Santa Anita cuts purses for remainder of meeting

ARCADIA, Calif. – Facing a seven-figure overpayment, Santa Anita has cut overnight purses for the rest of its meeting to levels equal to the 2022 autumn meeting, but lower than the corresponding period a year ago.

The cuts will take effect when racing resumes on April 21 after the track’s annual spring hiatus, which began after Sunday’s program. The meeting runs through June 18.

Track general manager Nate Newby said on Sunday that the purse deficit “is over $2 million” and that the reduced purses will be at a level “that is sustainable” for current mutuel handle.

California tracks generate revenue for purses solely from handle and do not have alternative sources of funding, such as slot machines or casinos, which have helped many racetracks across the country pay higher purses than they otherwise could.

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The forthcoming cuts affect races at all levels. A maiden race will be worth $61,000, down from $67,000 since late December. The same race was worth $61,000 last fall and $67,000 at this time last year.

A first-condition allowance race will be worth $63,000, the same as in the fall, but a reduction from $72,000 earlier this year and $69,000 in late April of 2022.

The purse of a $20,000 claimer for maidens has been reduced from $24,000 earlier this year to $22,000 in coming months. Such a race was worth $24,000 a year ago.

“It’s time to get [purses] to a level that is sustainable,” Newby said.

Newby mentioned that purses have increased on numerous occasions since late 2020.

In December, the track announced an increase in allowance purses by $3,000 per race for the current meet, which began Dec. 26.

In early 2021, California tracks announced that purses would grow by as much as $15 million in 2021 and 2022 through an agreement with the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the account-wagering firm TVG. During the first year of the pandemic, handle from account-wagering sources rose considerably because racegoers were largely unable to attend races, a situation that all but eliminated ontrack handle.

The purse cut comes after a wet winter that forced the cancellation of eight racing days from Jan. 1 to March 24. Three makeup days have been conducted. The April 21 program is also a makeup day. Track officials have said that races will be added to existing programs through the remainder of the meeting to compensate for races lost to the cancellations.

At Santa Anita, all-sources handle for the first quarter of the year, through March 31, was $30.08 million, down 9 percent from $32.91 million during a similar period in 2022, according to the California Horse Racing Board.

Newby said day-to-day handle has increased 5 percent this year from the 2021-2022 meeting.

Ontrack and all-sources handle on Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby Day program were higher than last year. The ontrack handle on Saturday was $2,356,392 compared to $2,174,298 in 2022. All-sources handle was $21.67 million on Saturday compared to $17.83 million last year.

“Business was up in all categories,” Newby said.

The handle figures would have been higher had three turf races at the end of the program stayed on the surface instead of being switched to the main track because of safety concerns over footing on the final turn. The surface switch resulted in 13 late scratches in those races.

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Two turf races were switched from turf to dirt on Sunday for similar reasons.