New bonus program will reward horsemen who have raced at the current meet

ARCADIA, Calif. - Santa Anita is launching a cash bonus for the final four months of its current winter-spring meeting designed to keep horses that have raced at the track since late December from leaving for other circuits.

This is the second cash incentive program announced within a week designed to improve field size.

According to a statement released Thursday, the owners of horses that have raced at Santa Anita from opening day on Dec. 28 through this Sunday will receive a 10 percent bonus on purses earned for first through fifth-place finishes in overnight races in the horse’s first start between March 6 and June 21, closing day of the current meeting.

The bonus is being funded by the racetrack, and its parent company, The Stronach Group, and is independent of funds from the purse pool, the track said in a statement. Horses racing in stakes are not eligible, the track said.

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In addition, the track will pay for up to two pre-race veterinary examinations for all horses entered, regardless of whether they have raced at the meeting. All runners are subject to extensive pre-race examinations as part of safety protocols put in place in 2019 following a series of fatal breakdowns at Santa Anita.

“It is very important that we reward those who have been loyal to us this winter,” Aidan Butler, the acting director of California operations for The Stronach Group, said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. “We know that while the additional veterinary protocols put in place are keeping the horses safer, they come at a cost to our owners.”

On Feb. 23, Santa Anita announced a bonus program that will start on April 1 designed to lure horses from other circuits and boost field size.

The Santa Anita Sunshine Bonus will pay a 50 percent bonus to an owner whose horse finishes first through fifth in overnight races in their initial start of the meeting. The horses cannot have raced in California in the last year to be eligible. First-time starters and horses running in stakes are not eligible.

In addition, a $3,000 participation bonus will be paid to owners for horses having their initial starts at the meeting in overnight races that have not raced in California in the last year and are not first-time starters.

Financing for that bonus program is a joint venture between the track and the Thoroughbred Owners of California, the state’s official representative of owners.

The bonus for local horses was created after some horsemen privately expressed dismay in recent days that track officials had not provided incentives to award owners and trainers who have been based in California through the winter and may not have the means to acquire horses from other circuits that would qualify for the 50 percent bonus.

The bonus programs have been created at a time when the track has struggled to draw full fields. Track officials indicated last weekend that the remainder of the meeting will be run on a three-day per week basis from Friday-through-Sunday, with the exception of Memorial Day racing on May 25.

Through this week, the track has eliminated three Thursday programs, all this month.

Through Sunday, the 30th day of the meeting, fields had averaged 7.34 runners per race compared to 7.48 runners per race through 36 racing days during a comparable period at the 2018-19 season. This year, there have been 253 races in that span, compared to 333 in a similar time period last year.