The temporary closure of Santa Anita due to the coronavirus outbreak has led to heightened interest from trainers to ship sprinters from that track to Los Alamitos for 870-yard races. The races are designed to match Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds at a distance in which both can be competitive. On Saturday’s nine-race program at Los Alamitos, the first four races are allowance or maiden races at 870 yards. The fifth is an 870-yard claiming race. The races drew fields consisting entirely of Thoroughbreds, with maximum fields of eight in the first four races and seven entrants in the fifth. There are runners from Santa Anita-based stables such as Vann Belvoir, Kristin Mulhall, and Jeff Mullins as well as Bob Hess and Quinn Howey, who are based at Golden Gate Fields, which is also temporarily closed. Races at 870 yards were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s at Los Alamitos, a time when the Quarter Horse gelding Griswold was a standout in races at the distance. Griswold lost a half-mile match race to the Thoroughbred Valiant Pete at Santa Anita in April 1991. In 1992, 212 of the 1,100 races run at an eight-month Quarter Horse meeting at Los Alamitos were contested at 870 yards. By 2002, the number fell to 183 races of the 1,412 Quarter Horse races run in a yearlong meeting. In 2015, there were 56 races at 870 yards from 1,272 Quarter Horse races. :: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Through Thursday at the current meeting, which began Dec. 27, there had been 21 races at 870 yards from 320 Quarter Horse races. Two of Saturday’s allowance races have conditions ideal for Thoroughbreds from Golden Gate Fields or Santa Anita. The third and fourth races are restricted to horses that have not won a race at 870 yards, with a division for fillies and mares and an open division. Both races drew oversubscribed fields, but will be limited to eight starters. First post time is 9 p.m. Eastern, or 6 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. The third race, for fillies and mares, is led by Into Mystic, who was third in the Bold Ego Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Sunland Park in January for trainer Todd Fincher. Now trained by Mullins, Into Mystic was the easy winner of an allowance race at 5 1/2 furlongs at Sunland Park in February in her final start for Fincher. Trainer Rafael DeLeon starts the quick We Will Re Joyce, who won a $5,000 claimer at 4 1/2 furlongs on March 22 at Los Alamitos, ending a seven-race losing streak. In the fourth race, Belvoir starts Italiano, a five-time winner who is a threat from off the pace if he can catch the speedy Run Factor. Trained by Angela Aquino, Run Factor has won three of his last four starts. Following Saturday’s program, racing resumes at Los Alamitos on Friday, April 17. There is no racing on Easter Sunday.