From Santa Anita Publicity
ARCADIA, Calif. (Sept. 25, 2023) — Santa Anita will host 19 days of live racing beginning Friday and culminating with the 40th edition of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Nov. 3 & 4. Entries for Friday’s opening day program, which includes the GIII Chillingworth Stales for female sprinters, will be taken on Tuesday.
This year will be a record 11th time Santa Anita has hosted the Breeders’ Cup, which is the richest two days of racing in North America and lures worldwide participation and interest. This week Santa Anita will host nine stakes with Breeders’ Cup implications including the GI Awesome Again on Saturday. The 1 1/8-mile Awesome Again is a “Win & You’re In” Challenge Race qualifier for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at 1 ¼ miles on Nov. 4.
In addition to the Awesome Again, Saturday’s blockbuster card will also include the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship at six furlongs, GII City of Hope Mile on turf and the GII Eddie D at about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course.
On Sunday, Santa Anita will present the GII Zenyatta for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles; the GIII Tokyo City Cup at 1 ½ miles on the main track; and the Unzip Me Stakes for 3-year-old fillies down the hillside turf.
Jason Egan, Santa Anita’s Director of Racing and Racing Secretary, noted grass racing will again play a prominent role during the Autumn Meet.
“I think it’s going to be a good meet, capped by our 11th time hosting the Breeders’ Cup,” Egan said Monday morning. “We’re obviously going to lean into the turf like we have the last couple of years. The front half of the meet especially will be heavy on the grass. We’ll be a bit limited on turf the second half with the Breeders’ Cup being here due to rail settings and things like that. But we’re still going to run what we can to accommodate our horsemen.”
Next week, Santa Anita will host five more stakes with Breeders’ Cup implications. The Saturday, Oct. 7 program will include the GI American Pharoah for 2-year-olds, GII Chandelier for 2-year-old fillies, GII Rodeo Drive for fillies and mares on turf and Speakeasy Stakes for 2-year-old turf sprinters. The Sunday, Oct. 8 card will include the GIII Zuma Beach for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on turf and GIII Surfer Girl for 2-year-old fillies at a mile on turf.
“The fall is always an interesting time of the year,” Egan noted. “You have the 3-year-olds growing up, and certainly the 2-year-olds coming into focus starting at Del Mar. As they mature in the fall, it’s fun to watch them progress and see where they go.”
On most Fridays throughout the meet, including opening day, on-track fans will receive free parking and admission along with $3 beers and $5 margaritas.