Trainers Meeting at Santa Anita Yields Few Concrete Answers

[Wandering Eyes]

Santa Anita-based trainers would like to see the training track at the facility opened as soon as Thursday morning for exercise, but are also open to the possibility that it remain closed Friday morning as well. That was the main takeaway from a trainer’s meeting scheduled Wednesday morning at the track.

If the training track remains closed for any longer than Friday, it could jeopardize the health and safety of horses who are currently restricted to exercise around the barns, said California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) executive director, Alan Balch. “We’re trying to do what’s best for the horses,” said Balch, who stressed that if the training track does re-open Thursday or Friday morning, his organization would be comfortable with restricting the horses to “exercise” only, and not workouts. “They all agree that this is about safety.”

Balch said that the CTT is still awaiting further information from the Santa Anita management about any possible dates for the training track to re-open. Meetings are currently ongoing between various stakeholders.

The Stronach Group announced early Wednesday morning that Santa Anita would been closed for live racing and training effective immediately while the one-mile main track undergoes additional extensive testing. The testing is lead by veteran trackman Dennis Moore, expanding on the ground radar testing conducted earlier this week by the University of Kentucky’s Dr. Mick Peterson. Measures will include utilizing an Orono Biomechanical Surface Tester, a device that mimics the impacts of a horse running at full gallop allowing engineers to see how the track holds up. These test results will be evaluated to ensure track consistency and uniformity for both training and racing.

This story will be updated throughout the day.

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