It may be “down time” for live racing at Balmoral Park but there is still plenty going on at the Crete plant as the one-mile racing oval undergoes a complete renovation in anticipation of its re-opening on Saturday, Aug. 9. In an effort to make the racing surface one of the fastest, yet safest, for both horses and horsemen in the country, Balmoral Park is currently renovating its one-mile oval with the help of noted trackman Greg Coon of Charles E. Coon & Sons Inc., Tech 3 Consulting Group and T. J. Lambrecht Construction, which is the company that performed the original work back in 1998, when Balmoral switched from a five-eighths mile track to a one-mile oval. “The changes being made to the track will once again make Balmoral Park’s oval one of the best in country not only for the horses racing over the track but also for the horsemen who train here on a day to day basis,” said track president John Johnston. “This has always been one of the fastest tracks in all of North America and it should be even faster, safer and easier on the horses after this work is completed. Handicappers should also see a much greater degree of consistency thanks to these changes.”
Construction work began on Tuesday, July 8, and is expected to be completed by Friday, July 25, so that horsemen can begin jogging and training over the new surface before the start of the upcoming meet.
Among the changes being made to the track are a complete reshaping of the first turn as well as adding seven degrees of banking. The second turn will also be banked seven degrees to add to the consistency of the surface. A new “base” surface will be put down on the backstretch and the second turn as well. A three degree banking will be made to both the backstretch and the homestretch as well. Live racing returns to Balmoral Park, four nights a week (Tuesday-Wednesday-Saturday-Sunday), on Saturday, Aug. 9. A heavy dose of top notch stakes action kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 23, with the $200,000 American National Stakes for 3-year-old colt and filly trotters. Super Night eliminations begin on Saturday, Sept. 13, with the finals for Illinois' “Biggest Night of Racing” being held on Saturday, Sept. 20. (Balmoral Park)
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