Laurel Park Main Track to Undergo Maintenance October 28-29

The main track at Laurel Park will be closed for training Monday, Oct. 28, and Tuesday, Oct. 29, for a necessary maintenance project that involves remixing material on the outer portion of the 1 1/8-mile surface.

Maryland Jockey Club Track Superintendent Ken Brown said the track will close after live racing Sunday, Oct. 27, with plans to have the project completed the evening of Oct. 29. The weather forecast indicates it will be conducive for the work rather than waiting a week, he said.

Brown said the focus of the project is the backstretch of the surface, which has areas with packed-down cushion and uneven spots. The outside 40 feet will be dug up to the base and existing material re-mixed and replaced to even out the surface.

Given the opportunity, Brown said his crew will dig up the outside 40 feet of the entire track and remix the material. The one-mile chute is not part of the project.

“Most of the surface feels all right, but we’re going to go all around the track,” Brown said. “We’ve tried for a while to get the bugs out. Nobody has complained about it but it’s time to do this project.”

Brown noted that new surface material must be put down as is usually the case in the fall, but that can’t be done until trouble spots are addressed. The new material will be added to the dirt track over time, he said.

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