Peterson Track Assessment Keeps Racing Safer at Derby

University of Maine mechanical engineering professor Mick Peterson spent the weekend at the Churchill Downs racetrack in Kentucky consulting with Kentucky Derby race managers and testing the status of the track in the days and hours before the 138th running of the world-famous horse race. Peterson, who is “widely considered the world’s foremost racing surfaces researcher,” according to Churchill Downs Incorporated, has worked with race organizers for the last three years conducting engineering analysis and tests of Churchill Downs’ racing surfaces for safety and consistency. Peterson was also interviewed for a profile of the retiring track superintendent published in the Courier-Journal newspaper of Louisville, Ky.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756