Gulfstream Closes Inner Part of Turf Course

 Starting this Tuesday July 4 and through Sept. 30, the end of its Summer Meet, Gulfstream Park will not have any races on the inner portion of its turf course. The setting for the rail will be at least 96 feet.

The portable rail will be at 115 feet on Thursday, Friday and  Saturday.

Gulfstream takes that step each summer as it begins the process of refurbishing a turf course on which it has held racing since the previous December.  The inner part of the course generally takes the worst of the wear and tear, as well as any rain.

The Gulfstream course is one-mile in circumference and 170 feet wide on the straightaways—in effect making it two courses.

From Oct. 4 to Nov. 26, Gulfstream will hold its annual Gulfstream Park  West meet at Calder. During those two months Gulfstream will refurbish and resod its turf course in preparation for its 2017-2018  championship meet that will open Dec. 2.

Until this week, Gulfstream was running turf traces at two rail distances most days and just over half its races were on turf.  For the rest of the summer meet, it is likely that Gulfstream will reduce its turf racing to an average of about four on weekdays and five on weekends.
--Jim Freer