Del Mar's new turf course ready for grass

Del Mar's new turf course will begin getting installed with a brand new shade of green on March 17, St. Patrick's Day.

DEL MAR Del Mar is taking the wearin of the green to a new level on St. Patricks Day.

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club officials confirmed this week that the racetracks new turf will arrive from the Coachella Valley on St. Patricks Day, March 17, and that turf and landscape superintendent Leif Dickinson will oversee the placing of the new grass shortly after it hits the beach.

Last weekends rain cost Dickinson and his crew three days of work, but he told Del Mar media director Mac McBride that there was an allowance in the schedule for that sort of thing, so it wasnt a big kink in the process.

McBride said the new turf will be hauled from Coachella Valley by truck and arrive at Del Mar at 6 a.m. He said crews will begin laying down the sod about an hour later.

Joe Harper, Del Mars president and CEO, said recently that the main Polytrack will be torn out after the 2014 racing season to make way for a return to the original dirt surface. Del Mar is the only track in Southern California with a synthetic surface now that Hollywood Park has closed and Santa Anita has gone back to dirt.

Dickinson said recently that he foresees no problems with the new turf course and that it should be ready for racing by July. The wider turf course will allow for 14 starters, which is something Breeders Cup officials insisted upon before Del Mar could host the event.

Del Mar and Churchill Downs, both with strong bids, are considered the favorites to receive the next dates for the Breeders Cup. Santa Anita will host the world championships for the third consecutive year this fall. But 2015 and beyond are open as far as host tracks.

Breeders Cup officials are expected to name the next site for the world championships soon.

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Del Mar's new turf course ready for grass