Play on the Blue Nine

I have received a number of questions on why the blue is not opened for full time play yet? Without getting agronomically technical, let me provide a few examples.

If a person has a knee operation, they are not able to go out and run a race right away. They have to take time to heal and rehab. Much is the same with young turf. It has to have time to mature to be able to take the wear of mowing and of golfer traffic.

The foal below can be compared to our turf on the blue nine. It is young and immature. Just like the blue nine is not yet ready for unlimited exposure to play, the foal is not ready for a grueling mile long race at this stage of his young life. Both require time to mature.
The photo below is of a mature 2 year old colt running the Kentucky Derby. He has been conditioned, trained, and given time to physically mature to run the event. Just as the 3 year old turf on the red nine has done following the renovation, the blue nine turf will continue to get stronger and better.