Belmont Park's two new turf courses are next in line to be phased in for training by mid-August, following the training that started on the Tapeta track June 29 and the main dirt track July 1.Glen Kozak, the New York Racing Association (NYRA)'s senior vice president of operations and capital projects, gave a racing surfaces update Friday as part of a broader overview of the track's $455-million reimagining during a meeting of the New York State Franchise Oversight Board (FOB).Opening day for the new Belmont Park is Sept. 18.“The turf, we have not let any horses train on that yet. We're doing some aeration work on it right now,” Kozak said. “So we're probably looking at the middle of August to let horses train on that, similar to what we did when we installed the new [turf] at Aqueduct, where we let them on about a month before [using the course for racing].“The fortunate part is the two [turf courses at Belmont will] have been in for almost a year prior to [the scheduled start of] racing on them, so substantial time to root, and [they are] in very, very good shape,” Kozak said.With the main dirt and Tapeta surfaces now available for training, Kozak said Belmont's training track is being closed for a renovation after three years of heavy use while the other surfaces were being built.Kozak also gave a status update on how the new surfaces have held up and the ongoing infield infrastructure work.“All of the surfaces, irrigation is complete. Rails are all up on all four surfaces, [also] marker poles,” Kozak said. “We've been on the dirt track for three weeks now, very positive reviews. The weather pattern that we've seen [has brought] substantial rainfall. It's not only the amount of the rain, but the intensity of the rain that we've received, and the way that the surface has recovered has been excellent.“The camera, the fiber connections, that's all been tested in the infield. The training lighting for the synthetic [track] is complete. We're working with [the electric company] to get permanent power for the infield video board, and that it is expected to be completed by Aug. 15,” Kozak said.The post Turf Training at New Belmont Park Could Begin by Mid-August appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.