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Santa Anita to Increase Overnight Purses by 10% for 2020-21 Season

Santa Anita Park announced Saturday that overnight purses for its 2020-21 season, which begins in its traditional Dec. 26 card, will be raised by 10% to a daily average of $533,000. The meet will run through June 20, 2021. Six stakes on opening day include the GI Malibu S., GI La Brea S. and GI American Oaks. Other meet highlights include the GI Santa Anita H. Mar. 6 and GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 3. Click for a complete stakes schedule, pending approval by the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

“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.”

Santa Anita will also be unveiling a new turf chute when the meet begins which will allow for sprints up to 6 1/2 furlongs to be contested over flat ground.

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Caracaro Retired to Crestwood

‘TDN Rising Star‘ Caracaro (Uncle Mo–Peace Time, by War Front) has been retired from racing and will take up stud duties in 2021 at Pope McLean’s Crestwood Farm for a fee of $6,500 LFSN. Campaigned by Global Thoroughbred and Top Racing LLC and conditioned by Gustavo Delgado, the bay was a six-length second-out winner at Gulfstream in January. He was second by a neck in Saratoga’s GIII Peter Pan S. in July, and completed the exacta in the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 8 while earning a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

“We are excited to stand Caracaro, a quality Grade I performing son of Uncle Mo, who is proving himself to be a sire of sires,” said Pope McLean Sr. “Three of the top four freshman sires by earnings are sons of Uncle Mo. Caracaro was dominant breaking his maiden at Gulfstream Park and was labeled a ‘TDN Rising Star’. He followed that up with a pair of runner-up finishes at Saratoga in the GIII Peter Pan and $1-million Travers. Caracaro has a lot to offer breeders as a Grade I performer by Uncle Mo, out of a War Front mare.”

A $95,000 Keeneland September yearling, Caracaro is a grandson of Grade II winner and GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up Santa Catarina (Unbridled).

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Golden Gate, Health Department Issue COVID Update; 200 Positive Tests

Golden Gate Fields and the City of Berkeley Public Health issued the following update Friday evening with regards to a COVID-19 outbreak at the track which has shut down racing at least through November:

City of Berkeley Public Health continues to work closely with Golden Gate Fields on a significant outbreak where more than 200 people living or working on-site at the racetrack have tested positive for COVID-19. 1/ST RACING, which operates the track, is following all of the City’s recommendations for testing, quarantine and isolation. The steps they have taken include the following:

Every person living or working on-site has been tested and additional testing will be done.

All those who have tested positive are isolated off-site, following federal, state and City guidelines. The track is assisting with off-site housing for those who have tested positive and has arranged for twice daily food delivery to ensure that those individuals do not have to leave isolation and have the essential items they require.

Golden Gate Fields’ on-site medical director, an infectious disease expert, is providing medical consultation to those who live and work at the racetrack.

For those close contacts who have tested negative but still need to quarantine for 14 days, the track is providing daily food delivery and access to medical support as well as the means to safely quarantine, including additional bathrooms and handwashing stations.

Golden Gate Fields continues to implement health and safety measures including, strict social distancing, masking policies and regular COVID-19 testing with isolation requirements for any positive cases or identified close contacts.

Both Berkeley Public Health and 1/ST RACING will be closely monitoring the situation to follow all local, state and federal guidelines. Should testing identify more cases, further investigation and tracing will be done by Berkeley Public Health and additional isolation and quarantine will be required.

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Immediate Future of Racing at Woodbine Unclear Following Lockdown Declaration

During a Friday afternoon briefing, Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, Canada, announced a mandatory 28-day lockdown in the city of Toronto and the suburb of Peel, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Nov. 23. It was not immediately clear how the decision would impact racing operations at Woodbine Racetrack, though the Toronto Star reported that while training can continue, racing will cease.

“With the numbers rising rapidly in certain regions, we have to make the tough, but necessary decisions now to protect our hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes, and every person in this province,” said Premier Ford. “We cannot afford a province-wide lockdown, so we are taking preventative action today by moving Toronto and Peel into Lockdown level restrictions and other regions into higher levels of restrictions. We need to take decisive action to stop the spread of this deadly virus.”

Late Friday, Jamie Dykstra, Director of Communications and Content for Woodbine Entertainment, issued a statement that read: “Since the beginning of our province’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, our commitment to public safety has not wavered. We are extremely supportive of the Government’s efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our community.

“Furthermore, we are very proud of our safety record at Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park in this regard. To that end, we are currently working to understand the implications this recent news will have on Thoroughbred racing at Woodbine Racetrack and the thousands of people it supports throughout the province.

“We will provide further updates at the appropriate time.”

The racing season at Woodbine was delayed from its usual mid-April start to June 6 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. As recently as Nov. 19, track officials announced that they were managing a COVID positive in an active jockey, but that live racing would be able to proceed. Woodbine was scheduled to conclude its 2020 season Sunday, Dec. 13.

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