Lava Man, with exercise rider Tony Romero, takes a jog on the Santa Anita Park race track's new surface, a Cushion Track that cost more than $10 million.
Oak Tree Racing has begun at Santa Anita Park. Opening day drew a crowd of 17,239, a number that slightly eclipsed last year's opening day attendance, but the on-track handle of $1.88 million fell by about $315,000 compared to last year's opening day.
Oak Tree racing season opens at Santa Anita Park race track. A photograph shows jockey Corey Nakatani on horse called Liquidity, jockey Aaron Gryder riding Mystic Wood, and trumpeter Jay Cohen.
Santa Anita Park concluded its 2002-2003 season on April 20 with a total of more than $1 billion wagered during the 85-day meet. Average daily handle was $11.8 million, representing a decrease of approximately 2% from 2002.
Two articles describe the Breeders' Cup XXVI, 2009, and the race horse Zenyatta. The Breeders' Cup drew a 2-day total of 96,496 attendees, but the 41st Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita Park showed significant declines in attendance and handle when its 31 days of racing ended yesterday.
Santa Anita Park president Ron Charles has announced it will continue to race on its Cushion Track this season. It will undergo some reformulation with polymer and fibers produced by Pro-Ride, an Australian company, so that it will drain properly.
Two inches of hail forced the cancellation of races at Santa Anita Park yesterday. More rain is expected over the next few days. Maintenance on the Cushion Track will begin when the rain stops.
Oak Tree at Santa Anita Park will host the Breeders' Cup World Championships today and tomorrow, bringing most of the best thoroughbreds in the world together for 14 races with a record $25.5 million in purses. Local businesses hope to get a financial boost from the evevnt.
Santa Anita Park has come up with two options to solve its drainage issues caused by the Cushion Track. Santa Anita Park president Ron Charles will announce his decision Thursday. Santa Anita had to cancel three consecutive days of horse racing for the first time in its 71-year history, due to heavy rainfall.
More than $1.2 million was bet across the state in the first 11 days that computer and telephone betting was approved in this state. It is known as account wagering. There is no way of telling yet if this is affecting attendance and live betting at Santa Anita Park. Two providers of online betting, XpressBet and TV Games, where approved by the California Horse Racing Board. Xpress Bet is owned by Magna Corp., which owns Santa Anita Park.
Opening day of its 72nd season of thoroughbred racing at Santa Anita Park brought in 33,112 fans. Santa Anita Park officials were pleased with the turnout.
Santa Anita Park cancelled horse racing Monday for the third consecutive day after 7-1/2-inches of rain fell on its Cushion Track, creating drainage problems.