Santa Anita autumn stakes schedule all about Breeders' Cup preps

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita has scheduled 26 stakes for its autumn meeting, which runs from Sept. 30 to Nov. 6, with the first two weekends dominated by preps for Breeders’ Cup races. There are purse increases for six stakes.

The track has made minor revisions to the schedule from 2021. This year, the autumn schedule includes the $100,000 Tokyo City Cup at 1 1/2 miles on dirt, a race run in past years in early spring.

The schedule includes five Grade 1 or Grade 2 races that offer fees-paid berths to Breeders’ Cup races at Keeneland on Nov. 4-5.

There are 10 stakes on the weekend of Oct. 1-2 and six on the weekend of Oct. 8-9, nearly all Breeders’ Cup prep races. For the first time this year, two $200,000 races for 2-year-olds at a mile on turf on Oct.9 – the Zuma Beach and Surfer Girl for fillies – will be run as Grade 3 races.

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Four overnight stakes have had purses increased by $10,000, to $80,000 or $85,000. Two seven-furlong stakes for California-breds run at Del Mar last fall – the Golden State Juvenile and Golden State Juvenile Fillies – have been increased by $25,000, to $175,000.

Those stakes as well as the Grade 2 Goldikova Stakes and the $100,000 Sen. Ken Maddy alternate between Del Mar and Santa Anita depending on which Southern California track is hosting the Breeders’ Cup or holds host-track simulcast rights.

This year, the Breeders’ Cup races will be simulcast on the final weekend of the Santa Anita autumn meeting. There are no stakes scheduled for the final weekend of the autumn meeting.