NEWS
Santa Anita to return to dirt in time for winter-spring meeting
Posted: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 9:57 PM
by Larry Stewart
MI Developments Inc. founder and Chairman Frank Stronach seemed to score big-time points with California-based horsemen when he said that Santa Anita Park would replace the Pro-Ride synthetic surface with dirt in time for the Arcadia, California, track's December 26 opening for its winter-spring meet.
MI Developments owns Santa Anita after acquiring it through Magna Entertainment Corp.'s bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year. Stronach estimated that it would cost the company about $5- or $6-million to replace Pro-Ride with dirt.
Stronach met with horsemen on Wednesday following the races at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, which races on a synthetic Polytrack surface and turf. All major race venues in California had to install synthetic surfaces following a California Horse Racing Board mandate issued in spring 2006. Santa Anita initially installed a Cushion Track surface, which also is in place at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, but Santa Anita replaced that surface with Pro-Ride because of drainage issues, although the new surface really never cleared those issues as Santa Anita lost five dates to track conditions in 2010.
Oak Tree Racing Association has conducted its annual fall meeting at Santa Anita since 1969, but that is in question for 2010 because of lingering concerns regarding the safety of the Pro-Ride surface currently in place. Oak Tree could conduct its 2010 meeting at Hollywood. If the Oak Tree fall meet is run at Santa Anita as scheduled, that would leave only about eight weeks to install the new track.
Figuring to play a major role in that decision will be a preliminary report delivered by race surface expert Mick Peterson, Ph.D., at a CHRB meeting Thursday at Del Mar. Peterson, a University of Maine professor, was brought in to conduct a study on the safety of the current synthetic surface.
Sherwood Chillingworth, executive director of the Oak Tree Racing Association, said he has not talked to Peterson and has no idea what he will say in the report.
"We're hoping to run our meet at Santa Anita," Chillingworth said. "We've already collected $1-million in ticket sales and spent a lot in preparing to run at Santa Anita."
Santa Anita President George Haines said late Wednesday that the new dirt could be installed in four weeks if night-time work is allowed by Arcadia city officials.
Stronach's meeting on Wednesday, in contrast to earlier sessions with horsemen and the CHRB, was very congenial. Stronach emphasized working together with all contingencies to improve horseman relations and again talked about his idea for a world-wide bet that pays at least a guaranteed $10-million. He said dirt for the new track will be similar to the dirt used at the Hipodromo Palermo track in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Mace Siegel, who earlier this summer talked Stronach into giving Oak Tree at least one more year at Santa Anita, stood up again and suggestsed that he, Stronach, and Chillingworth sit down together and work out a new long-term deal. Stronach said he was agreeable to that.
But Stronach was more evasive regarding that issue following the meeting.
"We have to work with all contingencies," Stronach said when asked about extending Oak Tree's lease as well as his plans to lengthen Santa Anita's racing calendar in the spring.
The reaction among the crowd of some 150 people seemed upbeat across the board.
"I agree with everything he said 100%," said Jerry Moss, a prominent horse owner who campaigns unbeaten two-time champion Zenyatta and serves on the CHRB. "I like his 'big bet' idea."
"It was music to my ears," Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said of Stronach's dirt announcement.
Stronach plans to attend the CHRB meeting. Will the upbeat atmosphere continue?
Larry Stewart is a Southern California correspondent of Thoroughbred Times
READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: freddie, livonia, MI on August 28, 2010 at 10:08 AM
hopefully this will begin a domino effect around the country and we can get back to real racing and put the fad of polytrack behind us at the remaining tracks in the coming years. The racing at places like woodbine, del mar, keeneland, and arlington has become a joke and mostly unbettable during the polytrack experiment.
this is the first GOOD decision stronach has made in recent memory!
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Posted by: Handicapper, Inglewood, CA on August 21, 2010 at 12:38 AM
I think it's a mistake for Santa Anita to go back to dirt, I don't understand why the other tracks did-not follow the lead of Hollywood Park, it has one of the safest and best surface in the country, it puts the horses safety and the jockey's safety first. Times are changing and if the industry doesn't change with times soon horse racing will be a distant memory. Please take notice of Hollywood Park and what they are doing to insure the safety of the horse's and the jockey's, that's why they were awarded the Oak Tree meet over Del Mar due to their issue's with their racing surface as well. Santa Anita spends too much money and time sprucing up the facility and putting the safety of the horse's and jockey's on the back burner's, that's why the track was deemed unsafe for racing, but it is a beauttful facility and nothing else. I don't think putting in a dirt track is the solution for what's best for the horse's, let's not forget without the horse's there is no horse racing.
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Posted by: guy, wrightstown, NJ on August 19, 2010 at 07:16 PM
I wonder if Bay Meadows has a chance to come back now. Even though I am an east coaster, I miss racing at Bay Meadows, and their caller who since then has fled to finger lakes, I believe.
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Posted by: Gary, St. Louis, MO on August 19, 2010 at 02:53 PM
Nothing but excuses. Thats all, so called "Horsemen" give. They have to have something to blame. Why not the surface
I would like to see these "Horsemen" have No vets in there barn accept for a real amergency and see how many can train horses then. Most would not last five minutes.
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Posted by: charles, fontana , CA on August 19, 2010 at 01:46 PM
Dear sir Horses grow up on dirt and grass.I am 78 years old and went to sa since 1957.It was better when tracks were labeled fast sloppy slow heavy muddy good etc.Also the racing form should have never changed there past performance odds.It is much easier if you see a horse went off at 5/2 2/1 1/1 4/5 or 5/1 10/1 and so on.The way it is now new people to the game cant understand using the to the dollar figurses.Everyone was listening to gordon jones.I want the track listed as wet fast.I want the horses times in hundreds of a second
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