California Crown program should help boost Santa Anita purses

The newly-formed California Crown program at Santa Anita on Sept. 28 should produce sufficient handle to provide approximately $1 million in vital revenue for the track’s beleaguered purse account, according to a leading racing official.

The parent company of Santa Anita, 1/ST Racing, announced on Friday that three existing stakes will receive massive purse increases as part of an enhanced racing program for California designed to emulate the successful Pegasus World Cup program at Gulfstream Park held each January.

The Grade 1 California Crown, previously known as the Awesome Again Stakes, for 3-year-olds and older at 1 1/8 miles will be worth $1 million, a gain of $700,000 from recent years. Two Grade 2 races have been increased from $200,000 to $750,000 – the John Henry Turf Championship at 1 1/4 miles, and the Eddie D Stakes at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course.

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The enhanced prize money will be financed by 1/ST Racing, Aidan Butler, the company’s chief executive officer, said in an interview on Friday.

Bill Nader, the CEO of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, said on Sunday that revenue generated from handle on Sept. 28 will provide a much-needed boost for prize money at Santa Anita.

Typically on a major day of racing, handle is insufficient to offset the cost of running lucrative stakes, Nader said. With Santa Anita’s parent company paying for the enhanced purses, Nader said the situation will be more favorable for the purse account.

“When there is a huge outlay of [stakes] purses, there tends to be a loss for the purse account,” Nader said. With 1/ST “taking the purse obligation, that helps protect our purse account.”

The higher stakes purses on Sept. 28 come at difficult time for Santa Anita’s overall business. Along with the other California tracks, Santa Anita does not have an ancillary source of revenue for purses, such as a casino, slot machines, or sports betting. California tracks derive revenue for purses only from handle.

Earlier this year, Santa Anita, in consultation with the TOC, reduced prize money for stakes and overnight purses at the current winter-spring meeting. The purse fund had a deficit of approximately $4 million earlier this year, a figure that could grow to $5 million by mid-June, Nader said on Sunday.

Further purse reductions are possible from the spring portion of the season, which runs from April 19 to June 16.

“We’re in a difficult state right now,” Nader said.

The California Crown will be part of a day of activities at Santa Anita designed to replicate the atmosphere of the Pegasus World Cup day at Gulfstream Park, which the track has aggressively marketed to a younger demographic.

The California Crown and John Henry Turf Championship will be the second race of two series of three races that link stakes with two other tracks owned by 1/ST Racing – Pimlico in Baltimore and Gulfstream Park.

The dirt series will consist of three Grade 1 races – the Preakness Stakes for 3-year-olds at Pimlico on May 18, the California Crown, and the Pegasus World Cup for 4-year-olds and older at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25, 2025.

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Should the Preakness winner go on to win the California Crown and Pegasus World Cup, the winning owner would receive a $5 million bonus in addition to prize money earned in each race.

The turf series will consist of two stakes for 3-year-olds and older this year – the Grade 3 Dinner Party Stakes at Pimlico at 1 1/8 miles on May 18, and Grade 2 California Crown John Henry Turf at 1 1/4 miles on Sept. 28 – with the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles on Jan. 25, 2025.

The owner of a horse that sweeps those three races will receive a $2.5 million bonus.

Nader said a well-promoted day such as the California Crown can provide racing with an opportunity to sell the sport to a greater audience.

“It helps in three ways,” he said.

“It helps the purse account, it helps the stakes, and thirdly, there is the entertainment factor.

“Santa Anita is a fabulous venue and to expose a new audience is something we should all get behind.”

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