The horseracing park has been closed for the last eight months during the changeover from a synthetic track to an all-natural dirt track. The brand new track successfully weathered last week’s heavy rains, which reached 13.5 inches.
The closing was the longest in 42 years for Santa Anita Park. The new racetrack is 86 percent sand, 8 percent clay, and 6 percent silt and has greatly improved drainage, which was tested by the recent rainfall.
“The rain has slowed us up, but the track, it’s like the old days, like the 50s and 60s,” veteran trainer Bruce Headley told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Horses evolved on dirt, and this is what they’re supposed to race on."
The recent rains were caused by a Pineapple Express, a term used for storms brought in by jet streams from the Hawaii area. The rainfall caused local flooding and mudslides, according to the Santa Anita Park website.
