"Horses died while racing at Santa Anita Park at more than double the rate of horses at the state's other three major thoroughbred tracks over the last fiscal year, according to state statistics. The fatality rate at Santa Anita, in Arcadia, rose significantly after a return to a dirt running surface in 2010 after three years of using a synthetic track, the data show."

"Frank Stronach, chairman of race-track owner Stronach Group, said Wednesday he was so unhappy about the 'unbalanced' series that he would have stopped the filming at Santa Anita if it hadn't been cancelled."

"Another industry insider, who preferred to remain anonymous, had stronger words when asked why Santa Anita had so many fatalities earlier this year. 'Same ol' (bleepin) thing,' he said. 'Too much cortisone, too much painkiller and trainers that are too greedy and too desperate. I mean, how many of the same guys are breaking down the same horses?'"

"In addition, the racing board’s study expressed concern about the depth of the track, recommending that the cushion, or top layer, be 3.75 inches in depth. Tests conducted during the meeting pegged the depth at levels ranging from 2 to 4.25 inches. The report states that alternations were made during the winter-spring meeting to ensure the cushion was closer to the recommended 3.75 inches, which prevented horses from reaching the harder 'pad' section of the track below the cushion. The study concluded that Santa Anita’s sand-and-clay track never had the intended mix of sand, clay, and silt during the recently concluded race meeting."

"Ontrack handle had the lowest decline of 3.3%. The average this year was $976,919 this year versus $1,010,939 last year. The largest drop came from out-of-state handle, which fell 14.3% from an average of $4,533,707 last year to $3,887,198 this year. In other categories, in-state handle at other wagering outlets dropped 7.7%, and California advance deposit wagering handle was down 11.9% to $518,107 per day. ADW has been hailed by many in the industry as the primary growth channel for handle. Overall, total average daily handle for 2010-11 was $6,675,569, down 11.6% from $7,553,653."

"There had been 11 racing fatalities over the main track through Sunday, including one horse that fell over a downed horse that had clipped heels. Another seven fatalities had occurred during training hours, including one horse that died after a collision with another horse and one sudden death. 'Of course, last year they were coming off an exceptionally safe surface that really I don't think Santa Anita's ever seen before,' Arthur said. 'I think people were hoping to get closer to that number than what they're going to end up with.' There were only six fatalities -- two during racing and four in the mornings -- over Santa Anita's synthetic surface last year. There were 22 fatalities -- 12 during racing and 10 in the mornings -- when Santa Anita last raced on dirt during the 2006-07 season."

Takeout increase, small fields, return to dirt. "According to figures taken from Equibase, Santa Anita's total handle was down $77.1 million, or 17.7 percent, from a year ago heading into Wednesday's card. If the current trend continues, the track's all-sources handle could show a decline of more than $100 million for the 2010-11 meet."

"Arthur reported that through training hours of March 17, seven racing fatalities had occurred on the main track, which included a horse that fell over a downed horse that had clipped heels. Another six fatalities occurred during training, including one horse injured in a collision with another horse and one sudden death. Five racing fatalities have occurred on the turf course and no training fatalities on the training track."

"Given the events of the past 10 months, it is difficult to fix the blame for the demise of the Oak Tree Racing Association as an operator of a major California Thoroughbred meet. They were getting it from all sides. After 42 years of honorable service and charitable contributions to the sport, you would think job security would have been the least of Oak Tree’s worries. But now, as a result of actions taken on Thursday by the California Horse Racing Board, there will be no Oak Tree meet in 2011."

"It's painfully obvious something needs to be done. No one who holds a high position in the industry wants to admit it, but the horseplayers' boycott because of the increased takeout has had an effect. How much, no one knows for sure, but it's hurt business at a time when horse racing didn't need the hit. So who's fault is it? Who's to blame for the sport being in such disarray?"

"Horsemen this winter have been unusually tight-lipped regarding the new main track at Santa Anita. No one wants to knock the surface. Not publicly, at least. But behind the scenes, many are frustrated."

"From a handicapping perspective, the quickness of the track means bettors can trust the number and be confident that races will unfold at a legitimate pace. Yes, early speed still wins. And while the blatant speed bias from the preceding weekend largely dissipated, front-runners still hold the edge on dirt. That is a good thing."

"Despite the drop in handle, Haines said there is no threat of a purse reduction. 'We’re where we want to be, but that’s something that’s we’re looking at every day,' he said."

"Frustrated by what he perceives as the speed-biased nature of the track’s sand-and-clay surface, Hollendorfer said he may not start Blind Luck again at the Santa Anita meet after she was second in the Grade 2 El Encino Stakes on Sunday, her first start since a second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Churchill Downs in November."

"Trainer Bruce Headley, who advocated for a return to dirt almost as soon as the synthetic surfaces went in, blamed training on synthetic surfaces for any injuries suffered in the first part of the meeting. 'We’re without fear that every horse is going to pull up bad,' Headley said in support of the surface change. 'Times very are fast because horses don’t stick in it. I know there are some injuries, but it is because horses are coming off synthetic.'"

"It's all a numbers game, and Santa Anita management doesn't agree with the handle figures being floated around the Internet concerning the first 12 days of the track's winter-spring meet. While cold, hard figures show Santa Anita's overall handle was down 17 percent through Thursday, track officials contended Saturday their handle was down only 8 percent if you use 'comparable days' rather than 'calendar days.'"

"What needs to happen, and quickly, is the CHRB and TOC need to quit playing games, sit down and meet with Platt and other members of the organization's board and try to find common ground for the good of an industry that is spiraling downward at an alarming rate."

A few relevant stats: "Purses averaged $424,276 at Santa Anita from Jan. 1-12 (six days of racing) versus $353,348 from Jan. 1-12, 2010 (eight days of racing). The track is racing four days a week instead of five, which it did last year. In 2010 for the first eight days of the meet, purses totaled $2,826,782. This year, for six days, $2,545,658 in purses has been paid. But with one fewer day of racing per week, field size is averaging 7.69 horses per race, down from 7.91 from the same period last year, according to TJCIS."

"Santa Anita is not the only Southern California track that has suffered a decline in average starters per race. The Hollywood Park fall meeting that ended last month had an average of 7.29 starters per race compared to 7.53 starters at the 2009 meeting. In September, Hollywood Park racing secretary Martin Panza estimated that approximately 2,850 horses were housed on backstretches at Southern California tracks but said that approximately 800 of those were not active."

“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.”

"Q: As you said, the mandate was initially put in place under the premise that the synthetic tracks would be safer. Is there a concern that fatalities will be under a microscope this meet, and how is the CHRB addressing the shift to ensure that the surface is safe? A: I think we’re doing a lot of different things. One of the things we did, part of the waiver of the mandate, was to require additional veterinarian coverage at the expense of Santa Anita, and that’s been done. So I think there’s a greater degree of pre-race inspecting we are going to do."

"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."

"We just started to take the synthetic material off today," Malloy said on Monday. "We've had skip loaders out on the track, piling it up and we'll start hauling it off tomorrow. We anticipate it'll take about two weeks to remove all of the synthetic material. After the rocks are completely removed, the new base material will be applied and we anticipate that will take about two weeks (October 31 through November 13). After the base is in place and compacted to proper density, we'll start to apply the cushion mix, which is what we run on."

"A Magna official speaking on condition of anonymity said the California Horse Racing Board has been pushing Oak Tree to move out of Santa Anita as punishment for Magna's opposition to a bill in the state Legislature that would legalize exchange betting."

"'Dirt' was what a vocal and deeply frustrated segment of the population wanted to hear. 'Dirt' represented the comfort of the known, a familiar demon that had been wrestled in the past instead of something that emerged from a laboratory test tube. For a large portion of Stronach’s audience, 'dirt' sounded a return to motherhood, apple pie, and pitchers taking their own turn at bat."

"I’m setting the over-under at 35 percent, the number of fewer foreign entrants in the next Breeders’ Cup hosted by Santa Anita."

"... Santa Anita's move to dirt actually will take some heat off the public relations hatred toward all synthetic tracks. In smaller doses at Keeneland and Del Mar, horsemen and horseplayers will continue solid support and those meets will bounce back when the economy rebounds in general. My guess is that the public relations battle would follow similarly." I can see that.

"With a new dirt track to race over this winter at Santa Anita, it'll be put-up-or-shut-up time for horsemen and horseplayers." Related: Trainer Richard Mandella reacts: http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_15835315

"In a move heavily laden with significance for the entire US racing industry, Santa Anita is to replace its troubled all-weather strip to return to a conventional surface." See comment: "I'm disappointed because the European horses won't be as effective in the BC and I can't win as much money on backing them through the Yankie Tote."

"HBO officials say their programming department has yet to make a final decision as to whether the pilot, which was written by Milch of 'Deadwood' fame and directed by Michael Mann, will be picked up as a series. But racetrack officials believe there is 'a very strong possibility' that HBO will go forward with the high-stakes drama, which would also star Nick Nolte as a horse trainer."

"The devil is in the detail, and that is what will be ironed out. The decision could make Santa Anita the home of the event, period. More likely, it will become the host site, have the Breeders' Cup most of the years and be the dominant player, with some sort of regular or occasional rotation for other sites, usually Churchill Downs." (See also: http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/the-case-for-a-cali-cup/ And a counter-argument: http://racing.courier-journal.com/2010/04/note-to-breeders-cup-dont-have-any.html Another: http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/04/09/sports/horseracing/doc4bbebfc63e5a5633368020.txt)

"Crist's contention the World Cup outcome was a 'crapshoot' is ludicrous on its face. The top three finishers in the race had been separated by one and one-quarter lengths in the primary prep for the race, the March 4 Maktoum Challenge, over the same Meydan course at the same distance as the World Cup. Fourth-place finisher Gio Ponti was about one and one-quarter lengths behind the World Cup winner, a similar margin to his one length loss to Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Classic." Re: http://cristblog.drf.com/crist/2010/03/dubai-world-crapshoot.html

Filming starts March 29. "On any given day, we’ll have between 100 and 500 crew, cast and extras on-site here. Mr. Milch and Mr. Mann expressed a strong desire to shoot much of this pilot while we were running live, which we will be, through April 18."

How to turn $4300 into $3.1 million at the racetrack