NTRA Grant for New Surfaces and Safety Lab

[Wandering Eyes]

National Thoroughbred Racing Association Charities has announced a $100,000 grant to enable the University of Kentucky to further support equine surfaces and safety research under the direction of Mick Peterson, director of UK Ag Equine Programs.

The funds will be used to renovate existing space within the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment to create the NTRA Charities Equine Surfaces and Safety Laboratory in an effort to allow UK to make a meaningful impact on the sport of horse racing through surface and safety research. Peterson is a nationally known expert in surface safety and faculty member in the UK Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.

“NTRA has reviewed variations on this proposal for nearly two years and we are very pleased to see it go forward. The job does not end here. We anticipate continued calls on the industry to fund specific surfaces research projects undertaken in this new laboratory,” said Steve Koch, executive director, NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance.

Dean Nancy Cox added, “The UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is committed to our signature equine industry in all ways. In particular, we are dedicated to all aspects of safety in our sport. This gift allows us to do important research to assist Thoroughbred racing and to create a pipeline of experts to serve racetrack safety.”

The grant will allow for expanded research, according to Peterson.

“This laboratory will allow us to do racetrack surfaces testing on a larger scale to permit us to replicate surface properties using maintenance equipment on the surfaces, which have been observed on racetracks but are not well understood,” Peterson said. “Understanding racetrack maintenance is key to providing a consistent racing surface regardless of the weather.”

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