Santa Anita cancels entire eight-race Sunday card due to weather

ARCADIA, Calif. - Santa Anita canceled its eight-race Sunday program in anticipation of a day of heavy rain and wind, track senior vice-president Joe Morris said.

The decision was made shortly before 8 a.m., more than four hours before first post time of 12:30 p.m. This is the second time this month Santa Anita has lost a racing program to weather. The Jan. 12 card was canceled because of a torrential downpour early that morning.

Morris said weather forecasts indicated that rain would begin at midday Sunday and continue until evening.

“There is no getting out of this one,” he said of the storm. “We’re going to get three to six inches of rain in the foothills and 20 to 30 miles-per-hour winds also. The heaviest stuff could be around 12 o’clock to 6 or 7. It’s going to be nasty.”

Morris said he was discouraged by weather reports on television advising people not to travel Sunday.

“If you watch the weather, they’re saying, ‘Stay home,’ ” he said. “It’s on and on and on. We think it’s the best thing to do.”

The track had been anticipating a wet Sunday. The eight-race program was scheduled entirely for dirt, and had one less race than a typical Sunday. The program did not include a stakes.

Racing is scheduled to resume Thursday with an eight-race program. Entries for Thursday were scheduled to be drawn Saturday, but were postponed a day because of insufficient entries. Some of Sunday’s canceled races may be reintroduced in the upcoming race week.

The forecast is brighter for the upcoming week. Morris said the Thursday and Friday programs will likely be on the main track. The turf course will be used on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s program includes five six-figure stakes in the California Cup program, including three stakes on turf.

California has had above-normal rain the last 30 days, putting a significant dent in a multi-year drought. Through Saturday, downtown Los Angeles, for example, has recorded 11.2 inches of rain since Oct. 1, compared to 3.77 during a similar period last year. Normal for the time frame is 6.17, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Morris said Sunday’s program and the lost day of racing on Jan. 12 will be made up before the end of the spring-summer meeting on July 4.