THREE FRESH SURFACES EVERY MORNING: How Laurel Park’s Training Breaks Prioritize Horse and Rider Safety

At Laurel Park, morning training hours are structured with one primary goal: providing the safest possible environment for horses and riders. That commitment is reflected in the deliberate coordination of training schedules and ongoing track maintenance throughout the morning, helping ensure a more consistent and safer racing surface for all participants.

Training hours currently run from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on non-race days and until 10:00 a.m. on race days. To maintain the track, scheduled harrow breaks take place at approximately 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. These 30-minute intervals allow the maintenance crew to properly refresh the racing surface, ensuring it remains in peak condition.

Rather than requiring horses to train continuously over a surface that naturally deteriorates from heavy traffic, Laurel Park’s schedule effectively provides three freshly maintained surfaces every morning.

As hundreds of horses train over the track each morning, the racing surface naturally begins to change. Continuous traffic causes the cushion to become uneven, cuppy, and compacted in certain areas, while repeated hoof impact creates ruts and ridges throughout the surface. At the same time, moisture distribution across the track can become inconsistent as the morning progresses.

Scheduled maintenance breaks allow the track crew to properly harrow and re-level the cushion and redistribute moisture across the racing surface. The result is a more uniform and consistent training surface throughout the entire morning, rather than allowing conditions to progressively deteriorate after several uninterrupted hours of training traffic.

By breaking the morning into multiple training sessions separated by maintenance intervals, Laurel Park effectively provides horses and riders with three refreshed surfaces each morning instead of one surface that steadily degrades over time.

Industry research and racetrack safety experts have long emphasized the importance of maintaining a consistent racing surface. Research studies supported through the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation have consistently highlighted surface consistency as an important factor in equine safety. Their findings have shown that repeated traffic over a racing surface changes cushion depth, compaction, and moisture distribution throughout training hours, all of which can increase variability in footing conditions and cumulative stress on horses’ musculoskeletal systems.

Kathleen Anderson, a member of The Maryland Jockey Club Board of Directors and founding partner of Equine Veterinary Care at Fair Hill Training Center, believes the structured harrow breaks represent a practical and proactive investment in both equine welfare and rider safety.

“Anything we can do to provide horses and riders with a more consistent and forgiving surface is a positive step for safety,” said Dr. Anderson. “As training hours progress, the track naturally becomes more uneven and compacted from repeated traffic. Harrowing the surface multiple times during training helps reduce those inconsistencies and lessens cumulative stress on horses’ musculoskeletal systems thus reducing the risk of injuries both in the morning and in the afternoons.”

Modern racetrack maintenance has become an increasingly important part of national safety discussions throughout Thoroughbred racing. Many industry experts now recognize that safety initiatives cannot focus solely on race day, because the overwhelming majority of a racehorse’s physical activity occurs during morning training hours. Maintaining consistency during training is viewed by many veterinarians, riders, and surface specialists as equally important to long-term equine soundness and rider protection.

Trainer Tim Keefe observed that many of his colleagues place a strong emphasis on equine safety and understand the importance of maintaining a consistent racing surface throughout the morning training session.

“The goal for every trainer should be to train over a surface that is as safe and consistent as possible,” said Keefe. “If adding a second harrow break helps maintain that consistency throughout the morning, then a minor adjustment to our training schedules is a very small price to pay.”

Maryland’s current training structure reflects that philosophy by emphasizing consistent footing conditions from the first set to the last.

At a time when equine welfare and rider safety remain under intense national focus, Maryland’s continued emphasis on track maintenance and surface management demonstrates a commitment to practical, proactive safety measures that directly benefit both horses and riders every morning.

As Dr. Anderson notes,

“Safety in this sport is often about attention to detail. Something as simple as maintaining a consistently prepared training surface throughout the morning can make a meaningful difference to our athletes – both human and equine.

‍