With its traditional Winter Meet opener looming Dec. 26, Santa Anita Park announced a first-ever "Ship and Stay" program that is intended to attract out-of-state horsemen and to incentivize them to keep running in California throughout the new year.
Funded solely by Santa Anita and The Stronach Group, the "Ship and Stay" program is patterned after Del Mar's successful "Ship and Win" program and provides on-going bonuses to individual trainers and owners who bring horses to Santa Anita from out of state. Bonuses will be paid to the connections who originally brought them to California for their first three starts. These bonuses will be paid even if the horse is claimed.
"This is a new day for us here at Santa Anita on several fronts," said Santa Anita vice president of racing Rick Hammerle. "Field size is a major concern for us and by undertaking this new program, we're hoping to be able to shore up our inventory at all levels."
Rules of Eligibility:
For a complete list of rules and conditions of eligibility on the "Ship & Stay" program, please contact the Santa Anita racing office at (626) 574-6352.