SANTA ANITA : Last Major Turf Record in Danger

In this Oak Tree season of flashy times on the new and improved turf course, the last of Santa Anita’s major grass records will be under attack this weekend when the best older horses, both male and female, take aim at Double Discount’s 1 1/4-mile mark of 1:57 2/5.

If it doesn’t happen Sunday in the $400,000 Yellow Ribbon Invitational, the record will surely fall Monday in the $200,000 Carleton F. Burke Handicap. It was in the 1977 Burke that Double Discount set the record.

In a way it will be a shame to lose Double Discount’s name from the record books. Now in retirement at Rancho California, Double Discount was the best horse ever bred by Ken Schiffer, the Californian whose trademark Stetson has been a familiar sight on the national racing scene for more than 30 years.

Schiffer has scaled back his activities recently due to ill health. But it wasn’t long ago that he was teaching his young horses the ropes at Galway Downs and then sending them to the race track, where trainer Mel Stute took over. Schiffer, incidentally, is believed to be the only Yale alumnus and member of the stuffy Jockey Club who plays golf in a pair of customized armadillo cowboy boots.

The Santa Anita turf course of 1977 was rooted in the original soil laid down in 1953. The base contained a high percentage of clay, and dry weather baked it to the consistency of adobe.

In those days, Jay Woodward, the Daily Racing Form’s former Trackman, would react to exceedingly fast times by labeling the condition of the course “hard,” much to the chagrin of management. Records for 6 1/2, 9, 10, 12 and 14 furlongs were set between 1959 and 1980.

In 1983, a new course was planted in sandy soil. The course was softer, times were slower and eventually the grass stopped growing. During that period, mile races were introduced to accommodate the 1986 Breeders’ Cup.

As a result, comparing the times this season to those occurring on the former courses is like juggling apples, oranges and walnuts.

“We were apprehensive about the quick times early in the meet,” said Ken Palmer, Santa Anita plant superintendent. “But horsemen told us that their horses were coming out of the races fine. So we stopped worrying about it and just let them roll.”

The fastest of the fast deserve one final bow:

--Hawkster’s 2:22 4/5 for the 1 1/2-mile Oak Tree Invitational remains the most impressive turf race of the California season, no matter what happens this weekend. He broke the course mark of 2:23 set in 1970 by Fiddle Isle and equaled in 1980 by John Henry.

--No horse ran a faster 1 1/8 miles than Agirlfromars, who was clocked in 1:45 while winning the first race run on the course Oct. 4. The daughter of Boitron (a three-legged stallion who wears an equine prosthesis) tied the course mark set in 1977 by Santa Anita Handicap winner Crystal Water.

--Traditionalists were aghast last week when the former claimer, Sticky Wile, equaled the American mile turf record of 1:32 3/5 set by champion Royal Heroine in the 1984 Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park. Until the 3-year-old filly does something wrong, though, she deserves the benefit of the doubt. In 11 races for trainer Craig Lewis and owner Rubin Brown, Sticky Wile has never been off the board.

--Baffle’s hallowed hillside sprint record of 1:11 4/5, set in 1970, was seriously threatened last Saturday by Basic Rate, who needed only 1:12 1/5 to win the Morvich Handicap. And the record is still not safe. The winner of today’s Dancing Femme Stakes could shade 1:12, primarily because Sticky Wile heads the field.

The temporary rail will come down for the final three days of racing on the turf. When the meeting closes Monday, the course will be overseeded with rye grass in anticipation of the winter season, beginning Dec. 26.

“The Bermuda just started to go dormant in the last week or so,” plant superintendent Palmer said. “We started to see some chopping where hoofs cut into the thatch. Still, with three positions for the rail, we’ve been able to avoid too much wear and tear.”

Handicappers, trainers and jockeys have grappled with the effects of the temporary rail positions on the course. When the rail is placed 30 feet out, conventional wisdom says that front-runners have an edge. The turns are softer and easier to hug for a speed horse, while stretch-runners tend to be compromised when making their moves on the wider arcs.

Trainer Eddie Gregson, who sent out the English horse, Timefighter, to win at 1 1/4 miles Wednesday, says it is only logical that speed would have a constant advantage.

“The course helps horses along,” Gregson said. ‘They’re not laboring. Consequently, there are more horses in contention at the quarter pole, and there is always a lot of bunching up. Naturally, the horses near the lead will have the best of it.”

When there is no temporary rail, the circumference of the course is 4,682 feet. When the rail is at the 15-foot mark, once around is 4,776 feet. And when the temporary rail is placed 30 feet from the inner rail, the circumference is 4,871 feet.

Of course, the starting gate and poles are moved whenever the rail is shifted to keep the various distances precise. But even with the modern, $3-million turf course, all grass races continue to be clocked by hand. In this case, the hand is that of official timekeeper and linemaker Jeff Tufts.

When will Santa Anita adopt 20th-Century technology and install automatic timing for its state-of-the-art turf course?

“The conduits are now in place to install electronic beams around the course,” said Palmer, who estimates that the project will cost $100,000.

“It’s the prudent thing to do,” he added. “I’m sure the topic will come up again when we decide on the complete renovation of the hillside portion of the course after the 1989-90 meeting.”