Santa Anita to add sand to new dirt surface
January 17, 2011ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) - Santa Anita will add sand to its new dirt track to correct an apparent imbalance of silt and clay, which officials believe was caused by recent heavy rains.
Track president George Haines says the work will be done after training hours on Tuesday, where there is no racing. He says the track has been playing too fast and officials want to address the problem gradually.
Santa Anita replaced its synthetic surface with dirt before its winter-spring meet began Dec. 26. The new surface has undergone continuing soil analysis, which measures percentages of sand, silt and clay.
Haines says it has yet to be decided how much sand will be added.
Racing resumes on Thursday.