Horse racing at Santa Anita Park got out of the gate extremely fast this season.

The biggest opening day crowd since 1994 (44,579 on Dec. 26) proved to be no one-trick pony, with on-track attendance through the first six days of racing up 21% and on-track handle up 11%.
Out-of-state handle also surged 18% from a year ago while Southern California Off Track Wagering Inc. (SCOTWinc) handle showed a 10% increase and all sources Santa Anita handle was up 14% through week-one.

“We’re obviously very pleased to be off to such a strong start and we want to sincerely thank our fans and horsemen for making this possible,” said Santa Anita President George Haines. “We’ve been lucky with the weather and our field size has been good. We’ve been able to average nine horses per race and there’s no question that has provided better gambling opportunities for our players.”

The weather forecast for the coming days and the line-up of special events scheduled for January portends continued success for Santa Anita.

– By Scott Hettrick

With Santa Anita Park‘s traditional day-after-Christmas opening day falling on a Monday that was a holiday for most people and picture-perfect weather, the race track enjoyed its biggest season opener in nearly 17 years.

The 44,579 in attendance was the first opening day crowd over 40,000 since 2002, and the biggest since the 46,904 crowd of 1994, according to track officials. Monday’s attendance was up 30% over the previous year’s on-track attendance of 34,268. The on-track handle of $4,246,751 was an increase of 10% over 2010. The overall handle, $12,866,300, was up 9%.

Also likely contributing to the bigger crowds was a beefed up marketing push throughout the Los Angeles region aimed at attracting younger fans and Latinos.

Santa Anita will be dark on Tuesday and Wednesday before commencing five successive days of racing on Thursday.

– By Scott Hettrick

Santa Anita Park will feature two football-related promotions for horse racing fans during the fall football season.

A unique football jersey from Santa Anita Park race track will be offered as prizes for football promotions the first three weekends  of the Santa Anita Autumn Meet beginning Friday, Sept. 30 and running through Nov. 6.
By scanning their membership cards on Sunday, Oct. 2, or Sunday, Oct. 9, all Santa Anita Thoroughbreds members will have the opportunity to win the high-quality jersey when they scan again on Oct. 16.

Additionally, all fans are eligible to play “Fourth and Four,” every Sunday throughout the meet to be have a chance to win $500 in cash by picking the winner of the last four horse races and four afternoon NFL games.
Those wishing to participate in the “Fourth and Four” contest are required to fill out a contest card in Sirona’s Bar (located on the main floor of the grandstand) with their race and football selections.  The deadline to enter each Sunday is 1 p.m. and the person or persons who select the most winners of the final four races and four selected NFL games will win or share the $500 prize.

Santa Anita Thoroughbreds membership is free of charge to all fans 18 years of age or older with photo identification.  Fans must apply in person, at the Thoroughbreds Center, on the main floor of the grandstand.  Thoroughbreds members enjoy discounted admission throughout the year and are eligible for Thoroughbreds-only promotional items.

– By Scott Hettrick

Opening day of the first new Santa Anita Park Autumn Meet has been proclaimed Arcadia Day at the Great Race Place.
All Arcadians attending on Friday, Sept. 30, will be granted free Club House admission throughout the afternoon with proof of residency. An “Arcadia Day” booth will be available to welcome and facilitate Arcadia residents and will be located just outside the Club House Admission Gate.
Various Arcadia groups will be showcased in the winners’ area throughout the race day.
Gates will open at 11 a.m., and first race post time is 1 p.m.

“We look forward to having live racing back here on Sept. 30,” said Santa Anita President George Haines.  “Our neighbors are very important to us. We hope to renew acquaintances and make some new friends as well.
“A number of city officials are expected to join us and they too are excited about the prospect of seeing a great many of their constituents at the races on opening day,”  Haines added.

“We sincerely thank Santa Anita for welcoming all of our residents back to the track in such a generous way on opening day,” said Arcadia Mayor, Gary Kovacic. “Going back to 1934, Santa Anita Park has been a cornerstone of our city and we can’t overstate the benefits it brings to the community at large. The economic impact of having live racing here is tremendous, from the business generated by those attending the races to the jobs that they help to create.  On behalf of everyone here in Arcadia, we can’t wait for the Autumn Meet to begin.”

Santa Anita’s Autumn Meet will follow four dark days on the Southern California racing calendar, as the Los Angeles County Fair Meet at Fairplex Park will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 25.

“The Thoroughbred industry is experiencing many changes in California and we want our fans to know that we intend to provide them with a world-class product and that we intend to be more competitive than ever,” said Haines.  “We also want our fans to know that we look forward to welcoming them back and that we intend to make their visits to Santa Anita more enjoyable than ever.  ‘Arcadia Day’ is a good step in that direction.”

Santa Anita will also be offering fans and horsemen a brand new state-of-the-art natural dirt main track, which was completed on July 26.
For more information on opening day and the 2011 Santa Anita Autumn Meet, fans are encouraged to visit www.santaanita.com or to call (626) 574-RACE.

– By Scott Hettrick

Santa Anita Park is re-doing its track surface yet again, this time a comparatively minor makeover that will result in the closing of the track to training for 10 days starting July 11.

Santa Anita made the announcement in conjunction with the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT). The remediation of the track surface with natural sand will be completed in time for training throughout the upcoming Del Mar race meeting and well in advance of Santa Anita’s 2011 Autumn Meeting, which will open in late September.
During the course of the project, the inner training track will be available to horsemen from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., seven days a week.

Santa Anita, which converted from a synthetic main track to natural dirt in December, 2010, experienced near record rainfall immediately following the installation project and, as a result, the composition of the newly installed soils was altered, resulting in an unacceptably high percentage of silt and clay.
The current project will remedy this imbalance and no further soil-related issues are anticipated.

Santa Anita, which hosted back-to-back Breeders’ Cup World Championship events in 2009 and 2010, is on a short-list of finalists to again play host to the Breeders’ Cup in 2012.

– By Scott Hettrick