Santa Anita 2013 Winter/Spring Meet
Santa Anita’s 77th winter/spring meet opens on Thursday, December 26 with two Grade I, $300,000 stakes to highlight the opening day festivities; the $300,000 Malibu and the $300,000 La Brea. Both races are to be run at seven furlongs, with the La Brea for 3-year-old fillies and the Malibu for 3-year-old colts and geldings. The Grade II, $200,000 Sir Beaufort Stakes, for 3-year-olds at one mile on turf, will also be offered.
The Great Race Place will run a nine-race card on opening day and the special $500K Guaranteed Late Pick 4 will be comprised of the final four races. The Pick 4, which is also offered each day on races two, three, four and five, is a 50 cent minimum wager that requires players to select the winner of each race in the sequence.
Santa Anita's meeting begins with the traditional day-after Christmas program at Santa Anita and concludes April 20.
First post time on opening day, Dec. 26, is at 12 noon.
Santa Anita 2013 Winter/Spring Opening Weekend Highlights
Friday, Dec. 27: Regular first post time is 12:30pm PT.
Saturday, Dec. 28: Santa Anita will again honor the late Eddie Logan, the track’s iconic “footman,” who manned his shoeshine stand from the track’s opening in 1934 until his passing in January, 2009, with the $75,000 Eddie Logan Stakes for 2-year-olds at one mile on turf. The Grade III, $100,000 Daytona Stakes and the $75,000 added Kalookan Queen Stakes will help to comprise and outstanding day of racing.
Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013: The Grade III, $100,000 Robert J. Frankel Stakes, named in honor of the late Hall of Fame trainer who is Santa Anita’s all-time leader by number of wins, will feature fillies and mares 3-and-up at 1 1/8 miles on turf.
Santa Anita 2013 Winter/Spring Wagering Highlights
Santa Anita Park has announced that it will offer fans a guaranteed $500,000 pool in the Late Pick 4 on opening day, Dec. 26, and it will also offer a series of three separate 18 percent-takeout Daily Double wagers each racing day throughout its upcoming Winter and Spring meetings which will conclude June 29.
The Daily Double, first offered by Santa Anita in 1961, is a $2 minimum bet that requires players to select the winners of two consecutive races. Santa Anita’s new Daily Double will be offered each day on three separate occasions--on races one and two; four and five and on the final two races.
“After consulting with many of our best customers and the TOC, we felt it was time to make some ‘player-friendly’ adjustments to this iconic wager,” said Tom Ludt, Santa Anita Senior Vice President, Racing and Gaming. “Lowering the takeout to 18 percent is obviously something that everyone is in favor of. Additionally, by offering three Doubles per day, we’re confident we’re going to see a significant increase in pool sizes and that is going to result in bigger payoffs—which is why the vast majority of our customers come out to the races.” Santa Anita’s overall wagering menu will again include the “Players’ Pick 5,” a popular 14 percent takeout wager with a 50 cent minimum. The “Players’ Pick 5” requires players to select the winners of the first five races on each day’s card.
The $2 Pick Six, first offered at Santa Anita in 1980, remains one of the most popular exotic wagers in the country and will again be offered on the final six races each day.
Santa Anita will again offer $1 exactas, trifectas and superfectas on each race and will offer rolling Pick Three wagers throughout each day’s card.
All win, place and show wagers feature a 15.43 percent takeout (one of the nation’s lowest) with a $2 minimum investment.
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Santa Anita 2013 Winter/Spring Meet Information
Santa Anita horse racing dates: December 26, 2013 - April 20, 2025
Santa Anita 2013 Autumn horse racing schedule: Racing mostly will be conducted Thursdays through Sundays.
Santa Anita horse racing post times: On weekdays post time for the first race is 1:00 p.m. PT and weekends at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Santa Anita horse racing wagering information: Bets available may include Win, Place, Show, Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta, Daily Double, Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 6.
Santa Anita Park Racetrack Information
Main track (Cushion): 1-mile, oval
Length of stretch from last turn to finish line: 990 feet
Composition: Cushion Track
Turf: 7 furlongs plus 132 feet (9/10 of a mile) with a hillside turf course for 6 1/2-furlong turf races
Santa Anita 2013 Winter/Spring Stakes Schedule
ARCADIA, Calif. (Nov. 27, 2013)—Led by the Grade I, $1 million Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita Park has announced its proposed stakes schedule for the upcoming 2013-14 winter/spring meeting, which will open on Dec. 26 with a pair of prestigious Grade I stakes, the Malibu and the La Brea. Santa Anita’s 69-day meet will include a total of eight Grade I events and will conclude April 20.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer $1 million for the Santa Anita Derby and we’re happy to be able to raise the purse money on a total of 20 stakes this winter and spring,” said Santa Anita Vice President of Racing, Rick Hammerle. “Top to bottom, we feel this is a very comprehensive schedule and we’re very pleased to be offering substantive purse increases on some of our most important races. In addition to the Derby, we’ve increased the (Grade I) Santa Anita Oaks to $400,000 and the (Grade II) San Antonio to $300,000. We’ve also increased one of our most prestigious sprints, the (Grade II) San Carlos, to $250,000.”
The Santa Anita Derby, which had offered a purse of $750,000, and which has produced nine Kentucky Derby winners, was won this year by Goldencents, who went on to capture the Grade I, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.
Santa Anita will again provide horsemen with several graded stakes options on the road to the Santa Anita Derby, as the Grade III Sham Stakes at one mile will be run Jan. 11; the Grade II, 1 1/16 miles Robert B. Lewis is slated for Feb. 8; the Grade II, seven furlong San Vicente will go on Feb. 16, and the Grade II San Felipe at 1 1/16 miles, will be run March 8.
Santa Anita has also substantially expanded the scope of its Sunshine Millions Day, as it will embrace a very significant California Cup theme on Jan. 25.
“In addition to the Grade II Santa Monica, we’re going to offer the $250,000 California Cup Turf Classic (1 1/8 miles), the $250,000 California Cup Derby (1 1/16 miles), the $200,000 California Cup Oaks (one mile turf), the $125,000 California Cup Sprint (six furlongs) and the $125,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint (6 ½ furlongs hillside turf) on Millions Day," said Hammerle. "Most of these races were formerly run on Cal Cup Day in the fall, and we feel they’re going to be a great addition to the Sunshine Millions program and provide great opportunities for our California breeders at the beginning of the year.”
Also included on Santa Anita’s Grade I stakes roster are the $300,000 Las Virgenes Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Feb. 1; the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap and $300,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile on March 8; the $300,000 Santa Margarita Stakes on March 15; and the $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks on Santa Anita Derby Day April 5.
Santa Anita's complete 2013-14 winter-spring stakes schedule can be found at santaanita.com.
About Santa Anita Park Racetrack
Santa Anita Park covers 320 acres, includes stable accommodations for 1,800 thoroughbreds, and features a 1-mile main horse racetrack, a seven-furlong turf course and a six-furlong training track.
Opened in 1934 and designed by Gordon Kaufmann, architect of the Hoover Dam, Santa Anita is an eclectic art-deco masterpiece that blends Streamline Modern with American Colonial, Spanish Revival and even New Orleans styles. It features lush manicured green lawns, meticulously tended colorful gardens and historically significant architecture, all nestled against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Santa Anita Racetrack has a fascinating history. Home of the 1984 Olympics equestrian competitions, the track has served as the site of countless prestigious races and it has witnessed dozens of racing legends. Movie buffs will also recognize Santa Anita in the classic Shirley Temple film The Story of Seabiscuit. The track suffered a brief dark period during World War II when it became an assembly center, providing temporary housing for 20,000 Japanese Americans awaiting relocation to internment camps.
Santa Anita offers an exciting day for racing fans and tourists alike. The track sponsors numerous special events during its season, including wine and beer tastings, and twilight racing. It also offers fabulous dining options, including the prestigious clubhouse, in addition to the Frontrunner Restaurant. Overlooking the finish line, The Frontrunner Restaurant is a glass-enclosed facility with tiered seating and a flawless track view for 525 people.
Early in 2007, Santa Anita Park Racetrack management selected a synthetic Cushion Track racing surface, which has drawn rave reviews at Hollywood Park, to replace the former one-mile dirt track. Cushion Track is a mixture of silica sand, synthetic fibers, elastic fiber, granulated rubber and a wax coating. The new Cushion Track opened for training on September 4, 2007, just in time for the opening of the 39th Oak Tree Racing meet on September 26th.
Past Santa Anita Race Information
