Santa Anita cancels Saturday card due to rainy forecast
Santa Anita will not race on Saturday because of a forecast for significant rain, but the Friday program will go forward, the track announced late Thursday morning.
This is the second time this month inclement weather has led to a cancellation. Racing was not held at Santa Anita on Jan. 1.
The forecast for Saturday calls for approximately an inch of rain in the Santa Anita area, according to accuweather.com.
Racing is scheduled to proceed on Sunday, but Monday’s card will be subject to an evaluation on Friday, track officials said.
“We’ll reevaluate Monday” on Friday, track general manager Nate Newby said. “Monday is definitely going to be a question.
Newby said the weather “is throwing curveballs at us every day.
“We want to make decisions as early as we can.”
Rain is forecast on Monday, a continuation of unsettled weather in California that has made international news in the last week.
Newby said Santa Anita has sustained 11 inches of rain since the current meeting began on Dec. 26, the most since the winter of 2018-2019. The state has been plagued by drought conditions in recent years.
The eight races scheduled for Saturday, including the Grade 3 La Canada Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles, may be included on the programs for Sunday and Monday. The La Canada is likely to be run on Sunday.
Entries for Sunday were scheduled to be taken on Thursday afternoon. Entries for Monday will be taken on Friday if racing proceeds, according to racing secretary Chris Merz.
“Our focus is to get a Sunday card,” Merz said.
Santa Anita announced on Thursday that an additional day of racing will be held on Jan. 20, a day that was not originally on the schedule. The Jan. 20 program will serve as a make-up day for the recent cancellations.
Other tracks in the state have been affected by wet conditions.
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Los Alamitos, in nearby Orange County, has announced on it will not race on Saturday or Sunday.
In Northern California, Golden Gate Fields plans to run Friday through Monday.
“We don’t anticipate any problems at this time,” track general manager David Duggan said on Thursday.
Golden Gate Fields canceled two days of racing on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 because of inclement weather.
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