In an emergency teleconference meeting on January 8, the California Horse Racing Board approved allowing some or all of Santa Anita Park’s horse racing dates to move to Hollywood Park on Tuesday if the drainage problem at Santa Anita is not quickly resolved.
The board voted 6-0 to amend the license of the Los Angeles Turf [...]
DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — Thoroughbreds tested Del Mar Race Track’s new artificial surface for the first time Thursday, working out over the track ahead of next week’s opening of the 43-day summer meeting.
The $9 million Polytrack, a mixture of sand, fibers, rubber and wax, was installed recently in an effort to provide a more [...]
Account-wagering battle has bettors out in cold
By MATT HEGARTY DAILY RACING FORM
Even by horse racing’s dysfunctional standards, it was a tough week for the sport’s account-wagering customers.
Within a span of seven days, customers of AmericaTab’s online wagering sites were told that they would need to open an account with a different company if they wanted [...]
DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — With Barbaro’s death still fresh on everyone’s mind, Del Mar Race Course officials broke ground Wednesday on an $8 million Polytrack surface designed to dramatically reduce the number of catastrophic injuries sustained by thoroughbreds. Synthetic surfaces will be mandatory at major race tracks in California by the end of this year. Del Mar will be the second track in the state to install one, following Hollywood Park.
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has announced the installation of its Polytrack surface as the new main track surface for its 2007 summer racing season. The Polytrack manufacturer is Martin Collins Surfaces and Footings, an affiliate of the Keeneland Association in Lexington. Polytrack, an engineered racing surface that consists of silica sand, fibers and recycled materials, has been installed on racetracks in the United Kingdom and, most recently, in Kentucky and Canada.
>Horse Greeley, under jockey Victor Espinoza, stalked Stormello down the backside to win the Del Mar Futurity, closingh race to Del Mar Race Track’s Summer Meet on Sept. 6. Caped for Flight settled into third, Prime Ruler, co-favored at 8-5 with Great Hunter, broke poorly from the inside and was never in the hunt.
Lava Man is the first horse to sweep Southern California’s “big three” grade I handicaps in the same year after winning Del Mar’s $1 million Pacific Classic by 2 1/2 lengths over Good Reward on Sunday. The 5-year-old California-bred son of Slew City Slew added the Pacific Classic trophy to his victories in the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup July 8 and the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap March 4.