Moore, Peterson Begin to Test Santa Anita Main Track
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Photo: Zoe Metz
Track consultant Dennis Moore (third from left) with state and track officials, as they examine and test the Santa Anita main track
Santa Anita Park announced March 7 that consultants Dennis Moore and Mick Peterson began "extensive testing" of its main track Thursday, but that the two experts "do not have a timetable for completion of the testing and evaluation."
Moore is Santa Anita's former track superintendent, and left that position in late December, but was hired as a consultant March 5 to assess the safety of the main track. Peterson, the director of Ag Equine Programs at the University of Kentucky and a racetrack surfaces specialist, was previously brought in to assess the safety of the main track when it was shut down for training Feb. 26-27.
Santa Anita has had 21 equine fatalities related to racing or training since its meet began Dec. 26. The Arcadia, Calif., racetrack suspended racing and training indefinitely Tuesday, hours after they announced Moore's new role.
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Before testing and analysis could begin Thursday, according to a press release from Santa Anita, the track personnel harrowed and aerated the main track, which "has been saturated due to recent rains." The release also said representatives from the California Horse Racing Board "were present to observe the process."