With turf racing events steadily gaining in popularity on the racing calendar in the United States, the newly launched Racecourse Manager Certification Program: Turfgrass as an Equine Sports Surface focused on turf cultivation, conditions, and impacts. The continuing education program stems from the combined efforts of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance, the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory. Launched in June with three live-streamed webinars, the program provides intensive research-based education for horse industry professionals so they more fully understand recent trends and research on equine surfaces and the broad impacts of surface on equine performance. 

With turf events steadily gaining in popularity on the racing calendar in the United States, turf cultivation, conditions, and impacts were a main focus. The three live-streamed sessions included “Selection of Turf for Climate Zones,” (Mike Goatley, Gregg Munshaw, Elizabeth Guertal, Logan Freeman, Michael D. Boekholder and Geoffrey Rinehart); “Cultivation of Turf Compaction and Wear,” (Jim Pendergest, Michael D. Boekholder, Leif Dickenson, Sean Gault, Geoffrey Rinehart, Logan Freeman, Trey Rogers and Elizabeth Guertal); and “Measurement of Turf Condition,” (Sarah Jane Hobbs, Alison Northrop, Lars Roepstorff, Elizabeth Guertal and Mick Peterson). 

“With over 20 presentations from 13 different speakers across multiple universities and organizations, not to mention time zones, this was a big undertaking. We were really pleased with the interest from the horse industry at large, though this was originally conceived for racetrack superintendents and such. I’m pleased to see participation across the spectrum of horse activities,” said Michael “Mick” Peterson. “The certification program is an excellent example of the land-grant university mission—to take research-based, practical information to the public so they can put it into practice. I’m pleased that our audience, which grew each session and peaked at 32, will have this material to help them understand and make sound decisions about their equine surfaces, whether it’s a turf race or training course, a polo field, or an eventing course.” 

Information about the program is available at https://www.uky.edu/bae/racecourse-manager-certification-program. The recorded courses can be watched for free on the UK Ag Equine Programs YouTube channel. The University of Kentucky will be administering the certification program. The fee for the certificate is $50, and email notification will be sent when the testing portion for the certificate launches in July. Racecourse Manager Certification Program: Turfgrass as an Equine Sports Surface was sponsored by John Deere. Other sponsors include Duralock, Horsemen’s Track and Equipment, Inc., and Equinox Racing.

This is the first of a series of continuing education programs for horse industry professionals. Sign up to receive email updates at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/UZUC6mf/turftalks. Follow the Equine Sports Turfgrass Alliance on Twitter at @equineturfgrass.