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He keeps ‘em trotting

Posted 11/23/20

Published November 24, 1977

“It takes a lot of hard work to maintain the racetrack, especially during the winter racing season, so we've been working extremely hard to maintain the track in …

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He keeps ‘em trotting

Posted

Published November 24, 1977

“It takes a lot of hard work to maintain the racetrack, especially during the winter racing season, so we've been working extremely hard to maintain the track in the best possible condition for the winter meeting,” said Herb Cauthers, Monticello Raceway Track Superintendent.

“It's most gratifying that the track is officially rated as the fastest half-mile in the world, and we're certainly striving to retain that rating.”

“One of the biggest problems we have during the winter meeting is keeping the track from freezing, so with the freezing overnight temperatures this month, we've been adding salt into the track to keep it from freezing up.

By keeping the track from icing up, we're able to harrow up a good racing cushion,” Cauthers added.

“I know we had some awful rainy, cold weather since the summer meeting closed but, I can tell you that the surface and the banking held up extremely well. With general maintenance, we were able to maintain the track condition for this meeting,” he noted.

Last Spring, the former flat oval was scientifically banked, with the crown some four and one-half feet higher than the rail, and a new stonedust surface was added. The result was an onslaught on both the Raceway records and the official U.S. Trotting Association record book. More than 600 new personal lifetime racing marks were recorded over the lightning-fast oval, so far surpassing any such previous records.

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