Under the direction of its new director of track maintenance Dennis Moore, Del Mar has begun a process designed to modify its main track with an end result of having it replicate the banking and grading of its sister track to the north, Santa Anita Park.
“Our priority, of course, is safety,” said Joe Harper, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's president and CEO. “One of the key elements in safety is consistency and this adjustment will give our horses and horsemen that consistency when it comes to the two main racing surfaces on our circuit. Once again we salute the folks at Santa Anita for working with us on this.”
Moore, who is considered one of the top track surface experts in the world and is presently the track superintendent at Santa Anita, took on his additional role at Del Mar earlier this year.
“We've got the same El Segundo sand from the same batch at both Santa Anita and Del Mar,” Moore noted. “That's a good step on the road to consistency. Then we're adding another by bringing the banking at Del Mar right in line with what already exists at Santa Anita, therefore giving our horses the same experience on both tracks, which has to prop up their confidence and make for an easier transition between the two. This change isn't a drastic one, but it's the little things that can make for big differences.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
