Mountaineer Turf Course

[hbeck]

Would it kill them to give it a small trim? I know it will get trampled over the course of the summer but right now I would say the grass is five inches tall!

[BillW]

Did the bailer break down? It's high enough that you could lose a jockey in that stuff! :eek:

[cj]

Strange, most years you can't tell it from the dirt course.

[BillW]

It looked as if it was at least knee deep on the gate crew (we're talking 18"!), behind the gate - it did look kinda thin though.

[Tom]

Could be an opportunity here, if it plays a lot different when (if) they do cut it.

Might pay to keep a daily visual check on it.

[socantra]

Would it kill them to give it a small trim? I know it will get trampled over the course of the summer but right now I would say the grass is five inches tall!

According to Pimlico, they maintain their turf course at 4-6 inches during the season. Five inches is not much for tall fescue if its healthy.

[hbeck]

I underestimated then, it it probably closer to 1.5 feet.

[DeanT]

Maybe it is "throwback to 1860" day at Mountaineer where the horses roamed the Montana hills in four foot grass.

It seems the jockey tactic is to go as fast as you can; or more appropraitely, a regular day at Mountaineer.

[BIG49010]

Looks like my neighbor's grass, his mower is broken!

[CyberBet]

What a wheat field..............I keep saying the horsemen can run in fields for blakets but I never thought the track would own the field and pay a purse.

[Nacumi]

We don't even train ours on the turf gallops when they get that high. Horses might lose a shoe or two! :D As long as the root structure is good, it doesn't really matter how close the shave is, but that Mountaineer course is looking a bit weedy.

[Marshall Bennett]

Another downside to the price of gas !! :p

[ldiatone]

Would it kill them to give it a small trim? I know it will get trampled over the course of the summer but right now I would say the grass is five inches tall!

when i was there last year all the tellers were calling the turf course "durf"
ldiatone
lets go pens!

[ldiatone]

tom! your bad! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

lets go pens








1

[socantra]

Are they actually using the turf course yet?

[Murph]

I have left some grass grow to get it to seed here in my parts. The cooler weather is not allowing the grass here to go to it's spring seed. This may also be the case in northern WV too. I am sure they would like to have seed aril before the next time they cut that grass. I would expect they will aireate the sod on completion of the grass cut - IF they can get it to seed before it is trimmed down again. Looks like someone is trying very hard to help that situation to me.

Tom's point rang like a bell, I think that course will have to play totally different when it is cut. As it's mentioned, horses can lose a shoe running in grass that high. I know I have. :p

[Murph]

Are they actually using the turf course yet?I have 4 races so far this year, 2 each sprint and route. My numbers on those 4 are good so far, this is definately different from the overall result last year. I hope they can get a better root structure to the sod before hard pack summer soil sets.

[juanepstein]

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"WE'LL LEAVE THE HOT DOGS ON FOR YOU!"

[Steve 'StatMan']

Are they actually using the turf course yet?

The began turn racing on Memorial Day - normal for them, 2 turf stakes that day (night).

The normally run their last turf race on Labor Day.

[asH]

horses seem to love it

[socantra]

I have left some grass grow to get it to seed here in my parts. The cooler weather is not allowing the grass here to go to it's spring seed. This may also be the case in northern WV too. I am sure they would like to have seed aril before the next time they cut that grass. I would expect they will aireate the sod on completion of the grass cut - IF they can get it to seed before it is trimmed down again. Looks like someone is trying very hard to help that situation to me.



I think they probably use something similar to the 65% Tall Fescue, 25% Rye and 10% Kentucky Bluegrass mixture that Laurel and Pimlico use.

Our Tall Fescue in the back yard is seeding right now, which is laster than most years. Fescue is a clumping grass, so they definitely want to get as much seed on the ground as possible

[Zman179]

The Atlantic City course is 5-6 inches long and the horsemen (and the horses) love it. A course doesn't need to look like Astroturf in order for it to be a good course.

[BombsAway Bob]

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"WE'LL LEAVE THE HOT DOGS ON FOR YOU!"
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