Santa Anita rained out

It has been a strange Santa Anita meet so far, almost as strange as Shaquille O’Neal winning a horse race as a jockey, as he did in a Super Bowl commercial.

Another racing day was lost Sunday when a heavier-than-expected overnight rain resulted in the day’s nine-race card being canceled.

The count is now eight racing days lost since the meet opened Dec. 26.

“What else can go wrong?” Santa Anita President Ron Charles said.

Santa Anita had already canceled the live racing scheduled for today and Thursday to have a polymer binder and fiber applied to the existing synthetic track to alleviate an ongoing drainage problem.

The plan was to complete the project in time to resume live racing Friday. But the rain that hit late Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning has jeopardized that plan.

Crews were aerating the track late Sunday in hopes of beginning the applications this morning.

“We should know by Tuesday at noon if the project can be completed on time,” Charles said.

He added that crews would be working around the clock. Santa Anita has purchased extra outdoor lights so work can be done at night.

The track remained open Sunday for simulcast wagering, with free general admission. The track will be closed today and Tuesday, and open Wednesday and Thursday for simulcast racing.

As for Sunday’s cancellation, Charles said, “There was just too much standing water as well as some soft spots on the track. Through this whole thing, we have chosen to err on the side of caution and not race on a surface that could be unsafe for the horses and jockeys. You could almost feel a sigh of relief among the jockeys when we announced we were canceling today’s racing.”

An unusually wet winter plus the drainage problem has resulted in the unprecedented amount of cancellations; rainouts in horse racing are rare.

Ian Pearse, founder of Australia-based Pro-Ride, will oversee the application of the binder and fiber.

In a recent demonstration, Pearse showed how much different the synthetic material will look and feel after the application.

Pearse and Charles each pointed out that the new track will be softer and easier on the horses.

“The most important thing is we get it right,” Charles said.

--

larry.stewart@latimes.com