Frankie Dettori flying dismount from Country Grammer after winning The San Antonio. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Material For Synthetic Training Track Begins Arriving Nov. 13
Mike Willman
ARCADIA, Calif.—A week after winning two races on British Champions Day at Ascot, international superstar Frankie Dettori is in town to ride at Santa Anita beginning with Saturday’s card.
Last Saturday in England, Dettori won the GI Champions Stakes aboard King of Steel and the GI Queen Elizabeth II with Big Rock. At Santa Anita this Saturday, Dettori has four mounts booked.
He’s set to ride maiden Machiavellique (6-1) in the third race for trainer Leonard Powell, maiden Circle of Trust (3-1) in the fifth for trainer Phil D’Amato and Grace Period (FR) (3-1) in an allowance for Powell that goes as the seventh.
In the featured Lure Stakes at a mile on turf, which goes as the ninth and final, Dettori has the call on eastern-invader Easter (FR) (3-1) for trainer Graham Motion.
First post for Saturday’s card is 1 p.m.
Material For Synthetic Training Track Begins Arriving Nov. 13
The material for the $7-million all-weather synthetic surface training track at Santa Anita will begin arriving Nov. 13. The project is part of 1/ST Racing’s announcement last summer that the company will make major financial investments in Southern California racing to enhance safety and wellness for horses.
The transformation of Santa Anita’s traditional sand-based training track to a synthetic Tapeta surface will serve to improve the overall safety environment at Santa Anita Park while giving more options for uninterrupted training especially during winter months which can bring heavy rainfall to Southern California.
The Tapeta surface is expected to be popular for training turf horses, as well as horses who have been racing on synthetic surfaces. Additionally, it will allow for a real-world evaluation of the Tapeta surface in the Southern California environment that the year-round racing and training center experiences.
The material will begin arriving a week after the conclusion of Santa Anita’s Autumn Meet. The material will be stored and mixed in the Colorado parking lot, just north of the track. The timeline for closing the training track to remove the sand material and install a base with drainage is targeted for late November. The project is expected to be completed in mid-January.
FINISH LINES_________________________
Jockeys Edgar Payeras and Jose Valdivia Jr. each won their first races of the Autumn meet Sunday…
Santa Anita’s Autumn Meet soccer champions were the Indomables comprised of backstretch staff from trainer Mark Glatt’s barn. The Indomables beat Team Jute, consisting of trainer Mike Puype employees, by a score of 4-1 in the championship game…
Trainer Gary Mandella will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Friday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 11:50 a.m. Pacific…
Santa Anita will host a special Thursday card next week ahead of the Breeders’ Cup. On-track fans will receive free parking and admission. First post is 1 p.m.
