Football
Jay Privman 19y

Santa Anita cancels Sunday card

ARCADIA, Calif. -- Santa Anita cancelled its Sunday card following the day's first race, in which the mare Unusual Sunrise suffered fatal injuries.

Santa Anita's track has been pounded by relentless rain for nearly two straight weeks. Jockeys said the track, which was rated sloppy on Sunday, had become uneven in spots and was unsafe.

"It's not very good," said Victor Espinoza, who rode in Sunday's first race. "It's kind of uneven. It's not uniform all the way around."

Jockeys met with track management following the first race and all parties agreed it was best to not proceed.

"We mutually agreed with the riders to cancel the rest of the card," said George Haines II, Santa Anita's vice president and general manager, upon emerging from a meeting in the jockeys's room.

Fans at the track were given rain checks good for admission and a program to be used any day the rest of the meet. Parking was refunded upon exiting the track.

Mike Smith, who rode Unusual Sunrise, had the wind knocked out of him and was complaining of body soreness, but was otherwise okay. His mount suffered fractured sesamoid bones.

"She just slipped and then planted her foot wrong. Poor thing," Smith said.

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