SANTA ANITA’S SYNTHETIC SAGA
The installation of the new Pro-Ride synthetic surface that began at Santa Anita Park in mid-July is "ahead of schedule," according to Ron Charles, the track’s president and chief operating officer of Magna Entertainment. Santa Anita is hosting the 2008 and 2009 Breeders’ Cup world championships during the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting that opens Sept. 24. The two-day Breeders’ Cup is schedule Oct. 24-25.
"Right now it all looks good," Charles told the Paulick Report. "We did run into areas where the drainage system had problems; sand had gotten down in there, but those sections have been fixed. The entire drainage system was replaced before, but a lot of it has been replaced again because of the damage."
Pro-Ride was chosen by Santa Anita officials, Charles said, after they took a long look at synthetic surface and conventional dirt options. "I truly believe this was the right choice," Charles said. The previous synthetic surface, Cushion Track, developed serious drainage problems last winter that led to the cancellation of 11 racing days. Santa Anita has filed suit against the manufacturers of Cushion Track, which is also in place at Hollywood Park. The California Horse Racing Board mandates that all major Thoroughbred tracks in the state have synthetic surfaces.
Ian Pearse of Pro-Ride was brought in to help repair Santa Anita’s Cushion Track problems, developing a hybrid of Cushion Track and Pro-Ride that allowed Santa Anita to complete its meeting without further cancellations. Following the completion of the meeting, Santa Anita reviewed its options and in June announced it was going with Pro-Ride, a company based in Australia.
A small percentage of the Cushion Track surface will remain, Charles admitted. "Some of the original sand and fiber and rubber will still be in there, but it all will be mixed with the binder and new fiber," Charles said. "It will be 95% Pro-Ride. We’ve been screening the material and have removed some rocks, a lot of the rubber, and have reduced whatever odor there was."
Charles said the timetable calls for the installation to be completed a week before horses return to Santa Anita from Del Mar, which closes its meeting Sept. 3. The surface will be flooded twice to test its drainage efficiency - once before the Pro-Ride material is added to the drainage system and rock base and once after the material is added. "We’ll test it extensively," Charles said. "We want it to be 100% right before we let 1,500 horses on there for training."
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Breeders' Cup, cushion track, ian pearse, Magna Entertainment, pro-ride, ron charles, santa anita park, synthetic surface
July 31st, 2008 at 6:53 am
I’m sure that this comes as great news to Richard Migliore; speaking on Tuesday at the Saratoga panel on synthetics, he said that he an allergic reaction to Pro-Ride after riding on it.
What a mess…
July 31st, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Lets get the facts right. Richard Migliore said, “I thought I was having an allergic reaction to Pro-Ride. My eyes were getting irritated. There were discussions on and off, where some of the jockeys were talking about wheezing. We talked about it.”
That quote does not say he actually had a reaction to the surface. There are many other factors involved before we look at the surface. Do we blame John Velazquezs’ nosebleeds on the suraface at Keeneland?
Do you really think that Santa Anita would lay a surface that hadn’t been tested to rigorous standards for health and safety? It’s not as if the horses and jockeys are going to eat the stuff!!
Synthetic tracks are proven to be better for the health and safety of horses. They are the way of the future.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:20 am
Yes I do believe Santa Anita would lay a surface that hadn’t been tested to rigorous standards for health and safety! Look at the crap they put down and then lost 11 racing days over. The horses and jockeys may not be eating the stuff but they sure are inhaling it, and I don’t believe there’s been enough research done on the effects of that. Synthetic tracks may be the way of the future, but they aren’t perfect. There is still much study and discussion to come.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:52 am
Mr. Black: I was sitting in the audience and wrote down what Mr. Migliore said, which was that he had an allergic reaction to the surface, and that other riders had complained of eye irritation.
Jockeys in California over the last year have worn masks and shields to protect themselves from breathing/being struck by the track material. Any information about respiratory effects is anecdotal at this point, not based in research.
It was clear from the panel on Tuesday that nothing is proven about synthetic tracks. Even Dr. Rick Arthur of California said (and this is copied directly from his slide): the long-term health issues are unknown; there is a synthetic track-specific injury profile; synthetic surfaces APPEAR to reduce racing fatalities (emphasis mine).
None of that is a particularly ringing endorsement, and given the small sample size currently available and the short length of time the surface has been in use, no researcher would draw conclusions at this point.
August 10th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
[...] bent on an international mission but, more importantly, because of the questions over the new synthetic surface being installed at Santa Anita Park, which will host this year’s Breeders’ Cup. That new surface, installed by the [...]