Santa Anita resumes racing, but postpones decision on future of Cushion Track

Santa Anita resumes racing, but postpones decision on

future of Cushion Track

Santa Anita, which was forced to cancel three straight cards because of

persistent drainage problems last weekend, resumed racing on its embattled

Cushion Track surface when fair skies returned on Thursday. With drainage

problems looming whenever the rain reappears, however, the future of the

synthetic surface remains in doubt.

A return to a conventional dirt surface is currently under consideration. An

announcement regarding plans for the main track was originally set for Thursday,

but Santa Anita President Ron Charles revealed that a decision would not be

forthcoming that morning.

"Potentially, we're going to take out the entire Cushion Track and replace it

with another surface," Charles said. "If we're going to put dirt in, we have to

make sure we have a very high-quality surface...and we just need more time. This

is a major, major decision."

Racing was canceled last Saturday, Sunday and Monday after the Cushion Track

failed to cope with a deluge of rain in the Arcadia, California, area. The

Cushion Track re-opened for training on Wednesday, and on Thursday, a total of

243 workouts were recorded on the synthetic oval.