Three Grade 1 stakes, the $300,000 American Pharoah for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, the $300,000 Awesome Again for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles, and the $300,000 Rodeo Drive for fillies and mares 3 and up at a mile and one quarter on turf, all figure prominently over the first two days as horsemen prepare for the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar on Nov. 5 and 6.

On opening day, Oct. 1, four stakes will be offered, three of them Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In' stakes – the American Pharoah, the Grade 2, $200,000 Chandelier Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles, and the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes for 2-year-olds at five furlongs on turf.

The Grade 2, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at 6 ½ furlongs on turf will also be run on Oct. 1.

On Saturday, Oct. 2, the Awesome Again and the Rodeo Drive will be complemented by the Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint, which is also a Breeders' Cup 'Win & You're In' qualifier, for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs.

Additionally, the Grade 2, $200,000 City of Hope Mile (turf) will be run on Oct. 2.

On Sunday, Oct. 3, one additional 'Win & You're In' qualifier, the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes for fillies and mares three and up at 1 1/16 miles will be offered, as well as a pair of $200,000 stakes for 2-year-olds at one mile on turf, the Surfer Girl and the Zuma Beach.

The Grade 3, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up at 6 ½ furlongs and the $75,000 Unzip Me Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 6 ½ furlongs on turf round out a total of five stakes on Oct. 3.

A pair of graded stakes, the Grade 3, $100,000 Autumn Miss for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on turf and the Grade 2, $200,000 Twilight Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf will be offered on closing weekend, Oct. 30 and 31.

Santa Anita's complete Autumn 2021 Stakes Schedule will be available later in the week at santaanita.com/horsemen.  For additional information, please call the Santa Anita Racing Office at (626) 574-6352.

The post Seven Breeders’ Cup Win And You’re In Stakes Highlight Santa Anita Autumn Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Santa Anita's traditional Winter/Spring opener will be highlighted by three Grade 1, $300,000 stakes, the seven-furlong Runhappy Malibu, for 3-year-olds, the seven-furlong La Brea, for 3-year-old fillies, and the American Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and one quarter on turf.

These Grade 1 races will be complemented by three other stakes on opening day, the Grade 2, $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile, the Grade 2, $200,000 San Antonio and the $75,000 Lady of Shamrock.

The Grade 1, $400,000 Santa Anita Handicap and the Grade 1, $400,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile will be run on March 6 and be complemented by one of American's most important Derby preps, the Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes, the Grade 2, $200,000 San Carlos Stakes and the $75,000 China Doll Stakes.

The following Saturday, March 13, the Grade 1, $300,000 Beholder Mile for fillies and mares will highlight a program that will also include the Grade 3, $100,000 San Simeon Stakes, which will be run out of Santa Anita's all-new turf chute at six furlongs.

The Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, which has produced 18 Kentucky Derby winners, will be run on April 3, as will the Grade 2, $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks, as well as two Cal-bred stakes, the $200,000 Echo Eddie and the $200,000 Evening Jewel.

The iconic Grade 1, $300,000 Hollywood Gold Cup will be run on May 31, as will two other Grade 1 stakes, both to be run on turf, the $300,000 Shoemaker Mile and the $300,000 Gamely.

The Winter/Spring Meeting will finish strong with the iconic Grade 3, $100,000 San Juan Capistrano Stakes, to be run at a mile and three quarters down the track's Camino Real Turf Course on June 19 and the Grade 3, $100,000 American Stakes, at one mile on turf June 20.

In addition to the American on closing day, a pair of new stakes for 2-year-olds, the $75,000 Fasig-Tipton Futurity and the $75,000 Fasig-Tipton Debutante, will both be contested at five furlongs on the main track.

For the full stakes schedule on the Santa Anita website, click here.

The post Santa Anita Winter-Spring Meet To Feature 95 Stakes, Including 60 Graded, 10 Grade 1 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Santa Anita's 84^th season will be highlighted by a diverse stakes schedule offering over $15-million. The prestigious Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, which has produced 19 winners of the Kentucky Derby, including recent Breeders' Cup Classic hero Authentic, will be run on Saturday, April 3, 2021.

“Building Santa Anita's aggressive overnight purse schedule is a reflection of the confidence that we have in California racing even in the midst of a pandemic,” said Craig Fravel, CEO of 1/ST Racing.  “Nothing has been easy about this past year, so we are thankful to the horsemen who have continued to support our program on a daily basis.  We've missed the fans who have been absent from our track since March 12th, but we are grateful to be able to bring them the consistent top-quality racing that has been synonymous with Santa Anita since 1934.”

The racing program at Santa Anita has continued to evolve over the decades, and another innovation will be on display this winter.  The first major remodel of the Santa Anita turf course since the 1950s, a new turf chute will allow races up to 6 1/2 furlongs to be contested on the flat oval.  Installed and covered with sod in September, the course will be ready for use on Opening Day and greatly increases the turf distance options for horsemen.

Purses at Santa Anita, like all California racetracks, are derived from a percentage of the handle wagered on the track's races, as opposed to other jurisdictions where purses are supplemented with casino revenue and other forms of wagering.

The complete Santa Anita stakes schedule is as follows, pending approval by the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

The post Santa Anita Releases Winter-Spring Stakes Schedule; Overnight Purses Increased 10% appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The post 24 Stakes Slated for Santa Anita Autumn Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post