Santa Anita Park will remain under the ownership of current owner Frank Stronach and will replace the entire track for the third time in four years.
Those are just two of the big stories relating to Santa Anita in the past week.
It began last week with news that Zenyatta has become the Brett Favre of horse racing and has un-retired just a couple weeks after her ceremonial farewell on Opening Day at Santa Anita Dec. 26. The six-year-old is apparently champing at the bit to get back to competition so her owners will allow her to do so at several races to be determined this season.
Shortly thereafter late last week came word that there was a court ruling in the Santa Anita Park bankruptcy protection matter that would allow current owner Frank Stronach of Canada to move the track from his Magna Entertainment Corp. to another of his Magna companies and retain ownership. With Hollywood Park perhaps in its last season before the track is demolished for housing developments, there is a chance that Santa Anita and Del Mar would begin year-round racing next year.
Then the announcement Monday (Jan. 18) that all Santa Anita races were rained out due to poor drainage (and Thursday and Friday races have since been canceled also) and that Santa Anita plans to replace the entire track, this time perhaps returning to the dirt that was replaced twice with synthetic surfaces (see videos of that process here: 2007 track replacement / 2008 track do-over).
The third track re-do would come this summer after the Santa Anita racing season and before the Oak Tree meet this fall.
– By Scott Hettrick