With its traditional Winter Meet on the horizon beginning Dec. 26, Santa Anita Park will institute a “Ship and Stay” program that is intended to attract out-of-state horsemen to the meet, The Stronach Group announced Monday. Designed to keep the horsemen in California throughout the new year, the program is funded solely by The Stronach Group and is modeled after Del Mar's successful “Ship and Win” program.
The program will provide ongoing bonuses to individual trainers and owners who bring horses to Santa Anita from out of state. Bonuses will also be paid to the connections who originally brought the horses to California for their first three starts, regardless of whether the horse is claimed in the interim.
“This is a new day for us here at Santa Anita on several fronts,” said Santa Anita Vice President of Racing, Rick Hammerle. “Field size is a major concern for us and by undertaking this new program, we're hoping to be able to shore up our inventory at all levels.”
Further information about “Ship and Stay” is available at the Santa Anita Racing Office.
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