Santa Anita asking to run Arabian race

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita will request approval from the California Horse Racing Board on Feb. 25 to conduct a stakes race for Arabians on April 2.

A $100,000 race for older horses on dirt is scheduled as part of a weekend of events in the Los Angeles area for the Arabian racing community. The Darley Awards ceremony, the Arabian equivalent of the Eclipse Awards, is scheduled for April 1 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The Dolby is the site of the Academy Awards.

Santa Anita needs racing-board and legislative approval to run a non-Thoroughbred race with betting during its winter-spring meeting. Legislation allowing for the Arabian race has been introduced in the California Assembly and is being heard at the committee level.

The race will be financed by the Abu Dhabi-based Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Racing Festival, which sponsors stakes for Arabians at other venues in the United States as well as in Europe and Abu Dhabi.

The Santa Anita race will be the first race for Arabians since the President of the United Arab Emirates Cup was held in conjunction with the Breeders’ Cup in November 2013. The April race is expected to draw runners from throughout the United States and possibly Europe or the Middle East.