Even though the Oak Tree racing meet got a reprieve from Santa Anita owner Frank Stronach recently that will allow the program to run at least one more season at Santa Anita this fall, the meet is once again in danger of being forced to move, due to an unscheduled inspection ordered this week by the California Horse Racing Board.
Due to concerns about the latest attempts to repair drainage issues on the synthetic track and potentially raising embedded rocks to the surface, the CHRB asked Dr. Michael “Mick” Peterson, a professor of engineering at the University of Maine, to inspect the main track at Santa Anita Park in accordance with the CHRB’s responsibility to inspect and evaluate racetracks for safeness.
Many in the industry, including the owners of active legend Zenyatta, are still not happy with synthetic tracks in general. Santa Anita’s latest track condition problems regarding water that will not drain, especially near the finish line, are causing more concern. The CHRB has been monitoring developments at Santa Anita during attempted repairs of the drainage problem, as have representatives of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) and California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT).
The CHRB’s relationship with Santa Anita owner Frank Stronach has also become very contentious this year as he continues to push hard for major changes in horse racing regulations.
The CHRB issued a media release Sunday stating that CHRB Executive Director Kirk Breed would join Dr. Peterson at Santa Anita on Tuesday (Aug. 10) to begin the review. That review continued Wednesday morning and they met with representatives of the CTT, Santa Anita, and Oak Tree late Wednesday afternoon to receive input “(i.e. details of any concerns, so that they could attempt to address those concerns with the inspection)” and to describe their methods and the technology being used in the inspection. They also met with two trainers earlier in the day and provided a similar overview of the inspection.
Although Oak Tree could technically relocate to Hollywood Park, with the meet scheduled to begin on Sept. 29 – Oct. 31, any change in the venue at this point would cause major challenges for all involved. Marketing is already in place advertising the meet at Santa Anita; advance tickets have already been sold — refunds or exchanges would need to be made; and Oak Tree would have to get out of its contract with Santa Anita and negotiate a new contract with Hollywood Park.
Oak Tree executive vp Sherwood Chillingworth told ArcadiasBest.com a final decision must be made quickly, certainly no later than the first of September.
But the timetable for the length of inspection and announcement of results is unclear, with estimates ranging from 10-days to weeks. The CHRB will invite the CTT, TOC, and Santa Anita officials to go over the findings from this review. In the meantime, Peterson is to report preliminary findings to the Board at the next scheduled meeting next Thursday, Aug. 19, as part of the agenda item on the Oak Tree license application.
Dr. Peterson already is under contract with the CHRB to train its project engineers for an ongoing track safety standards program. That contact has been amended to include an independent evaluation of the Santa Anita track surface.
The CHRB says Dr. Peterson is widely considered to be the foremost authority on racing surfaces, particularly synthetic surfaces, such as the one at Santa Anita. He has developed test protocols that have been used at more than 30 thoroughbred racing venues.
— By Scott Hettrick
Comments