Peterson: Be Proactive on Racetrack Surface Maintenance

Dr. Mick Peterson says catastrophic injuries won’t be eliminated, but that’s no excuse for not investing resources in the best and safest racing surface possible.
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Consistent, regular maintenance and the sharing of information among superintendents are paramount to having quality, safe racing surfaces, said Mick Peterson, MS, PhD, executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory.

Peterson was a guest speaker last week during the Association of Racing Commissioners International conference in Lexington, Ky. His slide presentation was co-authored by Christie Mahaffey, PhD.

"There is nothing proprietary about maintaining surfaces," Peterson said. "This stuff should be shared. It should be open literature."

Peterson said there are several circumstances that lead to issues with racing surfaces, whether they are dirt, turf, or synthetic. He said regular testing of surfaces is the exception, not the rule; investment in surfaces is reactive rather than proactive; and many racetracks do not have systematic maintenance programs

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Tom LaMarra, a native of New Jersey and graduate of Rutgers University, has been news editor at The Blood-Horse since 1998. After graduation he worked at newspapers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as an editor and reporter with a focus on municipal government and politics. He also worked at Daily Racing Form and Thoroughbred Times before joining The Blood-Horse. LaMarra, who has lived in Lexington since 1994, has won various writing awards and was recognized with the Old Hilltop Award for outstanding coverage of the horse racing industry. He likes to spend some of his spare time handicapping races.

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