A pair of scratches were necessitated in Sunday's finale at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. when jockeys Flavien Prat, Drayden Van Dyke, and Ryan Curatolo declined to ride in the six-furlong turf contest for maiden 3-year-old fillies. According to the Daily Racing Form, the jockeys made that decision based on the condition of the turf course.
“To me, it's slippery,” Prat told DRF. “I didn't feel safe riding. I don't know why it is like this. To me, you can't ride properly.”
With holiday racing scheduled for Monday, track maintenance crews went to work late on Sunday and continued early Monday morning. DRF reports that the course was mowed and aerated.
A group of jockeys, track officials, representatives of the California Thoroughbred Trainers Association and of the California Horse Racing Board all walked the course prior to racing, and four races were conducted without incident.
The Jockeys' Guild released the following statement on Thursday:
“Over this past weekend, an issue with the turf course at Santa Anita came to light and brought to the attention of management by the jockey colony. Any safety issues were addressed by management as quickly as possible. After the jockeys walked the turf course on Monday morning, they were confident the situation had been resolved and rode the entire card.
“The turf course at Santa Anita is acknowledged as one of the best in the world and the jockeys appreciate that the management of Santa Anita always makes the safety of the riders and horses their top priority. The jockeys will continue to work with management to resolve any issues that may arise in the future.”
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