Nate NEwby

After a delayed start last December, Santa Anita's 2025-26 meet concluded on Monday, June 15, the first time the meet has ended on a Monday in its 91-year history. The on-track crowd totaled over 540,000 fans for the season and averaged more than 7,000 per day over the 77-day season, which included both the Classic and Hollywood meets. All sources handle totaled $708,112,231, with an average daily handle of $9,196,263. It marked the sixth consecutive year daily handle has exceeded $9 million for the Winter-Spring season. "Santa Anita is one...

First race post time at Santa Anita on Friday, May 1, will be 3:15 p.m. PT, it was announced Thursday. The move to push the first race came after Churchill Downs moved the featured Kentucky Oaks to 5:40 p.m. PT, running the race on NBC in primetime. This will enable Santa Anita to run several races after the Oaks. "Sunset in Arcadia on May 1st is 7:37 p.m., so we will have plenty of daylight," said Nate Newby, General Manager of Santa Anita Park. "The Kentucky Oaks is trying something...

It was a big day of racing, and the fans brought the energy, with 41,962 people packing the California track for the postponed opening day of Santa Anita's Classic Meet to make it the largest Sunday opener since 1999, the track announced via press release. The final fan tally was the largest since 2016, and the eighth Sunday opener in the venue's 90+ years also brought noteworthy numbers in the all-sources and on-track handles. The total all-sources mutuel handle was more than $18.2 million, marking the eighth time in the...

The opening day card at Santa Anita's Classic Meet, traditionally held Dec. 26, has been postponed two days and will now be held next Sunday, Dec. 28. Track officials made the decision to delay the start of the meet in the face of forecasted heavy rains in the area beginning Tuesday and continuing through Friday. "With the amount of rain being forecast, it's important to make this call as early as possible to give everyone advance notice," said Santa Anita General Manager Nate Newby. "Everyone looks forward to opening day...

Live racing returns to Santa Anita with the traditional Dec. 26 opening card of the 48-day Classic meet featuring the GI Malibu Stakes, and continues through the close of the 30-day Hollywood meet June 14. The two meets will feature 81 stakes worth $11.75 million, including the newly named GII D. Wayne Lukas Stakes Feb. 7, the GI Santa Anita Handicap Mar. 7, and the GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 4. Overnight race purses are slated to increase from the start of last year. "The overall 5% purse increase for...

The six-month Winter/Spring meeting at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, closed Sunday, June 15, with 'encouraging' gains in handle, field size and on-track attendance, according to a release from the track. With over 6,800 horses having raced during the meet and more than 375,000 training sessions on the main and synthetic tracks having taken place, track officials report a safety mark of 99.98%, cementing its status as the safest track in North America among those with a comparable volume of racing and training. "This year was a transitional one...

Overnight purses at Santa Anita will increase an average of 8% beginning Feb. 28 and continuing through the remainder of the track's Classic Meet Apr. 6. The boost in prize money comes after increases in key business metrics through the first six weeks of the season and were made as a result of collaborative discussions with the Thoroughbred Owners of California, according to a release from Santa Anita. Purses for Santa Anita Park's Hollywood Meet will increase an average of 10% over the 2024 season, with increases ranging from 8...

Horses evacuated Tuesday from the wildfire-threatened San Luis Rey Downs training center in Bonsall, San Diego County, and shipped elsewhere, largely to Del Mar racetrack, started to file back to the training center Wednesday. The nearby Lilac Fire has burned through 85 acres and is 90% contained, according to Cal Fire. "All evacuation orders and warnings were lifted in the area last night and fire containment improved to 90% as of this morning. Air quality is good so barring any change in conditions our plan is to allow horses to...

Due to the threat of a nearby wildfire Tuesday, the horses stabled at the San Luis Rey Downs training center in Bonsall, San Diego County, were evacuated and sent elsewhere, largely to Del Mar racetrack. By Tuesday afternoon, the nearby Lilac Fire had burned through 80 acres and was 30% contained, according to Cal Fire. "We are still at the same level 2 evacuation warning status so we will continue to monitor the situation and the wind," Santa Anita general manager Nate Newby wrote in a text Tuesday afternoon, adding...

Santa Anita Park has postponed Friday's Jan. 10 racing program until next Thursday, Jan. 16. due to the forecast of poor air quality for the San Gabriel Valley after the devasting impact made by the Eaton Fire in the Los Angeles area, the track said in a press release on Thursday afternoon. The California Horse Racing Board has approved this proactive rescheduling of the 10-race card. The races will be run with the horses previously entered in the post position order originally drawn. "While Santa Anita continues to remain well...

An announced on-track crowd of 41,562 welcomed the return of live racing to Santa Anita Thursday afternoon, the largest non-weekend or holiday crowd on opening day since 1990 and biggest opening-day crowd in eight years, track officials said late Thursday. Total all-sources handle of more than $21.4 million was the third-highest in track history for an opening-day program and marked a 17.4% increase over 2023. It was the fourth time in the last seven years that handle exceeded $20 million. "Our Racing Office offered an exceptional program, the owners and...

The 2024-2025 stakes schedule at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, will feature 79 added-money events over a total of 78 race dates, topped by the GI Santa Anita Handicap and the GI Santa Anita Derby. The Big 'Cap, worth $400,000 in 2024, will offer prize money of $300,000 this year, while the purse of the Santa Anita Derby has been cut to $500,000 from $750,000. On the flipside, the purses on offer for overnight races are above what was offered last spring and autumn, with four allowance and maiden...