California knows a few things about seismic shifts but the one that centres on Santa Anita racecourse is proving even less predictable than those produced by the forces of nature.
On January 18th Ron Charles, the president of Santa Anita, announced that the Pro-Ride synthetic surface on the main track would be replaced at the conclusion of the current meeting on April 18th. He also said that the track management was giving serious consideration about a return to a traditional dirt surface.
That appeared to be a victory for those who would cast themselves as being the protectors of American racing’s traditional values. They would cite a recent poll that suggested that 70% of the trainers at Santa Anita want to return to a dirt surface after deciding that the flirtation with synthetic surfaces has failed to blossom into a long-term relationship.
First the Cushion Track failed at Santa Anita and now the current Pro-Ride surface is said to be failing as well. Racing was cancelled at the Southern California course on Saturday because the track could not drain properly, postponing the Grade Three Sham Stakes to this Saturday, the fifth time that racing has been cancelled at Santa Anita since the meeting opened on December 26th.
However, such thoughts were blown aside by the force of nature that is Frank Stronach. He is the man behind MI Developments, which has taken control of Santa Anita and other properties from subsidiary Magna Entertainment Corp after that company filed for bankruptcy last year.
The first word was that Stronach was considering replacing Pro-Ride with a third synthetic surface but now it appears that Santa Anita will persevere with the Pro-Ride surface for the time being. However, this is not the valiant stand of a man who sees himself as an evangelist for the synthetic surfaces because Stronach has gone on record as saying that he is not a fan of them as an owner of either racehorses or racecourses.
And therein lies the problem. The installation of synthetic tracks in California three years ago was the result of state legislation and Stronach is not a man accustomed to being told what to do. His doctrine is taken from the bible of "free enterprise" as he described it this week, which translates to the freedom to run the track with less state regulations.
Quoted by the Daily Racing Form, Stronach said: “I'm not going to put money in, if I see the whole structure does not work.”
Under current business conditions, Stronach said that he would not be prepared to sanction a track surface project estimated to cost anything from $8million to $10million. Partly this is because of his own aversion to the synthetic concept - "I don't like [synthetic surfaces], I never liked it, but I got legislated by the government to put it in" – but it would appear, also, because he sees this as a bargaining chip for his greater aspirations in terms of a lessening of state intervention.
Some of the criticism of synthetic tracks does not stack up in terms of America as a whole. In addition to Santa Anita, there are eight other synthetic tracks in North America: Keeneland, Arlington, Del Mar, Hollywood, Woodbine, Turfway Park, Golden Gate and Presque Isle. None of them has had many problems or shown an inclination to return to dirt.
Much has been made of the fixtures that Santa Anita lost this winter, when the Pro-Ride track failed to drain properly. However, the same weather system that led to the cancelation of two days racing last week at Santa Anita also claimed four days at Arizona’s Turf Paradise, which has a dirt track.
Also, given the problem at Santa Anita is reportedly with the track’s base, it is reasonable to question if a dirt surface, presumably with the same base, would have drained any better than Pro-Ride?
Scratch beneath the surface and Stronach’s remarks that Californian tracks should be allowed to compete against each other for business, rather than the state awarding specific dates when they can operate, show what his real agenda is. "Let us open up our store when we think we get the most customers," Stronach said. "Let the market decide . . . whoever is going to put on a better show will get the greatest market."
The Office of Fair Trading did the same for British racing a few years ago. Did it work? Take a look at the current, bloated fixture list.
Would a similar move in California be a success or about as popular as an earthquake?
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