Parx To Install New Turf Course; PA Keeps ’26 Racing Dates Level

[Wandering Eyes]

Parx will begin installing a new turf course in March with the goal of racing on it by late summer 2026.

There has been no grass racing at Parx since September 2024.

In August of that season the course was closed after a catastrophic equine injury during a stakes resulted in a euthanization, triggering a safety review by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA).

The track was cleared to reopen by HISA within several weeks, with Parx agreeing to put new protocols and maintenance procedures in place.

But another grass-race injury and euthanization on the GI Pennsylvania Derby undercard Sept. 21, 2024, resulted in a second shutdown, and the course was closed for the rest of the '24 season.

As TDN's Bill Finley reported at that time, “video showed that there were numerous holes in the turf course and that the grass itself looked like something you might see in a vacant lot.”

Attempts to get the course usable for '25 didn't work out, and the Parx turf has not hosted a race for the last 14 months.

Joe Wilson, the chief operating officer at Parx, said during Tuesday's Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission (PHRC) meeting that “the goal is to be back on that turf when we come back from our break in the middle of summer.”

Parx has yet to publish its '26 calendar, but a similar seasonal break in '25 spanned July 25-Aug. 17.

“We're taking [the existing course] away and putting a new one in. This sod will come from Tuckahoe [Turf Farms in Hammonton, New Jersey], which is one of the leading suppliers of sod to both racetracks and sports fields in general.”

Wilson was asked by a commissioner about the feasibility of installing a Tapeta track at Parx.

“It gets talked about,” Wilson said. “Unfortunately, you're looking, at my racetrack, to put a Tapeta track in, you're looking at pretty close to probably $10 million, which, as we know, is a significant investment. Certainly, we'll continue to look at that, but that cost has to come down.”

Wilson's comments came before the PHRC voted unanimously Nov. 25 to grant Thoroughbred racing dates for '26 that mirror the same number of dates the commission awarded in '25.

There will be 150 dates at Parx, 105 at Penn National, and 76 at Presque Isle Downs.

“We continue to race 150 days a year at pretty much the same purse levels, which is really tough to do these days,” said Wilson.

Scott Lishia, the director and racing and sportsbook for Penn National, said that rather than starting racing in early January and having breaks in late January, early April and early October like this year, Penn National in '26 won't start racing until late February, with two-date weeks until mid-March, after which three-date weeks will largely be the norm through Labor Day.

“Then we're going to take a five- or six-week break off, come back in October with those three days a week again, finishing up the day before Thanksgiving,” Lishia said.

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