Santa Anita's inaugural “The Tin Man Turf Starter Distance Series” will debut this Saturday, as older horses will be provided an opportunity to run in a series of four races, beginning at a mile and one eighth on up to a mile and three quarters on grass. In addition to the opportunity to earn substantial purse money, horses will also be competing to earn a free berth in a pair of marathon turf stakes, either the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes May 29, or the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes on June 20.
The series is named in honor of Ralph and Aury Todd's homebred son of Affirmed, The Tin Man, who was foaled in 1998 and raced through age nine in 2007. Trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, The Tin Man was a multiple graded stakes winner who was a two time Grade 1 winner at age nine. Retired following his 9-year-old campaign, The Tin Man banked more than $3.6 million.
Leg One of The Tin Man series on Saturday will be contested at a mile and one eighth on turf. Leg Two, on Feb. 20, will be run at a mile and one quarter, Leg Three, on March 20 will be run at a mile and one half and the fourth leg will be contested at a mile and three quarters down Santa Anita's Camino Real Hillside Turf Course on April 17.
The Tin Man Starter Distance Series will be open to older horses which have started for a claiming tag of $40,000 or less from 2019 to the present.
“Our hope is that this distance series will serve as a throwback to some of the legendary horses that have competed here at Santa Anita and that these races are going to provide good betting opportunities,” said Santa Anita's Director of Racing and Racing Secretary Chris Merz. “I think our fans and horsemen are going to be excited to see these races run over the downhill Camino Real Course, which has such a rich history.”
Entries for this Saturday at Santa Anita will be taken Wednesday morning. Although there is still no public admittance, fans can view all Santa Anita races free of charge at santaanita.com/live and they can watch and wager via several ADW platforms, including 1st.com/Bet.
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