CushionTrack: "We'll fix or replace SA surface"
 

Press release...

The attached release (text below) has been issued by cushion track footing usa llc. contact information is in the attachment.



Cushion Track Vows To Repair Or Replace

Santa Anita Racetrack:

With record rainfall predicted for later this week, Cushion Track experts have thus far failed to come up with a solution for the failure of the synthetic surface at Santa Anita Park to drain properly.

Paul Harper, Technical Director of Cushion Track Footings, states that this is a circumstance that his company has not encountered before, citing that many Cushion Track installations, including the one installed in 2006 at Hollywood Park, have been well received by the horsemen and the industry. He added that the main objective at Santa Anita was to produce a Synthetic Track with similar performance characteristics to that of Hollywood Park, but that would also withstand temperatures of up to 110°F. The focus on the high temperatures was in hindsight a mistake as this has almost certainly compromised the drainage characteristics of the surface.

“After extensive testing, which is still going on even now, the experiments indicate that the sand seems to be the area of concern. Over the past few weeks and following extensive efforts the drainage has improved.”

Harper went on to indicate that he hoped very soon to be able to find a remedy that will stabilize the track and allow it to drain vertically. “If we are unable to do that,” he said, “we will install a new surface at the end of the meet. At Cushion Track Footings USA, we are committed to the success of the track at Santa Anita and we will do whatever is necessary to get the track working to the same high standards Cushion Track performs to at other tracks around the world.”

About time the manufacturer showed up publically.

I agree. At least someone has shown some responsibility and at least appears to be willing to do whatever it takes to fix the problem...

Sounds like Ron Popeil selling the Showtime Rotisserie Grill.

I must've missed when the conventional Santa Anita surface had so many problems that they (the CHRB) felt compelled to mandate this horse$hit.

You and me both. The rest of the world too. I'm actually happy that this is happening. Serves them right.

Serves them right ? Who is they the horseman? Because thats who is getting the short end of the stick , the owners who spend millions of dollars a year buying horses and racing them , the people who work with the horses everyday. There are still less fatalities on this surface than the dirt one they had , and yes it does suck the big one that it doesnt drain properly , but to say they deserve what they get is just assnine.
I dont see this surface playing any diffirent speed wise and form wise than the old one , horses still crack 21 1/4's which is just absurd , but it seems to be what the public and alot of horseman want.

it's a gambler thing.

change is hard. they have a system down and then the parameter's change. there's going to be some blowback.

those opposed to manufactured surfaces will make this the poster child for their cause. it's the end of the world.

doesn't matter that hollypark reduced injuries. i can't use my usual handicapping on these surfaces. it's not worth the learning curve.

I've only played the Malibu so far at Santa Anita. Some of it has to do with a holiday break , but much of it is that I am not too interested in what I saw.
I'm sure I will get back into it. Hard to stay out of Cali in the winter.

But tell me how is cracking 22 , 44 and 108 and change any diffirent from the old track..... speed still holds , horses still runs fast times , I just dont see the diffirence.

Yeah I'm hoping the NCAA and NFL wise up and go to tag instead of contact because players get hurt and some actually die from playing football.

It's a bad attitude to put yourself ahead of the horseplayers if you work on the backstretch.

but part of the problem is the attempt to come up with a solution to 110 degree heat-which of course they can't control.

I have a bad attitude? Whatever........the horseman are who are suffering thru this demise , the track still plays fast , a handicapper can still use speed in his fugures . I work for a trainer , not a gambler , my concern is with preparing the horses for the races so people can come and do what they do.
The owners that employ my boss are very wealthy and even when they dont win races for long stretches at a time they still have plenty of money to spend , you think B. Wayne Hughes needs purse money to stay in the game ? think again , he doesnt. I know that gambling is what fuels most of the sport , but let me tell you something , if they just raced for a trophy and bragging rights in the Kentucky Derby there would still be horses running in it .

isn't it the track owner who is getting the short end of the stick? or the bettors? chrb mandated a change, but the owner pays for the new surface. bettors are told to get over the change--too bad if your system worked, just make a new one.
trainers still get their day rate, their help still gets paid. owners still have their horses and their money....how are horsemen getting the short end? santa anita offered to pay to ship horses to hollywood to work, since they couldn't work on the main at santa anita--did anyone pay to send the gamblers to another track for free? doubt it.

i'm hoping they make them play with small monkey's on their backs.

It's unfortunate that you're so self-centered and narrow minded.

The good news is that many on the backstretch don't share your myopic view of the game and situation. I hope people here realize that.

If they ran for no purse money where do you think you would be working?

true. but i'd image plenty of track employees are happy to have bettors, as are much of the staff for trainers, etc, since thousands of races not called the ky derby would disappear. no need for thousands of workers nationwide for a handful of good horses and wealthy owners.

Yeah and then maybe they'll get the hysterical tree hugger fanbase they've always coveted. That would be epic.

i think it's more the monty python salvador dali fanbase that would get this.

on second thought...

who wouldn't watch football played with monkeys on the player's?

i know i would.

I might actually watch a little NFL if they did...

Im self centered? What about you , you think its ok that someone says they get what they deserve when the track is messed up with no regard to the horses and how it screws up training.
You are such a condensending person ..... Its all about gambling yada yada yada.......well you know what its not , its about a living breathing animal , its about the time and care it takes preparing them for competition . Do you really think the groom or the hotwalker or the trainer or owner or anyone involved with the horse in the race has your 2 dollars on their mind when that horse is in the starting gate? They dont , they are thinking about all the hardwork that has went into it , they are thinking about hoping that the horse comes back ok. If that is self -centered then shame on me for thinking about the product and not you .

Im sure they are tooo , Im not saying that racing doesnt need betters , Im saying that having a track that is not the way it supposed to be and having people say well they get what they deserve , they themselves are being selfish because they have no idea how it screws up the training of the horses , you know the things they gamble on .

No, a great deal of them have the $2 coming back to their pocket which comes from....of yeah, the gamblers...

You just can't get off your soap box long enough to understand the whole picture. I have the utmost respect for the people on the backstretch and the enormous amount of hard work they put forth for very little financial reward. I have the greatest respect for the animals as well. However, I don't have respect for the notion that the horseplayers interests are secondary to others as, very simply, we foot the bill for the entire show and have little to no say about anything ( partly because of backwards attitudes like yours ). The simple fact is that you could not make any living in this game without us and to completely disregard us, as you do, deserves my ultimate derision.

I didn't make any " they deserve what they get " kind of remarks. I am simply pointing out your unfortunate misunderstanding of the big picture. I care for the welfare of everyone in the game.....you don't.

Look at history dude , they were racing horses well before the public was betting on them and somehow they hired people to ride them and take care of them.

You're kidding....right?

How many owners like there were in those days are still involved in the game?

How many races take place on the estates of the super wealthy?

You can't honestly be this out of touch.

I dont disregard you , but you are not who Im thinking about when Im preparing a horse for a race Im sorry if that hurts your feelings. Im not thinking about you when we have to train on the training track for a week , Im sorry , you just dont cross my mind , I understand the big picture but I still and always will put the horses before you , its just the way it is.

I'm not thinking about you either....but I pay you.

Im not out of touch , jus stating a fact , racing wasnt born out of gamblers , gamblers were born out of racing.

And now we support it. Using history in this situation doesn't work.

You dont , Im a salary employee , if we dont win a race for 6 months I still make the same amount , you dont pay me.

You just don't get it....and you certainly don't want to.

Let me reiterate, the good news is that many do. The bad news is that too many people, like yourself, don't realize we're all in this together.

no, we pay the track thru take out, who puts up the purse money, which goes to the winners, who pay the trainers, who pays you....how long would that salary last if the betting stopped?


i still think the first race was run by two people who thought their horse was faster, and the guy who said 'go' had a side bet with two farmers who stopped plowing long enough to watch.

I get it better than you think , I know what this game is all about , maybe I just dont get you and really to be honest have no desire to either . I digress.
Have a good nite and happy betting.

And I think those two farmers were BTW and Davidowitz...

Shockingly I'm not much of a farmer. I can't speak for Davidowitz however.

Well... he IS from the Garden State.

Are you implying that Cushion Track can also keep two vegetables "piping hot"?

If so, me and Chef Tony have some "perfection sheers" to sell you.

A FUBAR track doesn't do horsemen or gamblers any good. I suspect this ends up in litigation if too many days are lost to a bad track.

I guess I will take my pool contributions to Florida this weekend as I have no interest in betting a sealed track or synthetic swamp even if they are able to run.