Santa Anita fall meet to open with a slew of Breeders' Cup preps

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita will launch its five-week autumn meeting with 13 six-figure stakes from Oct. 1-3 designed as prep races for the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar.

The five-week season runs through Oct. 31 at Santa Anita and includes 21 stakes worth $3.29 million, compared to 24 stakes worth $3.69 million in 2020.

The opening three days have seven stakes in the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering fees-paid berths to Breeders’ Cup races.

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There are three Grade 1 races worth $300,000 at the autumn meeting – the American Pharoah Stakes for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on Oct. 1, the Awesome Again Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles on Oct. 2, and the Rodeo Drive Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on turf on Oct. 2.

There are four stakes on Oct. 1, and five each day on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3, ranging in value from $300,000 to $75,000 for the Unzip Me Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs on turf on Oct. 3.

“We have a very strong opening weekend,” racing secretary Chris Merz said. “Hopefully, we get some people to ship some horses and take the prep route at Santa Anita instead of elsewhere.”

After the initial weekend, the most valuable race in the final four weeks of the season is the Grade 2 Twilight Derby, a $200,000 race for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Oct. 31, closing day.

Three races run last autumn are not being run at this year’s meet. The Grade 3 Tokyo City Cup was run in the fall in 2020 but is customarily run at the winter-spring meeting. The Grade 2 Goldikova Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf and the Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes for filly and mare sprinters on turf will be run at Del Mar this fall.

The most significant change to the autumn schedule from recent seasons is a $100,000 increase in prize money for two one-mile turf races for 2-year-olds. They are the Zuma Beach and the Surfer Girl Stakes, for fillies, which each will be worth $200,000 and run on Oct. 3.

The races are designed as a preps for the BC Juvenile Turf and BC Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

Merz said the boost in prize money is designed to make the races more attractive to out-of-state owners and trainers and increase the possibility that participants will be good enough to run in the Breeders’ Cup.

Merz said he adopted a similar purse increase when he worked in Maryland in 2019, boosting the Laurel Futurity for 2-year-olds and Selima Stakes for 2-year-old fillies from $100,000 to $200,000. Sharing won the Selima Stakes that year and followed with a win the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita.