Dennis Moore, 67 year old track superintendent since November 2014, helps Santa Anita Park race track shine, horses stay safe. He is currently maintaining the racing surfaces at Santa Anita Park, Los Alamitos, and Del Mar.
Santa Anita Park track switches back to natural track surface of "El Segundo sand." The El Segundo sand is coveted for its uniformity, which is paramount to track safety, a top concern for Track Superintendent Dennis Moore. Main track to re-open for training September 2. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, 29, August 28, 2014.
Santa Anita Park's main track to undergo major renovation beginning July 11. Track is transitioning to a single source material consisting of highly coveted El Segundo Sand, a natural soil that will ensure balanced drainage during periods of wet weather and uniform, safe cushion year round. Dennis Moore is Track Superintendent.
Arcadia's Santa Anita Park main track to reopen today after rash of fatalities. Nineteen horses have died at Santa Anita Park Race Track since December 2018. Track surfaces are being tested.
A drainage problem forced the cancellation of horse racing at Santa Anita Park since three inches of rain fell yesterday. The track has had to cancel racing 12 times since the synthetic track was installed two years ago. In 2006, the California Horse Racing Board banned dirt surfaces from thoroughbred tracks. Santa Anita Park has tried two synthetic tracks but the surfaces have not worked out. Officials announced they will replace the synthetic surface before the Oak Tree Meet in the fall.
Arcadia's Santa Anita Park Race Track announces racing closure following 21 horse deaths since December. Racing is suspended immediately and will return at an undetermined date. See hard copy in VF Santa Anita Park 2011-2020.
Arcadia's iconic Santa Anita Park hires consultant Dennis Moore to work on the condition of the one mile training track, in the wake of 21 horse deaths since December 2018.
Paul Graf, 90, of New Albany, Indiana, came back to Arcadia to see Santa Anita Park again. He had been based there as a United States Army staff sergeant during World War II, when the track was turned over to the Army Ordnance Corps for training purposes and was officially renamed Camp Santa Anita. Graf said he used to run for exercise on the Anita Chiquita training track, which was eliminated when the Santa Anita Fashion Park was built in the 1970s. Graf had arrived at Camp Santa Anita around November 1942, after the site had already been used as the Japanese Assembly Center. Photo shows Graf holding an issue of Man O' War, a newspaper issued by army personnel at Camp Santa Anita.
Santa Anita Park's synthetic track surface will be removed and a new $5 million plus dirt surface, closely resembling the ones at Churchill Downs, Gulfstream Park and the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga, will be installed. Ted Malloy is the racing surface consultant. He hopes to have the new track in by December 6.
Horses at Santa Anita Park suffered fatal racing injuries at more than twice the rate of horses competing at California's other 3 major thoroughbred tracks over the last fiscal year, according to statistics. The fatality rate spiked at Santa Anita Park after the switch from a synthetic running surface back to a dirt track in 2010. There were 12 fatalities, or 3.7 per 1,000 starts, at Santa Anita Park in the last fiscal year.
The California Horse Racing Board has approved Santa Anita Park's plan to resurface its main track with dirt. The Pro-Ride synthetic surface will be replaced by the first week of December.
Trevor Denman, 63, the voice of Santa Anita Park since 1983, will retire and will not return for the 2015-2016 race meet. He has been calling races for 44 years, 33 at Santa Anita.
California Horse Racing Board (CHRB): ban more drugs, release tests. The CHRB wants California Governor Gavin Newsom to pursue changes to state law that would allow the agency to immediately release results of a positive horse drug test and permit more stakeholders, including jockeys and track veterinarians, to access a horse's medical history. Currently, drug test results are confidential. The changes are part of an effort to curb equine deaths and improve safety at California race tracks. Nearly 40 horses have died at Santa Anita Park in the last year.
At least 300 tons of sand were added to the new all-dirt main track at Santa Anita Park, to correct the imbalance of sand to clay after 14.5 inches of rain fell over a 10-day period.
Santa Anita Park's current Pro-Ride synthetic track surface will be replaced with a dirt track after the Oak Tree meet ends October 31 and before Santa Anita Park's winter-spring season starts December 26, 2010. Frank Stronach said it will cost about $6 million to install.
Santa Anita Park opens the 2010-2011 season with a new $3 million dirt surface on its track. The on-track attendance was 34,268, which was 1,400 less than last year. Trumpeter Jay Cohen calls the horses to the gate (photo).