Santa Anita closed through weekend but hopes to reopen soon

While Santa Anita will not race this weekend, top track executive Aidan Butler said he remains hopeful that racing can resume in the near future.

The track was ordered shut by the Los Angeles county health department last Friday after being deemed a non-essential business in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. Track officials, including Butler, were in contact with health department officials earlier this week before the track announced on Tuesday that there will no racing from Friday through Sunday for a second consecutive weekend.

Butler is the acting director of California racing for The Stronach Group, Santa Anita’s parent company. Butler said on Tuesday that he plans to stay in touch with health department officials in an effort to have the decision reversed.

“Whether or not they want to hear from me, I’m going to keep calling,” Butler said. “This is beyond trying to keep Santa Anita open. This is trying to keep everybody going.

“We’re trying really hard to stay open.”

Butler has argued that racing is in a unique position because of an active stable area and the need for constant care for the approximately 1,600 horses based at Santa Anita. Butler said 750 people care for those horses.

Racing was held without spectators and with a massive reduction in employees, for five racing days from March 14-22. From March 20-22, horse owners were not permitted to attend. Those weekends allowed owners to generate purse earnings to offset costs of keeping horses in training.

Butler said he wants to resume that structure, while incorporating additional limits on personnel allowed on the premises, in an effort to satisfy health department demands. By keeping some backstretch personnel housed at the racetrack, they are not among the population at a time when Los Angeles county his issued a stay-at-home policy, Butler said.

“When you cut out the racing, the economics fall apart,” Butler said. “Hundreds of people leaving here is not good for the environment.”

The track said in Tuesday’s statement that there are no known cases of coronavirus at the track.

The cancellation of racing this weekend forced the postponement of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks and five other stakes scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. In a statement, the track said the Santa Anita Derby and Santa Anita Oaks will be run at a later date during the current season, which runs through June 21.

The races were placed on the first Saturday of April as prep races for the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby on May 1-2 at Churchill Downs. Those races have been postponed until Sept. 4-5 because of the coronavirus outbreak.

While Santa Anita is currently closed, two other tracks in the state – Golden Gate Fields in Albany and Los Alamitos in Cypress – continue to operate. Golden Gate Fields is in Alameda County, while Los Alamitos is in Orange County.