Officials at Santa Anita have announced that the track will write maiden special weight races for 2-year-olds beginning Apr. 18 and 19 and that the track will offer a pair of five-furlong stakes, each worth $75,000, for the juvenile set on closing day of the winter/spring meet June 23. The Landaluce S. for fillies and the Santa Anita Juvenile S. were last contested in 2017.
In the spirit of cooperation and to offer a more comprehensive and cohesive 2-year-old product, Santa Anita has struck an agreement with Del Mar that will allow juveniles who race in Santa Anita maidens to have preference to enter like races at the seaside oval when it opens its 2019 season July 17.
“We want to sincerely thank [racing secretary] Tom Robbins and his team at Del Mar for recognizing the importance of granting those maidens which have started here preference in terms of their ability to run later in the summer,” said P.J. Campo, executive vice president, racing division, for The Stronach Group. “All told, this is a comprehensive approach that will serve all of us well.”
He continued, “In consultation with all of our stakeholders…we realized that we need to work together to provide more opportunities to race, market and sell our juvenile horses, who truly represent our future.”
Added Robbins: “What we're essentially doing is giving those 2-year-olds that run in maiden special races in May or June, Cal-bred or open, preference when entering any maiden special or maiden claiming races at sprint distances on the main track here for the first 10 days of racing this summer. These horses will have automatic preference over those horses that did not race at Santa Anita.”
Campo also expressed his support and excitement for the Fasig-Tipton 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale that will take place at Santa Anita June 5. Fasig-Tipton has stepped in to fill a void created by the exit of Barretts from the sales calendar.
“Having Fasig-Tipton come here for their June 5 sale is tremendous news for our horsemen and fans as well,” said Campo. “They are going to be offering top-quality horses and we're going to be offering more races to run in, including of course our brand new stakes on June 23.”
Horses for the sale will begin arriving in late May and will be stabled in temporary barns near the seven-furlong chute, which will provide easy access to the main track.
“All of us at Fasig-Tipton are very excited to launch our inaugural 2-year-old sale at Santa Anita June 5,” said Boyd Browning, President and CEO, Fasig-Tipton. “Santa Anita is the perfect venue for both buyers and sellers and the sale should provide a boost for 2-year-old racing in California.”
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