5-day racing week return at Gulfstream

Gulfstream Park will mark the return of a five-day week of live racing Thursday with the long-awaited return of turf racing, the arrival of trainers and jockeys from around the country, and a significant increase in purses for open optional claiming allowances and maiden special weight races.

In advance of the 2022-2023 Championship Meet that will get underway Dec. 26, live racing will be conducted on a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule starting with Thursday’s nine-race program. Post time has been set at 12:10 p.m. each racing day. The weekend programs include horses entered from the stables of Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott, Brendan Walsh, Christophe Clement and Brian Lynch. Jockeys Luis Saez and Julien Leparoux are both named to ride this weekend.

The first races on turf since June will be run on Thursday’s program. The course is virtually identical to the one at sister track Santa Anita from the bottom up, from the base to the pad to the turf itself.

“Having turf is obviously a fan favorite and the owners and trainers love it. But what we found over the years is by using it so much, we never had the chance to actually renovate it. So, in 2022, we made the decision to completely stop on the turf and we brought in who we believe is one of the best turf guys in America, if not the world, Leif Dickinson,” Aidan Butler, CEO, I/ST Racing and Gaming, said. “Leif has completely renovated it. We expect to have some great racing on it.