Drainage upgrade in the works

Santa Anita inspected the grading of the main track and is installing a new drainage system under the inside rail in preparation for the track’s autumn meeting, which begins in late September.

Track consultant Dennis Moore said on Friday the grading of the main track was completed after stables left Santa Anita for Del Mar last month.

“We took it all the way down to the base and made sure the grade and the base was all right, and it is,” he said in a phone interview. “We found nothing wrong with it.

“We added some new material. I make it sound simple, but it wasn’t. It was a lot of work.”

Santa Anita conducted a renovation and inspection of its main track in early March after racing was stopped for more than three weeks following a series of equine fatalities in late February and early March.

Racing resumed in late March and continued through June 23. The meeting concluded with 30 equine fatalities from late December to June that drew criticism from state and national lawmakers and led to a reduction in racing days on the circuit and greater scrutiny of the horses allowed to train and race on a daily basis.

Santa Anita will resume racing on Sept. 27 for a six-week meeting highlighted by the Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 1-2.

Moore left his position as a consultant last December, but rejoined Santa Anita’s staff in late winter to help with the inspection.

Moore said the drainage system is similar to one in place at Keeneland, with perforated pipe outlets placed at increments of a sixteenth of a mile near the base of the track.

“Water will get through it,” Moore said. “It will help get the water out of there a little faster.”

Moore said construction is continuing on a chute on the backstretch of the turf course that will accommodate races at 5 1/2 furlongs. Races at that distance could be run during the autumn meeting.

Turf sprints at 5 1/2 furlongs will begin on the dirt course for a few strides before joining the main turf oval, Moore said. He said the new chute may not be ready for the start of the autumn meeting since the turf needs a growing period.

“It’s going to be awful close,” Moore said. “You like to let the grass grow for 45 days.”

From early April through June 23, Santa Anita ran turf sprints only at five furlongs. The track discontinued sprint races at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course after a spill occurred on the crossover from the hillside portion of the course to the main oval on March 31. Arms Runner was fatally injured in that incident in the San Simeon Stakes.

At the California Horse Racing Board meeting in July, Santa Anita officials said some races were being considered for the hillside turf course at the autumn meeting and informed the board of plans to conduct races at 5 1/2 furlongs. The Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint are scheduled for five furlongs on turf, Breeders’ Cup officials said at the time.