Santa Anita Meet Closes with Handle Gains
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The 25-day autumnmeet at Santa Anita Park, anchored by the Breeders' Cup World Championships Oct. 31-Nov. 1, concluded Nov. 2 showing increases in pari-mutuel handle., the track said.
Santa Anita did not provide figures for the meet, but a track press release said all-sources handle was up 4% over last year, while on-track handle showed a 3% increase.
On-track attendance for the two Breeders' Cup days totaled 98,319--with 61,114 on Breeders' Cup Saturday, and 37,205 on Breeders' Cup Friday. This represented a 4% increase over last year's Breeders' Cup numbers. The Breeders' Cup will be held next year at Keeneland, and return to Santa Anita for a record ninth time in 2016.
With the closing of Hollywood Park late last year, Santa Anita, for the first time ever, conducted live racing from Dec. 26, 2013, through June 29 of this year—a total of 107 days. Combined with the 25-day autumn meet, the Arcadia, Calif. track had 132 days of live racing.
"As we wrap up our first year of racing under this new calendar at Santa Anita Park, we'd like to thank our fans, horsemen and employees for all of their support," said Santa Anita president Tom Ludt. "We just hosted an unprecedented third consecutive Breeders' Cup this week and the racing world once again saw what a tremendous facility we have here."
With three wins on closing day, Bob Baffert outpointed Jerry Hollendorfer and Leandro Mora 14-13, to snare his 30th Southern California training title.
With 28 wins, Rafael Bejarano led all jockeys, six clear of runner-up Joe Talamo—marking the Peruvian rider's 20th Southern California riding crown.
Live racing returns to Santa Anita Dec. 26, and the track will be open for live racing through June 28. First post time on opening day will be at 12 noon PT.