HOLLYWOOD PARK : Racing Shifts to Turf Course When Soggy Main Track Declared Unsafe

Because someone left the water running, Hollywood Park had a distinctly European flavor Wednesday.

That is: turf racing, turf racing and more turf racing.

Because of a soggy area near the half-mile pole caused when the backstretch swimming pool overflowed, the jockeys refused to ride after the first race, so seven of the remaining eight races scheduled for the main track were switched to the grass.

The pool, which is used to exercise horses, was drained for cleaning on Tuesday, and, apparently, the water was left on too long when it was being refilled.

Aware of the problem in the morning, some trainers elected not to work their horses on the main track, opting instead for the training track.

However, this knowledge wasn’t available to the riders, and some of them received quite a surprise during the first race, a six-furlong sprint for $12,500 claimers.

“When we hit that part of the track, my horse’s (Otay Mesa) legs just disappeared out from under me,” Gary Stevens said. “I thought he’d broken both of his front legs. He stumbled like he hit quicksand. I completely stopped on him for at least five strides because I was trying to pull him up.

“After that, he was traveling fine, but it cost me the race. I only got beat a neck for everything. I didn’t know anything about it. Nobody had said anything to us, and I wasn’t happy about it. I felt like it cost my horse the win.”

During the warm-up for the second, another six-furlong race, the riders decided that it would not be safe to run through that area and suggested the race be run on the turf.

“We jogged our horses over the spot and we told them to put the races on the turf course or cancel them,” Stevens said. “We weren’t comfortable riding over it.”

Track management and the stewards agreed, and after a 31-minute delay, the second race was run at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf. The distance of three other races was shortened to 5 1/2 furlongs, and there were four scratches after the surface switch.

For a time, it appeared some of the races on the latter half of the program would be run on the main track, but, after the fourth, and after the Pick Six had begun, the decision was made to stay on turf.

Stevens tested the area aboard a pony but did not feel comfortable in recommending the races be run on dirt.

“It’s much, much better,” he said after the third race. “But, it’s still uneven and deeper the farther out (from the rail) you go. We decided we couldn’t ride with confidence until we rode a thoroughbred across it at full stride. Nobody in here was comfortable, and the afternoon isn’t the time to experiment.”

The track maintenance crew continued to work on the area throughout the afternoon, harrowing the track to allow the winds to dry it and replacing the wet dirt. Morning workouts had been stopped half an hour earlier than normal, and the crew thought the track was in good condition before the beginning of the races at 1 p.m. The main track is expected to be fine for racing today.

“The track crew did an excellent job to get (the area) to where it is,” jockey Danny Sorenson said. “But, it’s safer just to let them take more time to fix it right.”

The situation created havoc for handicappers, who were dealing with horses who had never raced on turf locally and probably never will again, but the riders didn’t mind the switch. Nor, probably, did trainer Craig Lewis mind. He wound up winning two races--the fourth with Croque Michotte and the sixth with first-time starter Clos De Beze.

“Fortunately, they have a turf course here that can take some wear and tear,” Stevens said. “It’s a good, solid turf course with a good root system.”