From Santa Anita Publicity
ARCADIA, Calif. (June 9, 2017)–With Santa Anita’s current Spring Summer Meet set to conclude on Tuesday, July 4, the track has modified its current racing schedule for the next two weeks, as the track will now run a pair of three-day weeks, beginning Friday, June 16 and Friday, June 23, in advance of a five-day closing week, which starts on Friday, June 30.
“It’s always been our goal to run more race dates, but as we’ve said, consistently, we need to present racing cards that provide the most value and are in the best interest of our customers,” said Joe Morris, The Stronach Group’s Senior Vice President of West Coast Operations. “Looking forward, we will continue to evaluate our racing schedule as we strive to present the best possible product for our fans.”
Santa Anita has added extra races Friday, Saturday and Sunday, resulting in a total of 30 races for the week, compared to 34 that were run over the previous four-day week. Additionally, entries averaged 8.7 per race this week, compared to 6.9 horses per race last week.
With the current meet set to end on July 4, Fan Appreciation will be a top priority over the final three weeks, with free Club House admission added on Fridays, along with free parking on those days as well. The final two days of the season, July 3 and 4, will be Dollar Days, with one dollar beers, sodas and hot dogs.
Santa Anita, which carded a nine-race program Friday, will offer a special 11-race card Saturday, Belmont Stakes Day and a 10-race program on Sunday. Admission gates open early Saturday at 8 a.m. and Santa Anita’s first live race post time is set for 12 noon.