Oak Tree will not meet at Santa Anita This Year – Track Safety Concerns Cited
By Terry Miller
Published: Thursday, August 19th, 2010
Grazen was injured at the last Cal Cup Races due to a problem on the track- photo by Terry Miller
Oak Tree will not meet at Santa Anita This Year -
Track Safety Concerns Cited
The California Horse Racing Board starved of an application Thursday for the Oak Tree Racing Association to run its fall meet at Santa Anita Park.
It has been a difficult time for horse racing in general and for Santa Anita Park in particular.
Many contributing factors which include lower attendance and few race horses have beleaguered the industry as a whole but moreover the state mandated synthetic tracks have caused innumerable problems and complains from horse owners around the world.
During last year’s Cal Cup at Santa Anita at least one horse was euthanized after it broke a leg on the track. Another horse, Grazen, ridden by Garrett Gomez, was pulled up when Gomez realized the horse was having difficulty with the synthetic track.
Grazen started off well but was pulled back by Garrett Gomez when he realized the horse was in trouble in the 6th race at Cal Cup Photo By Terry Miller
The representatives said they preferred to run the meet at Hollywood Park.
Before the meet could take place at Santa Anita, the TOC would have to sign a horsemen’s agreement with the racing association.
Oak Tree officials must now resubmit an application. A race track expert, Michael Peterson, presented his preliminary findings of an inspection of the Santa Anita Track about which he had “concerns.”
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