Turfway Opens With Tapeta Surface, No Fans or Owners

The Tapeta racing era at Turfway Park begins the evening of Dec. 2 when the Northern Kentucky track opens for its holiday meet, though most won't get an in-person view of it.

Racing at Turfway is closed to spectators and owners, largely the result of the grandstand being torn down in the spring and summer in preparation for a rebuild. A new facility is planned, though that project has been paused by owner Churchill Downs Inc. after a Kentucky Supreme Court decision this fall brought into question the legality of one form of historical horse racing games. 

Without a grandstand, Turfway has added a small number of temporary trailers, similar to those used in the infield of Churchill Downs, to accommodate essential staff such as racing officials and the track announcer. It will also utilize its remaining structures, such as its jockeys' room and horsemen's hall.

Because of limited seating in a trailer designated for horsemen, owners are not permitted at Turfway to comply with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's COVID-19 restriction that keeps attendance at Turfway and other types of facilities at no more than 33% capacity, Turfway Park general manager Chip Bach said.

"Our space is very limited," Bach said. "The trailer we have for the horsemen will probably just have enough space for those horsemen to be spaced appropriately without adding owners to it. We'll look at it—I think that (regulation) is due to expire the 13th of December—we certainly want the owners to be able to come out and watch their horses race."

That leaves the new track as the leading attraction to the meet. A synthetic surface, Tapeta replaced Turfway's Polytrack and has been in use for training over the past month. Tapeta is already in place at Woodbine, Golden Gate Fields, and Presque Isle Downs and the light-brown color of the Tapeta at Turfway is similar in appearance to the one at Woodbine.

Purses this winter are ahead of 2018-19 levels but down from last season when the track received a large transfer of HHR gaming revenue from CDI's Derby City Gaming in Louisville to supplement purses. HHR facilities were closed for a portion of this year due to COVID-19.

Turfway's off-track HHR parlor, Newport Racing & Gaming, has been operational since late September. Simulcast wagering is also available there, though COVID-19 attendance restrictions cap attendance of its simulcast area at around 80 patrons, Bach said.

Turfway has added some stables this year, including trainers Mark Casse and Brad Cox, and entries were plentiful for the day's first three days. Not counting also-eligibles, the track averaged 11.4 entries per race.

Its jockey colony is deeper than in recent years, buoyed by the presence of Rafael Bejarano, Chris Landeros, Joe Talamo, Fernando De La Cruz, and others. Some riders and stables currently based in Kentucky could depart for Oaklawn Park early next year in preparation for its meet that begins Jan. 22.

The opening-night feature at Turfway is modest, $35,000 first-level allowance optional claimer. A better race follows it Dec. 3 when Mr. Misunderstood, a graded stakes winner of $967,176 for Flurry Racing Stables, heads a $39,000 allowance optional claimer.

Turfway will race Wednesday through Saturday this week and next before scaling back to race mostly three days a week. Its winter/spring meet immediately follows the holiday meet that ends Dec. 31.