SA Cancels, Gets ’09 BC
Santa Anita president Ron Charles had “expected that a limited number of horses” would be able to work over the repaired Cushion Track surface this morning, but a peek at the workout webcam shows a busy scene on the inner training track and a main track that looks far from renovated. Racing has been canceled for Friday and will resume on Saturday (with a pick six carryover of $181,514) over a surface treated with Pro-Ride polymers, which should cure the track of its disastrous drainage problems and boost the cushion to a 7 1/2-inch depth, meaning an end to the freakishly fast fractions posted earlier in the meet.
Despite Santa Anita’s troubles, and the odd timing for such an announcement, Breeders’ Cup officials on Thursday declared Santa Anita the site of the 2009 Cup, making it the first track to host consecutive runnings of the event and granting much credibility to synthetic surfaces, even those that don’t perform as advertised. Although weather, marketing, and the savings of keeping temporary seating in place are being cited as possible reasons for the decision, it seems likely that the Breeders’ Cup just didn’t have many options, what with Gulfstream’s crowd-hostile renovations, the ongoing franchise drama in New York, and Churchill execs’ churlish complaints about inadequate Cup revenues (“Churchill makes what it would on a regular Saturday — or a little more, track President Steve Sexton has said“). Given all that, Santa Anita probably looked like the only workable choice, even with 11 days lost to an uncertain surface.
According to the BC president, though, that wasn’t the case at all. “Los Angeles is the second-largest media market … and we’re trying to expand into a broader sports and entertainment event,” said Avioli. “An added benefit is that L.A. is the entertainment capital of the world. In addition, we have a wonderful television window when we’re on the West Coast, and we work very well with Oak Tree” (Blood-Horse). Ah, so the decision was about TV coverage. That’s a positive spin on a decision that throws the industry’s problems into harsh relief.
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