Santa Anita planning to give turf course short rest next spring
ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita is planning to conduct racing on a three-day schedule for two consecutive weeks in April to rest the turf course, senior vice-president Joe Morris said last weekend.
Speaking at a forum conducted by the Thoroughbred Owners of California, Morris said the three-day racing weeks will be held on April 14-16 and 21-23, the first two weeks of the track’s spring-summer meeting. During that time, there will be no turf racing.
The track installed a new turf course in June which went into use at the start of the autumn meeting on Sept. 30.
Morris said Santa Anita’s schedule for the 2017 season will be similar to those in 2014 and 2015. The winter-spring meeting will run from Dec. 26 to April 9. The spring-summer meeting will begin April 14 continue through July 4. With six months of continuous racing, track officials want to rest the turf course briefly.
The 2017 racing calendar was approved by the California Horse Racing Board earlier this year. Santa Anita has yet to file applications with the racing board detailing specific racing days for the winter-spring and spring-summer meetings. The application for the winter-spring meeting will be heard by the racing board later this month or in November.