Santa Anita to install Pro-Ride surface

Santa Anita Park announced Monday that its main track will undergo a complete

overhaul beginning July 14, and will be reconstituted with a mixture of Pro-Ride

synthetic. Pro-Ride is an Australian-based company and is one of the Southern

Hemisphere's leading providers of synthetic surfaces. The project will include

completely removing the existing asphalt base, adding a new grid base material,

and treating the entire track with binder and fiber. The

complete project will take an anticipated six weeks to complete. During this period of

construction, there will be no training at Santa Anita.

"We are very anxious to undertake and complete this project," Santa Anita

President Ron Charles said. "After consulting extensively with (Magna

Entertainment Chairman) Frank Stronach and MEC track consultants, we have all

decided this would be the best course of action for Santa Anita to take with the

Breeders' Cup committed to coming here over the next two years. We are firmly

convinced the people at Pro-Ride can provide the product our racing demands and

just as importantly, we know they will provide the oversight we need to

guarantee this surface drains properly, is kind to horse and rider, and that it

will produce formful, consistent racing."

Ian Pearse, managing director of Pro-Ride, will oversee the project.

"Ian was able to turn a dysfunctional track into a functional one for us in

just four days," Charles said. "Now, he'll have three full weeks to work with.

We feel he'll be able to dramatically improve upon the track that was so well

received when it was reformulated this past winter. The entire track will have

the same consistency and texture.

"We've put a great deal of thought into this decision. We seriously

considered other options, and we believe that staying with Pro-Ride and taking

the time we did not have in February to fully upgrade the surface, is the way to

go."

With regard to training and stabling during the course of the project,

Charles was quick to acknowledge cooperation on the part of Hollywood Park.

"We appreciate very much that Hollywood has agreed to stay open for training

during Del Mar. We will initiate this project at the conclusion of the Hollywood

Park meet and we'll be closed for training for most all of the Del Mar meet," he

said. "We also appreciate the cooperation of Ed Halpern and the California

Thoroughbred Trainers and the TOC (Thoroughbred Owners of California) for their

willingness to work together with us to make these changes."

Santa Anita's new Pro-Ride synthetic surface will debut with the beginning of

the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting on September 24.