Santa Anita: what a mess · 28.01.08

The Blood-Horse has a feature story on the latest woes afflicting Santa Anita and its new Cushion Track synthetic racing surface. The problem is that the track won’t drain when it’s wet – which is rather a problem for a technology which bills itself as “all-weather”. Part of the appeal of synthetic surfaces is that they are supposed to allow races to proceed in bad weather which would otherwise force the cancellation of race cards held on traditional dirt surfaces.

The other reason for replacing dirt with artificial material is that it is supposed to be safer for horses. Softer and easier on horses’ legs, man-made materials like Cushion Track, Polytrack, and Tapeta are supposed to reduce the number of injuries and fatal breakdowns. This is the main reason why the California Horse Racing Board mandated that all California tracks switch from dirt to artificial surfaces.

All well-and-good – but a safe surface that can’t be utilized in rainy weather is a waste of money. Also, the “fewer injuries” claim might not be so strong, after all. Some trainers are reporting new injuries to their horses over synthetic surfaces – more soft-tissue damage than broken bones, but still damaging to their horses and disruptive to their training.

Obviously the “bugs” have yet to be worked out – different climates will affect these materials in different ways. What works at Keeneland (where Polytrack seems to be a success) might not work at Del Mar (which faced all sorts of problems this past summer with its Polytrack surface). Golden Gate Fields’ Tapeta surface seems to be working fine, and Hollywood Park’s Cushion Track also seemed to play fair. But Santa Anita has been a disaster.

The crisis at Santa Anita has cost the track and the California racing community thousands if not millions of dollars. Track workers, jockeys, trainers, and owners have lost wages and purse monies. Training regimens and racing campaigns have been disrupted.

Amateur punters have bemoaned the rise of synthetics on-line. Some dispute the claims of fewer injuries and (with good reason) all-weather racing; others complain that their handicapping methods need to be totally revised; still others lament the passing of “historic” dirt surfaces.

Racing journalists seem to be split: some are calling for heads to roll, while some others want to wait and allow all the wrinkles to be ironed-out before passing judgement.

Speaking for myself, I’m all in favour of innovation – and any innovation which promises to reduce the number of horses that are injured (some fatally) every year, I will definitely support. However, it seems obvious that synthetic racing surfaces are a new technology that needs further testing and development, especially regarding how the same formulations seem to react differently in different climates. If synthetic surfaces must be used, limit their installation to training tracks, where the physical benefits to horses can be determined without risking the wide-scale disruption to the sport which we are witnessing at Santa Anita.

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What do you think?

  1. If something is not done to engender both horsemen’s and wagering fans confidence, this track is headed for a long dry spell of support.

    Have not heard as yet, but they may have lost the Breeder’s Cup. All the negative press will surely make some of the European entrants think twice about trying a surface that produced a sub 1:07 clocking for the six furlong world record.

    — Dr. T. Yatcak · Jan 30, 09:05 AM · #

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