Ward, Greenhill Pleased With Tapeta Surface at Turfway

A newly installed synthetic surface at Turfway Park, Tapeta Footings, was warmly received by two trainers that had horses train over the surface Nov. 2-3 at the Northern Kentucky oval. The track opened for training this week in advance of its holiday meet that begins Dec. 2. The Tapeta surface, installed this summer by the track's new owner, Churchill Downs Inc., replaced a Polytrack synthetic surface that had been at Turfway since 2005. Polytrack was credited for reducing weather-related cancellations and equine fatalities compared to Turfway's prior dirt track, though it required more maintenance than advertised and some components of it disintegrated over time. Synthetic tracks vary by manufacturer, but most are comprised of a wax-coated mixture of sand, carpet fibers, and rubber or jelly cable. They utilize a porous base and vertical drainage system that allows them to remain fast during periods of inclement weather. Trainer Wesley Ward was the first to get a spin over Tapeta, galloping one of his horses, Grandmas Favorite, over it Monday morning before the track officially opened for training on Tuesday. Besides a change in color—it is a light-sand color compared to the dark gray or black of the old Polytrack—Ward said the primary difference to him was a slower speed of the surface. He does consider it as tightly compacted as the Turfway's Polytrack, though he speculated that could change with racing. "It's a very, very kind, soft, soft forgiving track," Ward said. "I wouldn't have any problems working a great horse there right now." Tapeta Footings, established by Michael Dickinson in 2005 after he first created a synthetic surface in the late 1990s, is co-owned by Dickinson and his wife, Joan Wakefield, who he credits for improving it. The surface is also in place for racing in North America at Woodbine, Golden Gate Fields, and Presque Isle Downs. Keeneland, Santa Anita Park, and Del Mar removed synthetic surfaces from their main tracks during the past decade for a variety of reasons. The surfaces also faced a backlash from some owners, trainers, breeders, and bettors that believed its results were altering the sport by producing different types of winners. Ward and Jeff Greenhill, another longtime owner and trainer at Turfway, were fans of racing and training over the prior Polytrack. Though Ward stables most of his horses at Keeneland, which has a dirt surface and Polytrack on its small training track, Ward would regularly van his horses to Turfway for workouts. Lady Aurelia, Europe's champion 2-year-old filly of 2016, was one of many horses Ward shipped to Turfway to breeze. "Turfway, prior to putting in the new track, was always my favorite track of all time, anyways," he said. "I must have had (more than a thousand) workouts and races, and I could count on one hand the horses that even developed this or that (injury). I mean nothing." Greenhill, watching trackside Tuesday morning, said he heard no negative comments from those that exercised horses over the Tapeta. "When I'm 0-for-29, I will probably hate this (stuff)," he joked. "But after one day, I've got good things to say about it." Greenhill, a winner of 602 races as a trainer, sees improvement related to less kickback, the material tossed back from a horse when it is in stride. Greenhill described the former Polytrack kickback as "a rooster tail" behind horses. "The other surface when we left it was worn out, 15 years of equipment and horses, that kind of stuff," he said. "It was segregated. You could see the sand apart from the carpet fibers and the rubber tires, that kind of thing." Racing through the winter and into next spring at Turfway Park will be without fans after the track's grandstand was demolished following the 2019-20 season. The track will operate with temporary facilities in addition to utilizing its remaining structures, such as its jockeys' room and horsemen's hall. "We will have accommodations for owners and trainers to watch racing," Turfway Park general manager Chip Bach said Tuesday. CDI said last week during an investor conference call that it had paused the reconstruction of Turfway following a Kentucky Supreme Court decision that brought into question the legality of one form of HHR games. CDI had planned a $100 million facility and grandstand at Turfway, the success of which is partially tied to the lucrative slot-like games. Purses this winter are ahead of 2018-19 levels but down from last season when the track received a large transfer of historical horse racing gaming revenue from CDI's Derby City Gaming in Louisville to supplement purses. HHR facilities were closed for a portion of this year due to COVID-19. Turfway opened its Newport Racing & Gaming off-site HHR and simulcasting facility in late September. Maiden special weight purses in December are worth $32,000 for Kentucky-breds, according to the track's condition book. Last year Kentucky-bred maidens raced for $46,000. According to Turfway Park director of racing and racing secretary Tyler Picklesimer, additions to the stable area this winter include strings from trainers Mark Casse, Greg Foley, Jonathan Thomas, Tim Hamm, Eddie Kenneally, Ray Handal, Ben Colebrook, John Ortiz, and Ignacio Correas. Last year most stalls had already been assigned prior to CDI's purchase of Turfway and the track's announced increase in purses.