Santa Anita meet Sept. 30

Santa Anita Park has scheduled its first Autumn meet without Oak Tree Racing to have an opening day of Friday, Sept. 30, pending California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) approval. The meet will run through Sunday, Nov. 6. With the exception of a three-day opening week and a five-day week comprising Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 10, the Autumn Meeting will feature a four-day race week, running on a Thursday through Sunday schedule. “The first weekend is loaded with Breeders’ Cup prep races and our opening Friday will welcome top quality racing back to the Los Angeles area,” said Santa Anita President George Haines. “We look forward to welcoming back our fans and horsemen and to getting the season of to a strong start. Our horse inventory will be monitored very closely and we believe this schedule will ensure that Santa Anita will be able to offer full fields, competitive racing and consistent wagering value.”

Santa Anita, which served as the host location for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008 & 2009, will again offer a traditional series of Breeders’ Cup Challenge Races in preparation for the 2011 Breeders’ Cup, which will be held at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4 & 5. “Our fans and horsemen have helped to establish Santa Anita as America’s premier destination for world-class racing in the fall and we intend to continue and build upon that tradition,” added Haines.

Weekend and holiday post times will be 12:30 p.m. and post time on Thursdays and Fridays will be at 1 p.m. Post time on closing day, Nov. 6, will be 12 noon. First live-race post time on Breeders’ Cup days, Nov. 4 & 5, will be announced soon.

— By Scott Hettrick