Santa Anita fall stakes schedule includes five-furlong turf races

Santa Anita will run three stakes at five furlongs on turf at the 22-day autumn meeting from Sept. 28 to Nov. 4, the track announced on Thursday.

This will be the first meeting with five-furlong turf races, which will be run on the oval portion of the course. The races will be run on a limited basis, track officials said. For decades, the shortest turf races at Sana Anita have been run at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course, which will continue.

The first of 26 stakes at the meeting – the Grade 3 Eddie D Stakes on Sept. 28 – will be run on the hillside course.

Typical of past autumn meetings, the first two weekends are highlighted by preps for the Breeders’ Cup, which will be run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2-3. Santa Anita will host seven stakes in the first two weeks in which the winner will receive automatic berths to Breeders’ Cup races.

The list includes the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes for 2-year-olds at five furlongs on turf Oct. 6. The winner will receive a fees-paid berth in the newly created Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at the same distance at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2.

There are six Grade 1 races worth $300,000 each on the first two weekends, all prep for the Breeders’ Cup with fees-paid berths to the winners. One race has had a name change – the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes for 2-year-olds on Sept. 29 will be known as the American Pharoah Stakes in honor of the 2015 Triple Crown winner. The winner receives a berth in the BC Juvenile.

The Sept. 29 program has three other Grade 1 races, led by the Awesome Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles, a prep for the BC Classic; the Chandelier Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles (BC Juvenile Fillies); and the Rodeo Drive Stakes for fillies and mares on turf at 1 1/4 miles (BC Filly and Mare Turf).

The Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 30 is a prep for the BC Distaff. The Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Oct. 6 is a prep for the BC Sprint.

The Grade 2 City of Hope Mile, a $200,000 turf race, has been restored to the schedule after it was not offered in 2017 because of financial concerns.

The first weekend of November will include seven stakes, including two Grade 2 and two Grade 3 races.

Two $100,000 stakes for California-breds have been shortened from about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course to five furlongs on turf – the California Distaff for fillies and mares on Oct. 13 and the California Flag on Oct. 20.