Longtime track superintendent Juan Meza will be retained by Woodbine Entertainment as a Racing Surfaces Consultant, the track said on Monday.

Meza served as the track superintendent at Golden Gate Fields for over two decades up until the track ceased operations this past June.

Like Woodbine, Golden Gate Fields held racing on a Tapeta (all-weather) racing surface, installing the synthetic track in 2007.

Meza’s brings an extensive knowledge in Tapeta to Woodbine and has worked closely alongside the surface manufacturer (Tapeta Footings).

“The safety and well-being of both our equine athletes and human participants is our top priority,” said Bill Ford, Executive Vice President of Racing, Woodbine Entertainment. “We are pleased to have Mr. Meza available to assist in our ongoing efforts and commitment to maintain the highest safety standards. We will continue to work closely with the HBPA and AGCO to ensure the safest possible conditions for all involved.”

Meza will work in coordination with Ryan Stafford, Director of Racing Surfaces, to maintain the safe condition of the Tapeta surface and support the Racing Surfaces team.

Following a pair of horse deaths on the Nov. 9 program, Woodbine officials were forced to cancel the last two races, including the GIII Autumn Stakes, which was postponed to this past weekend. As a precautionary measure, the live card scheduled for the following afternoon was canceled. Discussions and evaluations took place during the week and the track was given the go-ahead to resume racing Nov. 14 and it continued through the weekend. In a separate incident deemed unrelated to track conditions, a horse was eased during the Saturday finale at Woodbine and was ultimately euthanized.

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This story was posted in Top News and tagged Autumn Stakes, Breakdowns, closure, consultant, Golden Gate Fields, Horse Racing, Juan Meza, Tapeta Footings, Track Surfaces, Woodbine.