Santa Anita: Raven's Pass lands the Breeders' Cup on the Pro-Ride surface, set to be rippedup later this year

  PICTURE: Edward Whitaker/racingpostpix.com 

Santa Anita set to rip out AW track for dirt return

USA: In a move heavily laden with significance for the entire US racing industry, Santa Anita is to replace its troubled all-weather strip to return to a conventional surface.

Frank Stronach, chairmanof the California track's cash-strapped parent company Magna, told a group of about 250 horsemen on Wednesday that the replacement track would be in place "by the first week of December".

Santa Anita's old dirt surface was replaced following an edict from the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) requiring all of the state's major thoroughbred tracks to install synthetic surfaces or risk losing their racing dates.

The move, largely for reasons of equine welfare, reflected a general trend across North America that has seen artificial surfaces replace dirt at high-profile venues like Keeneland, Arlington and Woodbine.

However, the all-weather surfaces have never been without their critics, and none of the tracks on the powerful New York circuit, nor the Triple Crown venues, have ever revealed any plans to rip up their dirt tracks.

Santa Anita hosted the two most recent Breeders' Cups, where European-trained horses gained notable successes on the Pro-Ride synthetic strip, headlined by the John Gosden-trained Raven's Pass winning the Classic in 2008.

But drainage problems at Santa Anita have led to a number of abandoned meetings when the main track became waterlogged.

Stronach told a group of horsemen at Del Mar that Santa Anita's controversial Pro-Ride track would be removed after the conclusion of the forthcoming Oak Tree meeting, which lasts from September 29-October 31.

Santa Anita's lengthy winter-spring meeting traditionally starts on Boxing Day, December 26.

"I've built three racetracks, and I'm very sure we would have the track finished by the first week in December so the horses can be trained over it, and racing will begin on the new surface on December 26," said Stronach.

He estimated it will cost up to $6 million to installthe new track, a "sign of goodwill" to horsemen, he claimed.

"We are committed to building a new dirt track," Stronach added, according to the Daily Racing Form.

"We will do it now. We willgather the engineering and look for the materials."

In spite of Stronach's pledge, however, the 2011 Oak Tree meeting looks set to have a new home, with Del Mar rated favourite.