Inaugural California Crown to highlight fall stakes at Santa Anita

Santa Anita Park will distribute $5.1 million in stakes purses during its autumn meet under a revamped stakes schedule that includes the establishment of the California Crown series of races, according to a stakes schedule released by the track on Tuesday.

The 16-day autumn meet will feature two dates with five stakes each. Saturday, Sept. 28, will feature four graded races, including the Grade 1, $1 million California Crown Stakes, which was previously run as the Awesome Again Stakes. Like the Awesome Again, the California Crown Stakes will award the winner with a free berth to the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, scheduled for Nov. 2 at Del Mar outside of San Diego.

Two other long-running stakes, the Eddie D and the John Henry Turf Championship, will also be run under the California Crown moniker. The Grade 2 stakes races will both be worth $750,000 this year.

1/ST Racing, Santa Anita’s owner, announced earlier this year that it had established the California Crown to create a day of racing modeled on its Pegasus World Championship at Gulfstream Park in Florida. For the Pegasus, 1/ST has attempted to create an event-like status for the raceday.

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Two traditional prep races for the Breeders’ Cup, the Zenyatta Stakes on dirt for fillies and mares and the Santa Anita Sprint Championship, will be held on Sunday, Sept. 29.

On Oct 5., a Saturday, Santa Anita will again host five stakes races, with three of the stakes awarding automatic berths to Breeders’ Cup races. The Grade 2, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes for 2-year-olds will provide an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and the Grade 2, $200,000 Oak Leaf Stakes, which was run as the Chandelier Stakes from 2012-23, will provide an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Also on the Oct. 5 card, the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes will provide an automatic berth for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. The Grade 3, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes and the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes will round out the Oct. 5 card.

The next day, Santa Anita will hold three Grade 3 stakes, each with a $100,000 purse: the Zuma Beach, the Surfer Girl, and the Tokyo City Cup.

The autumn meet is scheduled to open on Friday, Sept. 27, running through Oct. 27, when racing will switch to Del Mar for its fall meet.

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