Santa Anita plans to race on Saturday and Sunday
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Santa Anita will conduct racing on Saturday and Sunday after canceling Friday’s program because of air-quality concerns caused by the massive wildfires that struck Los Angeles County this week.
Track officials monitored air-quality data through Friday before deciding to proceed with racing this weekend.
The track has an 11-race program scheduled for Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m. Pacific that includes five stakes that comprise the California Cup program for statebreds. A 10-race program will begin at noon Pacific on Sunday.
On Thursday, Santa Anita postponed a 10-race program scheduled for Friday. The program has been moved to Thursday, Jan. 16, as part of a five-day racing week through Jan. 20.
The air-quality level in Arcadia, Calif., where Santa Anita is located, showed improvement through Friday though it was still rated as “unhealthy for sensitive groups” at 4 p.m. Pacific. Conditions were worse Thursday.
According to Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations, tracks have the option of canceling races or workouts, and participants can opt out without penalty, if the air-quality index exceeds 150. Racing or workouts should be cancelled if AQI measurements are higher than 175, the policy states.
Santa Anita had a reading of 99 at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, according to airnow.gov, a consortium of government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that administer the AQI readings, which measure air pollution.
The figure at Santa Anita was higher than 122 on Thursday.
A major fire in the Altadena-Pasadena area, north and northwest of Santa Anita, had consumed more than 13,600 acres, according to published reports. A larger fire, in Pacific Palisades, near the Pacific Ocean, about 33 miles west of Santa Anita, had burned more than 20,000 acres. Both fires consumed thousands of homes and businesses.
Neighborhoods near the racetrack were ordered evacuated earlier in the week. Many of those communities are home to scores of people involved in Southern California racing. Jockey Mario Gutierrez, who has won the Kentucky Derby twice, lost his home to the Altadena-Pasadena fire, his agent, Mike Ciani, told Santa Anita publicity.
Earlier this week, Santa Anita sustained damage to the roofs of some barns and lost trees because of high winds. There were high winds in the area on Tuesday and Wednesday that led to the rapid spread of wildfires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades and caused smaller fires in Los Angeles County.
As a result of the wind and fires, training was curtailed for most of the week at Santa Anita. High winds led to the cancellation of training an hour earlier than expected on Tuesday. No training was allowed Wednesday because of the fires. On Thursday and Friday mornings, training was restricted to horses being jogged or galloped because of concern over air quality.
Other sporting events in the Los Angeles area have been postponed or relocated. A Los Angeles Kings game was postponed Wednesday evening, a day before a Los Angeles Lakers game was not held. The NFL playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams on Monday has been moved to Glendale, Ariz. Some college and high school sporting events also have been postponed.
The fires have occurred after an abnormally dry fall and winter in Southern California after rainy seasons in recent winters.
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