Santa Anita
When Joe Bravo decided to leave New Jersey because of new regulations banning the use of the whip, his future was unclear. Bravo, 49, needed a place to ride, but leaving the comfortable confines of Monmouth Park might be difficult. He had been riding at the Jersey Shore track since the late eighties and has been leading rider there 13 times. But rather than struggling outside of the Garden State, Bravo is having a meet to remember at his new home, Del Mar. With a week to go in the...
With tickets set to go on sale at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 1, Santa Anita's 16-day Autumn Meet, which opens Friday, Oct. 1, will mark the return of "Walk-Up" admission and a new inclusive pricing structure that combines Admission, General Parking and a Racing Program, Santa Anita announced Thursday. Additionally, fans will now be able to access Santa Anita's Clubhouse and General Admission areas for the same $10 admission price, with open seating offered in the Grandstand, Sirona's Bar, Paddock Room and Seabiscuit Court. Santa Anita Thoroughbreds Club and XB...
Aidan Butler, COO of 1/ST RACING, released a public letter to owners, trainers, and any other connections who use any 1/ST facilities, including Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, warning of a zero-tolerance policy regarding shipping horses via cargo ships. Anyone who is associated with shipping a horse in this manner will not be welcome at any 1/ST racing or training locations, with an immediate removal of all of that person's horses from 1/ST venues. "In consultation with our Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Dionne Benson," wrote Butler, "we have determined that...
Santa Anita's 2021 Autumn Meeting, which opens Friday, Oct. 1, will now offer a 10% increase in all overnight races as Santa Anita and the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) have reached an agreement that will enable Santa Anita to provide a comprehensive purse increase for the third consecutive race meeting, dating back to the 2020 Autumn Meet. "This is a very significant development and we want to thank everyone at TOC for helping to make this happen," said Chris Merz, Santa Anita Director of Racing and Racing Secretary. "To...
Santa Anita's Autumn Meet will kick off Friday, Oct. 1, with seven Breeders' Cup "Win & You're In" races offered on opening weekend. The GI American Pharoah S., GII Chandelier S., and the Speakeasy S. are all "Win & You're In" for various 2-year-old divisions on opening day; the GI Awesome Again S., the GI Rodeo Drive S., and the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. are all Breeders' Cup targets on opening Saturday; and the GII Zenyatta S. rounds out the "Win & You're In" qualifiers on opening Sunday....
Santa Anita will increase purses for overnight and stakes races for the upcoming Winter/Spring Meet, which opens Dec. 26. More specifics will be released soon, but maiden special weight races will increase by $6,000 to $67,000; first condition allowances will be upped $6,000 to $69,000; and $25,000 claiming purses will rise by $4,000 to $40,000. The increases are in partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC). "There are now many reasons to be optimistic about 2021 and beyond," said Santa Anita's senior vice president and general manager Nate Newby....
Santa Anita will continue the "Ship & Win" program this fall at the Autumn Meet, which opens Friday, Oct. 1. The program began this past May at the Arcadia track, is currently a part of Del Mar's summer meet, and will continue through the fall. "Ship & Win" provides a $3,000 bonus and a 35% increase in purse earnings for any horse that has not run in California for one year. In addition, any new out-of-state horses coming to Santa Anita which meet requirements or which have made their first...
John Shear, Santa Anita's 100-year-old Paddock Captain, announced his retirement Monday after 60 years of service at the Arcadia track. "It's official, I have retired from work," Shear wrote in a tweet Monday. "For 60 years, I worked all the Southern California racetracks, met many incredible people and saw the best horses. It has been a career I look back [upon] with great pride and wonderful memories. I'm in great health and will visit Santa Anita as a fan." Santa Anita will honor the man who gained national attention nine...
Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), taken off the GI Kentucky Oaks trail with a knee chip following a visually impressive score in the GIII Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita Feb. 6, is aiming for a return to Hall of Famer Richard Mandella's barn later this summer with an eye on a fall campaign. "The surgery went well," said Joe Mishak, MyRacehorse's Racing Operations Manager. "She's been doing great, filling out and looking really good. Just biding her time, which is standard operating procedure [following surgery], especially for the Mandella barn....
by Dan Ross & Jessica Martini ARCADIA, CA - The Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale returned from its year-long hiatus with a steady, if slimmed down version, Wednesday in Arcadia. A filly by Tiznow brought the auction's top price when selling to Spendthrift Farm for $250,000. The filly was one of eight to sell for six figures during the one-session auction. "I think we saw today that there is a viable marketplace," said Fasig-Tipton's President Boyd Browning, Jr. "There were plenty of buyers in attendance at the sale...
Fasig-Tipton, which hosted its first Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in 2019, was forced to cancel the 2020 renewal of the auction due to the pandemic, but the sale returns to the Arcadia track for its second edition Wednesday. Bidding is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. PT in the Santa Anita winner's circle. Raul Reyes's Ocala-based Kings Equine, which sold three of the top four lots at the 2019 Santa Anita sale, returns with a 13-horse consignment in 2021. "It was an easy decision to come back--it...
Luis Garcia's L G consignment sent out the bullet furlong and quarter-mile workers during the under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in Arcadia Monday. A colt by Speightster (hip 109) worked the day's fastest furlong of :10 2/5, while a filly by Cupid (hip 54) turned in the day's fastest quarter-mile of :22 flat. Hip 109 is out of stakes-placed Pankhurst (Artie Schiller), a half-sister to graded placed Pro Prado (El Prado {Ire}). "I got him after the [OBS] April sale--he was with someone else...