Santa Anita autumn meeting finishes strong

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita completed a truncated 16-day autumn meeting Sunday with an 11-race program that drew the second-highest all-sources handle of the meet, according to figures released to the media on a daily basis.

Boosted by interest in a mandatory payout in the pick six, all-sources handle on Sunday reached $11.2 million, slightly less than the $12.5 million wagered on Sept. 26, the first Saturday of the meeting.

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Santa Anita did not release any total handle figures for the meeting. The corresponding meeting in 2019 continued until early November and included the Breeders’ Cup races. This year, the public was not able to attend the autumn meeting because of the coronavirus pandemic. A small group of owners was allowed to attend. The track has not welcomed spectators since mid-March.

Most wagering was conducted at simulcast facilities or through account-wagering services. Ontrack handle often amounted to just $100,000 to $150,000 a day.

“It’s hard to make a comparison,” track executive Aidan Butler said of the autumn meets last year and this year. “There’s no apples-to-apples right now.”

Butler is the outgoing executive director of California racing for Santa Anita’s parent company. This week, Butler is relocating to Florida to become chief operating officer for the company’s East Coast racetracks.

While there is widespread concern in the Southern California racing community regarding the horse population, average field size at Santa Anita this fall was virtually the same as during a similar period last year. This year, there were 155 races, with an average field of 7.1 runners. Last year, during a similar period, there were 158 races with an average field of 7.14 runners. The entire 2019 autumn meeting, including Breeders’ Cup weekend, had an average field size of 7.51 runners.

The 16-day meeting this year had no racing or training fatalities, according to the California Horse Racing Board’s website. One horse was euthanized as the result of a stable-area accident, according to the racing board.

“That’s the hard work of a lot of people,” Butler said in regard to the safety record.

The autumn meeting was two days shorter than intended. The season was scheduled to begin Sept. 19, but was postponed a week because of a massive wildfire in the mountains near the track.

“The fact we got open is a blessing,” Butler said. “I think more things have landed on the positive.”

On the track, Flavien Prat led all riders with 27 wins, four more than runner-up Juan Hernandez. Peter Miller and Bob Baffert led trainers with 11 wins each.

Improbable, who won the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes on Sept. 26, was named horse of the meeting.

Sunday, the 20-cent Rainbow pick six paid $56,656 on a day that began with a carryover of $149,743. Bettors added $1,921,047 to the pool Sunday.