Santa Anita to reopen March 22 with revamped stakes schedule

ARCADIA, Calif. – Racing is scheduled to resume March 22 at Santa Anita, ending a two-week interruption that came after a rash of equine fatalities.

Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer for Santa Anita owner The Stronach Group, confirmed the re-opening date Sunday morning, and racing officials announced significant revisions to the stakes program.

The main track at Santa Anita has undergone extensive testing and dry-weather renovation since midweek, under the guidance of trackman Dennis Moore. The track will reopen for joggers and gallopers on Monday; timed workouts will resume at an unspecified date. On Sunday morning, Ritvo expressed confidence.

“If the track performs as well as we think it’s going to perform, and we don’t have any incidents, (March 22) is the day we hope to get back to what we’re calling the ‘new normal,’ ” Ritvo said.

Santa Anita officials have announced enhanced safety protocols for the resumption of racing, and Ritvo said Moore has been “extremely happy” with the condition of the main track in recent days as the weather cleared. Meanwhile, a specific reason for the 21 equine fatalities since Dec. 26 remains elusive.

“We’re looking at everything,” Ritvo said. “I know everybody wants us to find this one big thing (reason for breakdowns), but it’s much more complicated. So I think the pause was a good thing for everybody. If we put the horse first, and then the customer, we should be okay.”

Santa Anita suspended racing beginning March 7. The two-week interruption led to a postponement of several top races including three Grade 1s, and outright cancellation of others.

Santa Anita racing secretary Steve Lym outlined the changes in the stakes program on Sunday morning.

The new date for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap is April 6. Due to the rescheduling of the Big ’Cap for older horses, Santa Anita has cancelled the Grade 2 Californian, which was scheduled for April 20; the Californian is also for older horses. The Grade 3 Tokyo City, for older horses at 1 1/2 miles, remains as scheduled on April 14.

The April 6 card will now include seven stakes races, including the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks. Lym said nominations for the Big ’Cap will remain closed. McKinzie and Gift Box top the 17 nominees.

The new date for the Grade 1 Beholder Mile and Grade 2 San Carlos is March 23. The Beholder is for fillies and mares, the San Carlos is a seven-furlong race for older horses. Those rescheduled stakes will be part of a March 23 stakes tripleheader that includes the Grade 2 San Luis Rey Stakes for older horses at 1 1/2 miles on turf.

The new date for the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile is March 30. That mile turf race for older horses will be part of a stakes doubleheader that includes the Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes for fillies and mare at 1 1/4 miles on turf.

The Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes, for turf sprinters on the hillside course, will now anchor the March 22 “opening day” card. The $100,000 Irish O’Brien for Cal-bred fillies and mares on the hill will be run on March 31.

Other cancelled stakes races, in addition to the Californian, include the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes for 3-year-olds; $75,000 China Doll Stakes for 3-year-old turf fillies; and Grade 3 Santa Ysabel for 3-year-old fillies on the main track,

Lym said a new condition book that begins with racing for March 22 will be published next week.