Breeder’s Cup may be hosted by Santa Anita in 2012 – Horseracing news
The bid to host the Breeder’s Cup for the 2012 season is being eyed by many racetracks in the nation. One of them is the Santa Anita racetrack that has made all the necessary preparations in order to make the bid.
The Breeders Cup has a prestigious reputation in the horse racing industry for the spectators as well as the jockeys and the trainers. This is part of the reason why many racetracks compete for the hosting privileges so fiercely as it gives them an opportunity
to lure in a greater number of spectators to their stands. Not only that, featuring a race event of this calibre allows the racetrack to increase goodwill and add value.
Santa Anita, the track that is planning to be the host of the sixth Breeder’s Cup has already had the opportunity to host it two times previously. The first time that Santa Anita played host was in the year 2008 while the second time was in the year 2009.
However, in both these cases, Santa Anita had the support of Oak Tree Racing Association. Oak Tree is an organisation that works for not for profit purposes. During the time that the Breeders Cup was hosted at Santa Anita, Oak Tree had use of the venue.
However, now the case is different as Oak Tree is not using Santa Anita anymore. Therefore, Santa Anita is alone in hosting the Breeder’s Cup this time around.
The first two times that Santa Anita played host to the Breeder’s Cup was when it was featuring a synthetic surface. However now, that has changed too. The surface that Santa Anita boasts is not synthetic any longer but it is a dirt one. The change that
Santa Anita made while shifting from a recommended synthetic surface to a dirt one received a lot of criticism. This is mainly due to the fact that synthetic surfaces are deemed to safer for both the riders as well as the horses.
However, the dirt surface of Santa Anita has not yet reported any harm done.
Santa Anita will make its case to the Breeder’s Cup officials sometime in the middle of May. Up till that time, it is keeping its fingers crossed.
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