Hillside turf course still not being used
ARCADIA, Calif. – There are no immediate plans to resume racing on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita, a top track official said on Sunday.
There has been no racing on the hillside turf course since March 31 when Arms Runner suffered a fatal injury in the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes on the course. No hillside races have been scheduled for Friday’s eight-race program and none are expected this weekend.
Sunday, Santa Anita announced that Saturday’s $75,000 Mizdirection Stakes for fillies and mares will be run at five furlongs on turf. The race had been scheduled for about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course.
Tim Ritvo, the chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, the track’s parent company, said on Sunday that “it will be a little while” before the course is used again.
Sunday’s program at Santa Anita marked the completion of a four-day week of safe racing. The highlight of the week was Saturday’s 11-race program, which included seven stakes, three of which were Grade 1 races.
Santa Anita missed 13 days of racing in March to allow for an inspection and renovation of the main track after a series of equine fatalities since late December. Arms Runner was the 23rd horse lost since late December.
Saturday’s program drew an ontrack audience of 30,713 who contributed to an all-sources handle of $22,899,855. The corresponding 13-race program in 2018 drew an audience of 39,023 and all-sources handle of $24,170,879.
Ritvo said Saturday’s business “was okay, with all the circumstances.”
“With all the stuff going on, we didn’t have the marketing we normally do,” Ritvo said. “The racing was great.”
Sunday’s program marked the end of the winter-spring portion of the track’s six-month marathon meeting. The spring-summer segment begins on Friday with two three-day weekends.
The meeting runs through June 23.
Joel Rosario led all riders with 56 wins, four more than runner-up Flavien Prat. Doug O’Neill led all trainers with 29 wins, four more than runner-up John Sadler.