Ian Pearse of Pro-Ride Racing Australia stands ready to begin fixing Santa Anita’s beleaguered Cushion Track surface as soon as the final race is completed Feb. 3.

“On Sunday afternoon after the races, we’ll harrow the track and break up the hard material underneath (below the Cushion Track and above the asphalt),” Pearse said. “Then we’ll be applying the liquid (binder).”

Santa Anita has lost seven days of racing because the Cushion Track, installed last summer under a California Horse Racing Board mandate to replace dirt tracks with synthetic surfaces, has been unable to handle rain. The wax and fine sand used in Cushion Track has clogged the asphalt base, which led to the track being unable to drain properly.

The liquid binder Pearse has developed for his Pro-Ride product is believed to be able to solve Santa Anita’s drainage problem. Pro-Ride calls it an emulsified “polymetric binder,” and it differs from the other synthetic tracks in that it is not a wax