Michael Dickinson

The University of Louisville Equine Industry Program has named Michael Dickinson the 33rd recipient of the John W. Galbreath Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship in the Equine Industry. In addition to training, Dickinson is also known for developing Tapeta Footings, the synthetic surface widely utilized for both racing and training. Tapeta has been installed at Turfway Park in Kentucky and at Gulfstream Park in Florida, Golden Gate Fields in California and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania, as well as facilities in Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom....

Dual GI Breeders' Cup Mile Winner, Da Hoss (Gone West--Jolly Saint, by Welsh Saint) died at the Kentucky Horse Park Jan. 2. At the age of 30, the gelding passed away due to infirmities of old age.  Da Hoss had been living at the Kentucky Horse Park since January 2000. "We will miss Da Hoss greatly. He was a fan favorite as he proved that spirit can triumph over adversity," said Nicole Rivera, Interim Deputy Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park. "I would like to extend a special thank...

And suddenly it feels as though the milestones have run out, leaving the road ahead tapering to some unmapped horizon. Because from now on, every dime earned by the progeny of Tapit will take him deeper into record territory. The success of Perfect Grace in a maiden at Saratoga on Saturday--and neither the setting nor the mating that produced this filly, with Horse of the Year Havre De Grace (Saint Liam), could be more commensurate with the moment--took their collective haul past the late Giant's Causeway's current tally of $173,015,900...

Tapeta Farm, owned and operated by trainer Michael Dickinson, has been listed for sale by Goffs Property, part of the Goffs Group. The training center is situated on 196 acres at the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay on the Elk River, mid-way between New York City and Washington D.C. As a trainer, Dickinson is probably best known for winning the 1996 and 1998 Breeders' Cup Mile with Da Hoss. He also is responsible for developing the year-round Tapeta training surface. Tapeta Farm offers 30 acres of paddocks, including turnout paddocks...

The lineup of speakers has been announced for the 20th annual Track Superintendents Field Day set for June 14-15 at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. Among the speakers on the agenda are Joe Morris, senior vice president of racing for Caesars; Mike Ziegler, senior vice president and general manager of Churchill Downs, Dr. Michael DePew, an agronomist/soil scientist and industry-leading leading soil expert; trainer Michael Dickinson, president of Tapeta Footings Inc.; Dr. William Farmer, equine medical director for Churchill Downs Inc.; and Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA. The...

Human error on the part of a heavy equipment operator at Turfway Park has been identified as the cause of several chunks of pavement being discovered in the recently installed Tapeta Footings synthetic track at Turfway Park that just opened for racing in December. During the Jan. 26 Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory board meeting, Tyler Picklesimer, Turfway's director of racing and racing secretary, was asked to update the board on how the new Tapeta surface was performing. Picklesimer told the board members via teleconference that, "We've had no...

Southwell Racecourse's fibresand surface will be replaced by Tapeta this spring and the project will be completed by the summer of 2021, the Arena Racing Company announced on Monday. A planning application was submitted for the new surface because the fibresand has come to the end of its operational life. Fibresand was first laid down in 1989, the start of all-weather racing at the Nottinghamshire venue. Tapeta, developed by Michael Dickinson and Joan Wakefield of Tapeta Footings, has already been laid down at Wolverhampton and Newcastle-also ARC courses-since 2014 and...

The top three finishers in this summer's GII Dance Smartly S. regroup in Sunday's GI E.P. Taylor S. at Woodbine. Leading the fray in the Aug. 15 event, Augustin Stable's Theodora B. (Ghostzapper) used the 10-furlong test as a stepping stone to a front-running victory in the 10 1/2-panel TVG S. at Kentucky Downs Sept. 15. Three for four this season--the sole off-the-board finish was registered on Woodbine's synthetic surface--the 5-year-old is trained Michael Dickinson. Peter Brant, Mrs. M V Magnier and Mrs. Paul Shanahan's Etoile (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) finished...

Longtime owner/breeder Jack Preston died in his home in Texas earlier this month, the Blood-Horse reported Friday evening. He was 84. Preceded in death by his two brothers J.R. and Art, the Preston family campaigned the likes of GI Belmont S. winner Victory Gallop, two-time GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero Da Hoss and MGISW Flat Out. The Preston brothers partnered on a variety of business ventures involving gas and oil, real estate, restaurants, cattle ranches and geothermal power generation companies. Along with his brothers, he founded Preston Farm near Quanah,...

When it comes to synthetic racing surfaces, Michael Dickinson is obviously biased. He is the inventor of Tapeta Footings, now recognized as the leading synthetic surface manufacturer in North America, if not the world. If several American racetracks were to do away with dirt racing and replace it with synthetic tracks, Dickinson would stand to make a lot of money. Yet, that doesn't mean that Dickinson, who now operates Tapeta Footings with his wife Joan Wakefield, does not have the statistics to back up how safe his tracks are when...