Martin Says Playfair Still On Track For Dec. 6 Opening

Not even grumpy Mother Nature has derailed Ted Martin’s drive to get Playfair Race Course up and running on schedule.

Martin, director of racing at the Spokane track, said work is close enough to being on schedule to expect the track to open on Friday, Dec. 6, as planned.

Working through the ice and snow for the latest opening in the history of Spokane horse racing hasn’t been easy, Martin said Wednesday, but progress has been made.

“We have the outside rail up and the sand is on the track,” he said. “The plan is to start spreading it Friday morning.

“We’ve gone to Plan B on the inside rail. We’ve got a temporary safety rail on loan coming up from Bay Meadows (in San Mateo, Calif.). It’s been approved by the Jockeys Guild.”

Martin said he has commitments from horsemen to supply 540 horses for the meeting.

“They’re not on the grounds yet,” Martin said. “There’s no place for them to work (with the track under construction). But running three days a week we can do it with that, although I’m sure the number we’ll eventually work with will be closer to 600-650 horses.”

About 80 percent of those will be stabled on the grounds, Martin said.

Two recent hires were announced. Tom Harris is the track announcer, Mark Gibson the starter.

Martin said he was happy with Tuesday’s ruling by the state racing commission that granted the Spokane track access to key offtrack betting facilities in Western Washington, including Mountlake Terrace in South Snohomish County.

Among the jockeys who have agreed to work in the winter are Lane Rennaker, Marty Wentz, Clay Dunbar, Chad Ekins, Gary Gavica, Juan Ramos, Rusty Shaw, Vince Graffagnini and Brent Overneck, Martin said.

Horsemen will compete for purses starting at $2,100. Martin will write up to nine races a day as part of the state’s first venture into double-carding. Races at Emerald Downs in Auburn will be included on the daily card with Playfair’s events, giving horse players in the state up to 18 races a day.

It’s weekend racing only - Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through the winter. First post is 1 p.m.

Playfair regulars will notice at least one departure from tradition, Martin said. The popular Paddock Lounge will be closed on some days, because of prior scheduling commitments. The Turf Club and Clubhouse will be open throughout the meet, he added.

The track could and would operate in the type of rain and mixed snow that fell Tuesday.

“We’ve come too far to let that stop us,” Martin said. “We can run in this weather.”

The schedule of stakes races was also revealed. It’s highlighted by a pair of $25,000 2-year-old races - the Debutante on Dec. 14 for fillies and the Graduation on Dec. 28 for colts, geldings and fillies.

Six stakes races, each with purses of $10,000, will be offered for horses in the cheaper claiming ranks for the first time. Two are for horses that run for a $2,500 claiming price, two for $4,000 claimers and two for horses eligible to be claimed for $5,000.

The majority of race horses in Spokane-based stables are cheaper claimers.

“Those are the kinds of horses that make racing meets go,” Martin said. “We want to recognize and emphasize that.”

The 13-race stakes schedule will conclude on March 15 with the Spokane Derby. The Playfair Mile was not scheduled.

Playfair will twice open on holiday Mondays in the winter - on Jan. 20 and Feb. 17.

, DataTimes