Track spokesman Dave Joseph said Thursday that the Gulfstream Park course will undergo a massive renovation following the conclusion of the championship meet, April 1. Further details, including a more precise time frame and the cost of the project, are still to be announced.

Joseph said the inner half of the Gulfstream Park turf course will be renovated while day-to-day racing at the spring-summer meet continues over the outer half; upon completion of the inner half, the process will then be reversed, with racing continuing over the inner half while the outer half is renovated.

Contrary to some racetrack rumors that have made the rounds here in recent days, turf racing will NOT be interrupted during the project.

The Gulfstream turf course is one of the widest in North America at 170 feet in width.

Nearly 50 percent of races here are run over the turf course, with the wear-and-tear of that constant action being clearly visible, i.e., tire-track impressions from where the starting gate is placed and divot marks throughout the course.

Gulfstream races 10 months a year. In 2018, the 6-month spring-summer meet goes from April 5 to Sept. 30 before local action moves over to Gulfstream West for October and November. The 4-month championship meet begins in early December.