Marathon programs end spring-summer meet

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita is ending its spring-summer meeting this weekend with marathon racing programs.

Saturday’s program has 12 races and will begin at noon to accommodate an early afternoon ceremony honoring Triple Crown winner Justify. Sunday’s closing-day program is expected to have “10 or 11” races, according to Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of the track’s parent company, The Stronach Group.

Los Alamitos opens its three-week summer meeting Thursday.

Santa Anita ran a 13-race program April 7, the day of the Santa Anita Derby, which included a stakes for Arabian-bred horses. This Saturday’s program is entirely for Thoroughbreds.

Ritvo said Thursday there is demand for more racing on the final weekend.

“If the opportunities are there, we want to run, especially for the owners,” Ritvo said. “Why not run the races?”

The marathon program Saturday comes a year after Santa Anita canceled four days of racing on Thursdays in April and June because of insufficient entries. The track reverted to a three-day racing calendar for three weeks in June last year. This year, there have been no canceled days because of low entries.

Saturday’s program drew 96 horses, with two additional runners on an also-eligible list. The first two races have six and five entrants in allowances with optional-claiming conditions, while the remaining races have seven or more entrants.

Ritvo said the two small fields are a necessity to avoid a situation in which owners are not given a chance to start better horses. One of those races is on turf. Los Alamitos does not have a turf course, leaving a gap in turf racing to the start of the Del Mar meeting on July 18.

“I’m a field-size guy,” Ritvo said. “There are times when there are six horses that don’t get an opportunity to race if you don’t use the race. You don’t want too many of those.”

Justify is scheduled to be paraded between the fourth and fifth races. The fourth race has a post time of 1:40 p.m.

Ritvo hopes Justify’s presence will draw an additional “5,000 to 10,000” to Santa Anita on Saturday. Last Saturday, ontrack attendance reached 10,126.