Give Pearse credit

Ian Pearse, founder of Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface, has taken a lot of heat from all corners this week during the flap over the track's artificial surface. But give the man credit, he's stepped forward and never backed down from questions.

Wednesday's meeting was not a CTT-sanctioned event and Pearse could have run and hidden from what amounted to a pretty angry crew of trainers. He didn't have to show up at that meeting, but he did and he deserves kudos for that. A lot of the trainers might not have liked what he had to say, but he was at least there to say it.