INGLEWOOD – Opening Day at Hollywood Park generally doesn't vary from any other racing Wednesday in the Los Angeles area, although they do play “Welcome Back” over the loudspeakers before the first race. Still, unless you're a fan of old Gabe Kaplan sitcoms, John Sebastian doesn't exactly get the blood flowing like, say, Bing Crosby on Opening Day at Del Mar.
Yesterday, however, was different . . . even a bit historical. Hollywood Park became the first track in California to run races over a synthetic surface.
Produced by Equestrian Surfaces of England and installed for $8 million, Cushion Track is manufactured from a combination of synthetic fibers, elastic fiber and granulated rubber, coated with a specially formulated blend of wax and mixed with silica.
It is designed to be softer and therefore safer than the hard dirt tracks for which California is known. The timing hardly could be better, given the events of this past summer at Del Mar, where seven horses died from racing injuries in the first seven days of the meeting.
In fact, Del Mar is expected to install its own $8 million synthetic surface in January, pending approval next month from the Coastal Commission. Del Mar has not chosen which of the four available brands it will use.
Hollywood Park's new surface received rave reviews during seven weeks of training – “I haven't heard one horseman say a bad word about it,” trainer Mike Mitchell said – and Opening Day brought more of the same.
“I think it's going to make a big difference in racing,” said trainer Mark Glatt, who won the day's first race with Matty G Whiz. “Horses will stay sounder. That will lead to bigger fields, bigger handle and better purses.”
Jockey Jon Court said there was “a springboard effect, a trampoline-type feel” to the surface. Another jockey, Victor Espinoza, who won two of the six main-track races, said the track is “more bouncy and the horses have more confidence. . . . We're all looking for safety for the horses and jockeys and I think this is one of the greatest things they've ever done.”
Two horses did not finish their races, but track officials said neither was seriously injured. The races themselves finished in slightly slower times than normal, although what really stood out was that not one early front-runner held on for a victory. That's something that surely will cause handicappers to reassess how they examine races.
“You have to be a little more patient,” jockey Alex Solis said. “We're so used to speed, speed, speed. . . . We're all going to learn how it's going to be the whole meet. It's going to be an adventure every day.”
None of the six main-track winners was closer than fourth early, and five rallied on the outside. Five of the six winners also had worked at least once over the track. Glatt said he noticed many of his horses did not get nearly as tired in their second workout over the surface.
“Everything seems to be positive at the moment, but we're realistic about this,” said Philip Bond, overseas business manager for Equestrian Surfaces. “I think to make any sort of final conclusion about the track at this stage would be unwise. We want to see about 100 races on it under different conditions. Then we'll start drawing conclusions.”
Glatt said synthetic surfaces are “not a cure-all” for racing, that they will not eliminate major injuries. But other race tracks with similar surfaces (Hollywood is the first to use the Cushion Track brand) have noticed a reduction in catastrophic injuries. And, Glatt said, he's noticed some of his horses with “nagging problems” with their feet or ankles have improved since training on Cushion Track.
“What I've seen is that minor inflammation in joints, since I've trained here, has gone away, versus Del Mar this summer where those problems would have continued on,” Glatt said. “I have to believe it's much kinder because I'm seeing some minor problems go away, almost to the point of being nonexistent.”
Jay Posner: (619) 293-1834; jay.posner@uniontrib.com
