Nate NEwby

The flag has already been planted midway through Santa Anita's current Winter-Spring meet, and prevailing headwinds are still driven by worries over field size. The following table is an analysis of the average field sizes during the first 15 weeks of the Santa Anita Winter meet--a timeframe excluding Santa Anita Derby weekend--over the past five years. In tandem with the above numbers, total handle for the meet thus far--including last weekend--decreased by 1% between last year and this, a number that comes out to nearly $8 million. That's with one...

In spite of six races moved from the turf to the dirt, resulting in 10 program scratches, a total of $2.3 million was wagered on track and total pari-mutuel handle was $19.4 million, making it the third-best opening day figures ever. "We really want to thank the fans for supporting us and the horsemen for going with the changes and participating," said Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager, Nate Newby. "Although it didn't rain yesterday, we had over 4 1/2 inches of rain in the five days leading...

Santa Anita's 2021 Autumn Meeting, which opens Friday, Oct. 1, will now offer a 10% increase in all overnight races as Santa Anita and the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) have reached an agreement that will enable Santa Anita to provide a comprehensive purse increase for the third consecutive race meeting, dating back to the 2020 Autumn Meet. "This is a very significant development and we want to thank everyone at TOC for helping to make this happen," said Chris Merz, Santa Anita Director of Racing and Racing Secretary. "To...

The June California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting put to bed a problem that has been brewing for a few months in the North of California. Due to the fallout from COVID-19, and the ongoing issues surrounding stabling and staff accommodation in the north of California, commissioners voted to switch the three-week State Fair--scheduled to run July 14 to Aug. 3 at Cal Expo--to Pleasanton to be run over a shortened window: July 14 through July 20. Golden Gate Fields has also been allocated an additional two weeks of racing,...

A total of $23,003,159 was wagered on the stakes-packed, 11-race program Saturday at Santa Anita, surpassing the previous record of $20.4 million for the same number of races Dec. 26, 2018, a Wednesday. With the exception of essential licensed personnel, which includes horse owners, the track remains closed to the public. "We want to thank our fans, owners, trainers, jockeys and other stakeholders for supporting our racing program and contributing to a strong opening day," said Nate Newby, Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager. "This has been a...

Officials at Santa Anita have announced that Nate Newby has been promoted to the position of general manager, while Chris Merz will add racing secretary to his current role of director of racing. Newby has most recently served Santa Anita as its senior vice president and general manager and comes as Aidan Butler transitions to his new position as chief operating officer of 1/ST Racing and president of 1/ST Content in Florida. Butler previously headed California operations for Santa Anita's parent company The Stronach Group. Newby, who has been at...

As the  realities of the coronavirus started to spread across California and the country, the team at Santa Anita wasn't sure how to prepare for what could have quickly escalated into a dire situation for the track and the sport. But what began as a scramble of sorts led to a well-coordinated plan. Racing would successfully return to the historic Southern California track and with an innovative wrinkle. During the racing week, the jockeys were required to live in a bubble in campers situated on track. What might at first...

Longtime Santa Anita executives Nate Newby and Amy Zimmerman have been promoted. Newby is now the Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager and Zimmerman is Senior Vice President and Executive Producer. Also, Chris Merz, Maryland Jockey Club's Racing Secretary, has returned to Santa Anita as Director of Racing, assisting Steve Lym, Vice President - Racing. "As I look to continuously strengthen Santa Anita with strong leadership and a dedicated team behind me, I am confident that Nate and Amy, with their vast experience and commitment to Santa Anita and...