Art Wilson recaps the Santa Anita Handicap "Big 'Cap" race that took place yesterday. Included is a photo of race horse "Misremembered" and jockey Martin Garcia, who won the Grade I, $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's horse Gabby's Golden Gal (owned by Arnold Zetcher) won the Santa Monica Handicap at Santa Anita Park. The jockey was Martin Garcia.
Race horse "Zenyatta" carries jockey Mike Smith to victory at yesterday's Grade I $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap at Santa Anita Park. Ann and Jerry Moss own Zenyatta.
Santa Anita Handicap takes place tomorrow. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith is going for a record third straight Big 'Cap Victory, riding Shared Belief, a fan favorite.
Race horse Bourbon Bay became the first horse in 17 years to sweep Santa Anita Park's trio of marathon graded turf stakes races with a half-length victory in the $150,000 Grade 2 San Juan Capistrano Handicap on closing day of the track's 75th anniversary meeting. The jockey was Rafael Bejarano, the first jockey since Laffit Pincay, Jr. in 1978-1981 to win three consecutive Santa Anita Park riding titles.
Santa Anita Park's synthetic track surface will be removed and a new $5 million plus dirt surface, closely resembling the ones at Churchill Downs, Gulfstream Park and the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga, will be installed. Ted Malloy is the racing surface consultant. He hopes to have the new track in by December 6.
Faithful fans, such as Antonio Reyes, are missing the presence of Oak Tree Racing at Santa Anita Park this year. He says he will watch on television and bet off-track. Oak Tree is running at Hollywood Park in Inglewood starting today and next year too.
Santa Anita Park's current Pro-Ride synthetic track surface will be replaced with a dirt track after the Oak Tree meet ends October 31 and before Santa Anita Park's winter-spring season starts December 26, 2010. Frank Stronach said it will cost about $6 million to install.
The Oak Tree Racing Association plans to move its annual fall meet to Del Mar in 2011. Oak Tree has raced at Santa Anita Park since 1969, but will be run this fall at Hollywood Park, before moving to Del Mar. Santa Anita Park ended Oak Tree's lease.
Arcadia's iconic Santa Anita Park hires consultant Dennis Moore to work on the condition of the one mile training track, in the wake of 21 horse deaths since December 2018.
Santa Anita Park to open Friday, March 29 with California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) approval. Santa Anita Handicap now to be run on Santa Anita Derby Day April 6.
George Haines, the interim president of Santa Anita Park since Ron Charles resigned, will soon be named president. He takes the reins at a time of uncertainty and change at the track and in the horse racing industry. Some of the issues and challenges that Haines will face are discussed. Haines is 55 years old and started working for Santa Anita Park in 1972.
Frank Stronach, chairman of MI Developments (MID), is requesting the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to allow additional racing days at Santa Anita Park and at his other track Golden Gate Fields. He wants the number of racing days to increase from 85 to 140 days per year, to run races when he thinks he'll get the most customers. In order for MID to maintain its license and run thoroughbred racing at Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields, the CHRB has asked the company to submit a business plan. The plan has been a secret even to some of the company's board members. In the meantime, repairs are being made at Santa Anita Park in preparation for the fall Oak Tree meet (photo).
Santa Anita Park owner Frank Stronach met with about a dozen horse trainers to discuss the track's racing surface. Stronach announced that he would not replace the synthetic Pro-Ride track yet, but will stick with it until he gets the ability to run the track with less state regulations. He wants free enterprise, which he may never get. In the meantime, drainage problems and injuries persist on the synthetic track. Stronach said he'd be back in April to discuss the issue more.
The California Horse Racing Board has approved Santa Anita Park's plan to resurface its main track with dirt. The Pro-Ride synthetic surface will be replaced by the first week of December.
The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) denied a license to Oak Tree Racing Association to run its fall meet at Santa Anita Park after representatives from the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the California Thoroughbred Trainers said they opposed having Oak Tree at Santa Anita Park due to safety concerns, saying they prefer Hollywood Park. Sherwood Chillingworth, executive vice president of Oak Tree, said he was moving forward to make arrangements to run the fall meet at Hollywood Park, but did not rule out the possibility that the board could change its mind.
Santa Anita Park unveiled its new, all-dirt main track yesterday, allowing thoroughbred horses to get used to the natural surface three weeks before the start of the traditional winter meet. The dirt track replaces a synthetic one that failed to drain properly during heavy rains, resulting in 16 lost racing days since the fall of 2008.
If Oak Tree is not held at Santa Anita Park this fall, as it has for the last 41 years, it would be a significant hit to the city of Arcadia and the region, city officials said. Last year, the city of Arcadia made $185,000 from the Oak Tree meet's betting handle. In addition, the city would suffer the loss of tens of thousands of dollars in sales tax and hotel bed tax revenue. The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) denied Oak Tree Racing Association's request to run its five-week fall meet at Santa Anita Park after horse owners, trainers, and a racetrack expert expressed concerns about the synthetic surface. Oak Tree officials say they are moving forward to make arrangements to run the meet at Hollywood Park.