoppage of training because of weather," said Jason Egan, Santa Anita Director of Racing and...

Surface tensions in our business have run pretty deep in recent years, nowhere more so than at Santa Anita. After a failed revolution, with a synthetic track, they eventually backed into a terrifying breakdowns crisis. Racing in California still has its problems, of course, not least the cloud currently over its premier barn--which, after that curious hesitation last week, instead gives its most controversial resident a home game Saturday in the GI Awesome Again S. But given our community's fury right now with another racetrack proprietor, who this week cashed...

Bath's June 11th fixture has been transferred to Lingfield Park, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Thursday. The move is due to the recent sustained dry weather and the fact that Bath cannot have an irrigation system. Originally an evening fixture, the eight-race card will remain in that time slot and be conducted over the all-weather track. The race programme will be equivalent to the original Bath card and full details are available at www.racingadmin.co.uk. "Since the publication of the new fixture list, we simply haven't seen the rainfall at...

The resurfacing of the track at Dundalk, Ireland's only all-weather track, is proceeding nicely, reported the venue's chief executive Jim Martin. "We said that we would have it done by June 15 and are well on target for that so we can race on July 12," he said. "The month period before starting racing here again will give everyone the chance to have a look and to have trial runs with horses galloping on it. "This is the time of the year to get work done on all-weather tracks. It's...