Santa Anita returning to normal post times

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita post times return to normal starting Thursday, when the track resumes a uniform first-post schedule of 12:30 p.m. every racing day including Sundays. The exceptions are Triple Crown days; first post at Santa Anita on Kentucky Derby day is noon.

The decision to make the move comes six weeks after Santa Anita changed post times to noon, with 11:30 a.m. on Sundays. In a prepared statement, Santa Anita stated that earlier post times did not negatively influence handle. However, the track received feedback that suggested fans and industry participants favor a uniform, later post time.

“The shift to a singular later post time reflects Santa Anita’s continued commitment to fans and horsemen to experiment with new ideas and concepts and to make adjustments according to market conditions and customer preferences,” the track statement read.

With the later post time, the main track will be open for training from 5 a.m. to 10, with three renovation breaks. The training track will be open from 4:45 a.m. to 10, with two renovation breaks.