Not just greyville sucks

Del Mar put in a new, wider turf course this year to help the track's chances of attracting a Breeders' Cup bid. It worked. The track was awarded the Breeders' Cup for 2017.

But now the track is scrambling to deal with safety issues after the deaths of four horses on the turf course in the first two weeks of its summer meeting, including three in the last 48 hours.

On Saturday, Del Mar President Joe Harper announced that two races scheduled on the turf course for Sunday have been switched to the Polytrack, and that work will begin immediately in an attempt to improve conditions after consulting with representatives from trainers, owners and jockeys.

Scheduled maintenance on the turf course was moved up from Sunday to Saturday night, and the entire course will be aerated and watered starting Sunday.

Trainer John Sadler said he has a meeting scheduled for Sunday with track officials to discuss concerns. One problem appears to be the firmness of the course.

"They've had some issues, clearly," Sadler said. "I don't have the answers."



Top races for 3-year-olds are scheduled on the turf course in the coming weeks, not to mention the Grade II Del Mar Mile on Aug. 24, which was expected to attract top turf miler Obviously.

I'm not surprised. I was there in 2005 and all I heard them talk about was the rock hard turf track they had suffered with for the previous 3 years.

They have a marvelous song they play at Del Mar though.... and it's very scenic.

I went to a track in Pomona called Fairplex ....it's more dangerous than the Cape Flats.

Another insane track I visited was Great Lakes Downs, some horses couldn't make the bend and landed up in the parking lot. I think it got shut down later.

WARWICK will stop staging Flat fixtures from next year with the course giving up its dual-purpose status to concentrate solely on jump racing.

Speculation has been rife for months that the under-fire track could turn its back on Flat racing following a BHA probe into the safety of the course's bend after the abandonment of a fixture in May.

Stewards on duty at that meeting called off the card after two races following concern from jockeys over conditions and the fatal fall of Artful Lady in the opening race.

The troublesome dog-leg bend, where the sprint and round courses merge, has been realigned but the work resulted in sweeping changes to Warwick's programme, with four fixtures moved to Carlisle and Nottingham, and the remaining two - July 3 and August 25 - converted to all-sprint meetings.

Following a consultation process, where the views of trainers, jockeys, and owners as well as Warwick annual members and racegoers were considered, the track's owners Jockey Club Racecourses has had the move ratified by the BHA in time for next year's fixture list.

Ian Renton, the JCR's regional director responsible for Warwick racecourse, said: "Warwick can now benefit from a clear identity and, in the coming years, significant investment as a top quality small jumps course.

"I have every confidence it will succeed because we are building on Warwick's existing strengths, which has been underlined by the industry's support for jump racing through the consultation we have carried out over the last few months.

"We could invest further in the Flat track at Warwick, such as increasing the camber, but that work would just return the Flat course to a position where the course has been struggling.

Instead of staging 21 fixtures across two codes (11 jumps and ten Flat), Warwick will host 17 jumps-only meetings in 2015, with six of the track's Flat fixtures converting to jumps and the other four being transferred to Nottingham (two), Carlisle and Epsom.

Renton added: "It's not a decision we’ve taken lightly but I feel we have left no stone unturned to ensure this is the right move for British racing in the long-term. It's time for Warwick not just to survive, but thrive."