Sean Wright

After well-publicized track management issues last month that saw racing and training suspended for a short period, Thistledown has been back up and running since August 4 with a new track superintendent. But that doesn't mean the work is done. The task of keeping a racetrack in good shape is an ongoing daily headache--just ask Michael "Mick" Peterson, professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky and executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory (RSTL). The RSTL is the centralized hub where track operators transmit back maintenance information...

Thistledown Racino's firing this week of track superintendent Sean Wright followed reports of alleged safety issues with the track's one-mile dirt surface that led to lost days of training and racing. There have also been multiple racing and training equine fatalities since the meet began Apr. 21. The ongoing autopsy on these events has raised compliance question marks (both at Thistledown and nationally) over a key component of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's (HISA) racetrack safety program. Under this program, tracks are required when operating a meet to submit...

Thistledown Racino in Ohio fired its track superintendent on Monday, and management at the Cleveland-area track has brought in outside racing surface consultants and is working with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) in the aftermath of four lost days of racing and training this week because of escalating safety concerns with the dirt surface. But Sean Wright, who was only on the superintendent's job four months before his abrupt termination July 21, told TDN in a Wednesday phone interview that Thistledown's troubles on its one-mile dirt oval extend...