SA: Run 1/31-2/3; Binder install 2/4-2/7

[Kasept]

SANTA ANITA TO RESUME RACING THURSDAY; SUNDAY’S PROGRAM CANCELED

Santa Anita canceled racing Sunday for the third time in four days and the sixth time this meet after all-night rains rendered the maligned Cushion Track unusable, but measures were underway to resume racing on Thursday.

“There was just too much water on the track and the forecast calls for heavy rain later today and tonight,” said Santa Anita President Ron Charles. “We will be working on the track Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, regulating the track in preparation of putting in the Pro-Ride polymer binders. We will resume racing Thursday, January 31st and expect to continue Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“After Sunday’s races, Ian Pearse (managing director of Pro-Ride) will begin working on it and his best estimate is it will take four days to install, and as soon as he’s done, we believe we will know whether we will be racing Friday, February 8th or Saturday, February 9th.”

Thanks to a non-stop effort by track superintendent Richard Tedesco and his dedicated crew, Santa Anita took a welcome break in the weather late Friday to present its portion of the Sunshine Millions yesterday under sunshine and blue skies.

“Tedesco and his team did a great job,” Charles said. “They literally worked around the clock to have the main track in race shape. They began at six o’clock Friday evening and worked until seven o’clock Saturday morning and were totally responsible for Sunshine Millions day taking place.”

Charles emphasized the significance of having the polymer binder applied so that the Cushion Track will drain properly and allow racing to be conducted as normal through the end of the meet on April 20.

“All the material is here,” Charles said, “and we just can’t take a chance of putting it down and the track not being consistent. It is such an important process. Everyone who has seen it—the trainers, the jockeys—are so optimistic that this will absolutely not only fix our drainage problem, but give us a kinder, safer race track without the hardness we had before. It’s worth waiting one more week.”


SANTA MONICA NEXT SATURDAY

Racing Secretary Rick Hammerle said the Grade I Santa Monica Handicap, cancelled today, would be run next Saturday and redrawn.