No irregularities found in Santa Anita surface

ARCADIA, Calif. – Full training resumed on Santa Anita’s main track on Thursday after nearly three days of tests and inspection of the surface found no irregularities. The tests were prompted by the deaths of 19 horses while racing or training at the track since late December.

Although the main track was open, there was less training activity compared to a typical weekday, with several trainers taking a wait-and-see approach.

Other trainers went right back to work with their horses. Trainer Bob Baffert worked Chasing Yesterday, the winner of the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos in December. She went six furlongs in 1:12.40.

Baffert described the main track as “the same” as before. He galloped several notable horses on the main track, including Game Winner, the undefeated champion 2-year-old male of 2018.

Later in the morning, the 3-year-old Mucho Gusto worked a half-mile in 47.60 seconds for Baffert. Mucho Gusto is a candidate for the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 16 or the Grade 3 Sunland Derby on March 24.

There were 45 works on the main track on Thursday, and 28 works on the infield training track.

The main track was closed late Monday morning and was not available for training on Tuesday and Wednesday. A study conducted on those days focused on the integrity of the base and what effect extensive rain in recent weeks had on the surface.

Four horses were euthanized from Feb. 22 through early Monday because of injuries sustained in training or racing. The most notable of those horses was Battle of Midway, who was third in the 2017 Kentucky Derby and won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar later that year. Battle of Midway suffered a hind leg injury in a workout on Feb. 23.

Mick Peterson, director of the University of Kentucky’s Agricultural Equine Program, was part of the inspection team, with Santa Anita track superintendent Andy LaRocco. Peterson said on Thursday that he found no abnormalities in the surface after using a radar system to check for consistency in the levels of the base.

“It looks good,” Peterson said during morning workouts on Thursday. “I think we got it. We keep watching.”

Peterson has worked as a consultant at Santa Anita for more than 10 years and said he has years of soil composition data. During the recent inspection, Peterson said, “we didn’t change the composition.”

Sand was added to the track on Tuesday, but Peterson said that takes place a few times a month on a regular basis.

Some trainers postponed putting their runners through more strenuous activity.

Peter Eurton said he delayed several planned workouts until Friday, the second full day of training.

“I want to let the track settle, no other reason,” Eurton said.

Phil D’Amato said he galloped a dozen horses on the main track Thursday.

“My riders tell me that the track is good,” he said.

D’Amato, as usual, had some of his runners train on the infield training track.

There is unlikely to be extensive training on the main track Saturday, with a forecast of significant rain.

Southern California has had higher-than-normal rainfall this winter. Santa Anita has had more than 11 inches of rain this month, the track said in a statement last weekend.