SANTA ANITA CANCELS RACES SUNDAY AND MONDAY, LIVE RACING SCHEDULED TO RESUME THURSDAY

ARCADIA, Calif. (Jan. 27, 2008)—Santa Anita Park has cancelled live racing this Sunday and Monday due to continued rainfall, which has again created drainage difficulties for its troubled Cushion Track synthetic main track surface.

“We were gratified and extremely thankful to be able to get yesterday’s Sunshine Millions program in,” said Santa Anita President Ron Charles. “We knew heavy rain was coming late in the day we were fortunate to get the entire card in without any problems.

“All things considered, we had a tremendous day. We had over 28,000 (28,414) people on-track and our all-sources handle was over $17 million. We had some great performances on the racetrack and it was just a great day for Southern California racing. To be able to have this kind of a day with all the uncertainty we had leading into the weekend is very encouraging. We want to thank our fans, horsemen and our track maintenance personnel for making it a day we’ll never forget,” he added.

Charles noted that entries will be taken Monday morning for live racing on Thursday and Friday. “The forecast is very good for the week ahead and we are optimistic we’ll be just fine for this Saturday’s (Gr. II) Strub Stakes. We plan at this point to run through Sunday, Feb. 3, and we hope to begin the process of amending the surface at that point with the synthetic Pro-Ride polymer binder and fiber. If conditions allow us to begin work at that time, we would cancel live racing on Monday, Feb. 4.”

The Gr. I Santa Monica Handicap, originally scheduled for today, will be part of an 11-race program on Feb. 2. “We realize a lot of people are being inconvenienced by the changes we have had to make,” said Charles. “The owners and trainers, along with our fans, are right at the top of the list. We will make every effort possible to reschedule stakes such as the Santa Monica, in a fair and timely manner.

“We have been in consultation with the CHRB (California Horse Racing Board) regarding the races and dates we’ve had to cancel and we’re confident we will be able to make up most of and likely all of these dates and races at this meet. Once we are able to get to work amending the main track, we are very hopeful we can get back on schedule and get back to business as usual here,” he added.

Charles also noted that with the addition of the Australian-based Pro-Ride synthetic, the drainage woes that have beset Santa Anita’s main track, will be comprehensively addressed. “We are very confident that with the addition of this Pro-Ride product, our main track is not only going to drain as it was designed to, but it will also be a kinder surface. The Pro-Ride should enable us to get through the remainder of this meet without any further significant problems.”

Santa Anita will be open today and Monday for simulcast wagering and will offer free General Admission to all attendees. Santa Anita’s winter/spring meet runs through April 20.

Subject to change of course.

Equibase