By Bill Finley
During an interview on Saturday's NBC broadcast of the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, 1/ST CEO Belinda Stronach announced that Santa Anita Park will play host to the “California Crown” Sept. 28, which she said will have some of the same elements as Gulfstream's Pegasus World Cup Day. The Pegasus has become a huge event for 1/ST, who owns both racetracks.
“We have an amazing relationship with the folks here in Miami, but we're going to move it out West,” Stronach said. “Not the Pegasus, but a new race called the California Crown. We're going do something that's unique to California, something old school with a Hollywood vibe. It will be tremendous racing. It will be the richest day of racing in California. We're going to be bi-coastal. The Pegasus will remain here in Miami and continue to grow. We'll be doing something very similar but very 'California' at Santa Anita Sept. 28 this year.”
The Associated Press reported that the California Crown would replace the GI Awesome Again S., a race for 3-year-olds and up. The AP reported that the California Crown will be for 3-year-olds.
“(Santa Anita) doesn't have a marquee, special-event date,” Stronach told The AP.
Few details were available at deadline for this story, including the intended purse or what would consist of the undercard.
1/ST Racing and Gaming President Aidan Butler told the Associated Press that the purse would depend on the division of revenue between northern and southern California this year after the closing of Golden Gate Fields in June.
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