HORSE RACING: NO MORE DIRT ON SANTA ANITA CUSHION TRACK IN PLACE BY FALL.

Byline: ART WILSON 

Staff Writer

Citing a desire to have a racing surface almost identical to Hollywood Park, Santa Anita on Wednesday announ- ced it will install Cushion Track in time for the beginning of the Oak Tree meet Sept. 26.

Santa Anita had narrowed its choice of a synthetic surface to Pro-Ride and Cushion Track, which Hollywood Park installed last year and has been playing to rave reviews.

The estimated cost of the project is $8 million, and construction will begin at the end of the Hollywood Park meeting July 15 and conclude about Sept. 5.

Santa Anita president Ron Charles said he has spent many hours at Hollywood Park in meetings with horsemen and was convinced that Cushion Track was the way to go.

"The most important part is that, since most of the racing is done at Hollywood and Santa Anita, these horses, even though they are transported from Hollywood to Santa Anita and Santa Anita to Hollywood, they are going to be coming onto an identical surface," Charles said. "Horses just have a confidence level when they know the surface they are on."

Santa Anita becomes the nation's seventh thoroughbred race track that has installed or plans to install a synthetic racing surface, joining Hollywood, Del Mar, Golden Gate Fields, Arlington Park near Chicago and Turfway Park and Keeneland race tracks in Kentucky.

Del Mar recently completed installation of a Polytrack surface and Golden Gate will be installing Tapeta Footings, a surface similar to Polytrack, this summer. The California Horse Racing Board ruled in February 2006 that all tracks in the state that operate meets of at least four continuous weeks must install synthetic surfaces by the end of 2007 or face the loss of dates.

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