BALTIMORE – Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito yesterday renewed his call for making America’s traditional dirt racetracks safer, rather than replacing them with synthetic surfaces, as many have called for after the high-profile breakdowns of Barbaro and Eight Belles.

“My family and all my owners rescue horses, so of course we want to protect them,” Zito said. “But this is American racing, with a long tradition on dirt tracks, not English racing or French racing. I want to try to protect dirt surfaces.”

Zito said that, for $100,000, Oaklawn Park resurfaced its dirt track and built an on-site soil analysis lab. The result: From 4,600 starters at this year’s meet, there were five breakdowns, one-third of the 2007 total.