by Jeff Lowe

Trainer opinions varied, but business metrics and catastrophic injury rates were favorable on synthetic surfaces compared to their dirt predecessors in evidence and dialogue from a Wednesday forum at Santa Anita Park on California’s track surfaces.

Santa Anita President Ron Charles confirmed during the dialogue that the track’s troubled synthetic surface would be replaced at the end of the meeting, which was interrupted by 11 cancellations related to drainage problems from January 5 to February 4.

Those issues prompted the California Horse Racing Board to organize the day-long conference that included panels of jockeys, synthetic track manufacturers and experts, trainers, veterinarians, track maintenance officials, racing secretaries, owners, handicappers, and racetrack executives.

Drew Couto, president of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, said handle, purse revenue, and field size have increased during every meeting at a California racetrack with a synthetic surface. Hollywood Park was the first California track to replace its dirt track with the installation of Cushion Track prior to the 2006 fall meet.

Couto did not include results from the current Santa Anita Park meet, which has been riddled with issues with the Cushion Track installed last summer. The CHRB required all major tracks in the state to have a synthetic surface in place by the start of 2008.

Rick Arthur, D.V.M., the CHRB’s equine medical director, presented statistics showing that fatalities have decreased by 60% in racing over synthetic surfaces in California, compared to the previous dirt tracks.

Bob Baffert, John Shirreffs, and Julio Canani were among the trainers who voiced their staunch opposition to the synthetic tracks.

"We're in a crisis or we wouldn't be having this meeting,” said Baffert, who recently lost three promising three-year-olds from his roster when owner Ahmed Zayat transferred his California-based horses out of the state out of frustration with the surface at Santa Anita.

Baffert said he advocated synthetic tracks until he trained and raced over them. Baffert was a vocal critic of the new Polytrack at Del Mar last summer because the surface played differently from morning to afternoon.

“I bought into it,” Baffert said. “Right now, they seem like an experiment and a work in progress. I feel that it is hurting the business. These vendors … have sold us a bill of goods. They sold us these tracks that didn’t do what they were supposed to do. They disrespect the ability of a horse and the contest of horse racing, where the best horse is supposed to win or the fastest horse is supposed to win.”

Baffert and Ron Ellis had a terse exchange over Baffert’s views. Ellis, seated next to Baffert in the panel of ten trainers, told Baffert that “You’re not looking past your barn.”

Ellis cited the influx of horses from owners Darley Stable and Coolmore and trainers Todd Pletcher and H. Graham Motion at Hollywood. In response, Baffert pointed out that Ellis plans to ship 2005 Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Buzzards Bay out of town to race on dirt at Oaklawn Park.

Shirreffs said he has noticed a large increase in hind-end injuries and pulmonary bleeding.

Conversely, trainer David Hofmans said the injury rate in his barn has gone way down with the surface changes.

“The problems that I have had have been fixable problems, problems we can live with,” Hofmans said. “I have a problem of having too many horses because I’m not turning horses out at the rate that I used to, and horses are making it back from these minor problems instead of any career-ending problems.”

In a panel of veterinarians, Jeff Blea said his practice has noticed a decrease in shin problems since synthetic tracks have been installed, while hind-end and foot injuries have increased.

Greg Ferraro of the University of California-Davis recommended the launch of a five-year national commission to supply data on synthetic tracks.

Garrett Gomez, David Flores, and Gary Stevens made up a jockey panel that strongly advocated synthetic surfaces. Gomez and Flores said they are less sore when they race over the new tracks, particularly compared to sealed dirt tracks.

Near the end of the six-hour discussion, Hollywood General Manager Eual Wyatt Jr. said, “Maybe not unanimously, but from what I heard today, synthetic surfaces are considered better than the surfaces we had. … I think the board’s reason for mandating the synthetic surfaces was to have better tracks. I thought at one point that the mandate was probably premature. I don’t believe that anymore, I think that it was timely.

“We also heard today that in order to go forward in a positive manner and get the most of our $40-million, $50-million expenditures, we need to employ science. We need to do it together.”

Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer