"Horses running on dirt surfaces in 2011 at North American tracks suffered fatal injuries at nearly twice the rate of horses running on artificial surfaces, according to a Jockey Club project that tracks equine injuries. The Jockey Club, which released the information Thursday, said that racetracks representing 93 percent of the race days in North American are participating in the project. The fatality rate for horses running on dirt surfaces was 2.07 per 1,000 starts for 2011, according to the data. Horses running on synthetic surfaces suffered catastrophic injuries at the rate of 1.09 per 1,000 starts. On turf, the rate was 1.53 per 1,000 starts."

“Before coming over here from Hollywood I started galloping horses on the dirt training track over there. I took my time jogging and galloping here before I started to breeze, but that didn’t seem to matter. None of the injuries have been things they can’t come back from -- mostly chips and condylar fractures -- but they’re happening to horses I thought were the soundest in the barn."

“That’s somewhat misleading,” Arthur said of last year’s fatality rate. “That was such an exceptionally safe year; everything just worked out. Richard Tedesco did a great job with that (synthetic) track, and I’m sure his guys are going to do a great job with this track, too.”

"So it is ahead to the past -- sealed tracks and cracked feet, burned heels and rundowns, strung-out fields shying from sandy kickback -- a past in which the inability to deal with the effects of dirt tracks inspired the desperate dive into synthetics in the first place. As usual it will be up to the horses, always the horses, to survive this latest shift in the terrain."

"Because most horses are making a transition from synthetic surfaces, Santa Anita officials are urging horsemen to take a slow approach to introducing their runners to the new track."

"Because most horses are making a transition from synthetic surfaces, Santa Anita officials are urging horsemen to take a slow approach to introducing their runners to the new track."

"Santa Anita's decision to return to dirt means the only cheering from outside the States is from officials at Ascot and Longchamp. They have to compete with the Breeders' Cup to attract top-class runners for the respectively revamped Champions Day and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe meetings.... The American Thoroughbred appears to be in decline -- and while everyone in their industry fears it, they would sooner bury their heads in the dirt than do something more sensible about it."

"But the winds of change might be shifting again as the Breeders' Cup moves to tradition-rich Churchill Downs this weekend with 14 races worth $26 million. Despite early evidence suggesting all-weather tracks might help limit catastrophic injuries, Santa Anita is abandoning Pro-Ride for dirt. And a number of prominent trainers view synthetics as a well-intentioned movement gone astray."