Santa Anita's Problems Impact Bottom Line

With a nearly 25% decline in wagering on the Santa Anita Park winter-spring meet that concluded June 23, the loss of handle could force horsemen and the track into some tough decisions, although some positive trends could cushion the blow.

The Dec. 26 to June 23 meet at Santa Anita saw a rash of equine deaths in racing or training that forced the track to close for nearly all of March, costing the meet 20 race days. That was the main factor in a $207 million handle decline.

According to handle figures acquired by Bloodhorse.com through the California Horse Racing Board and California Horse Racing Information Management System, the 2018-19 Santa Anita winter-spring meet saw a total of $639,951,580 wagered, a 24.4% reduction compared with the corresponding 2017-18 meeting. On-track wagers were off 30% to $53,240,931, a decline of more than $23 million.

Average daily wagering on Santa Anita was off 5.8% to $7.9 million a day, and average daily on-track wagering declined 13.3% to $657,295.

Pari-mutuel wagering is the sport's economic engine, and it's even more important in California than other jurisdictions. In many racing states, purses are boosted by money generated by added gaming, but California purses receive no such funding for purses or track operations.

Thoroughbred Owners of California president and CEO Greg Avioli acknowledged that down the road the decline in wagering could be a factor that impacts race dates. He said horsemen and track officials will examine the purse fund as well as the horse population in Southern California in making such decisions. 

That said, Avioli added that there are some factors that softened the blow to the purse fund caused by the wagering decline. He said recent meets have seen an underpayment of purses, so even after non-stakes race purses were increased by $10,000 in April at Santa Anita, there still was a $200,000 to $300,000 surplus.

Also, there were some savings in not having to pay out purses for the 20 days lost at the meet.

Avioli also noted that Santa Anita and the purse fund will benefit from increased advance-deposit wagering by Southern California residents for the 81 days hosted by the track. The daily average for ADW wagering for the 81 days was up 20% to $2.86 million compared with the average for last year's 101 days.

Tim Ritvo, who oversees racing operations for The Stronach Group, was traveling and couldn't be reached by BloodHorse for comment.

Compared with the 2017-18 meet, paid purses at the Santa Anita meet declined 8.7% to $45,278,381—down more than $4 million. That decline was attributable to the lost dates, as average daily purses improved 14% to $558,992.

The meet was marred by safety issues. Thirty horses died during racing or training, although after the track put in new safety protocols and returned to racing March 29, racing fatalities dropped below the 2018 rate. In a June 28 release, Santa Anita owner The Stronach Group acknowledged the difficulties of the meeting, thanked participants and fans who supported the meet, and said it would continue to work to improve equine safety.

Breeders' Cup Plans to Stay at Santa Anita for 2019

That statement, in full, follows:

"On behalf of everyone at Santa Anita Park, we wish to express our sincere gratitude and heartfelt thanks for the support we have received during one of the most challenging times in our history.

"All of us have been beyond devastated by the tragedies that befell this meet, none more so than the several thousand Californians who work at Santa Anita Park, both in the stable area and in the grandstand, and many of whom call it their home. They are also the people who have been first in line to embrace the historic reforms we proposed—and our California regulators have enacted—that resulted in a seismic shift in how Thoroughbred racing is conducted in our state.

"California Thoroughbred racing is now consistent with or better than International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities' medication standards, which, over time, have shown to be much safer.

"Since the new rules took effect in the middle of March, Santa Anita Park has seen significant improvement, including a 58% decrease in the number of fatalities during racing. We have seen an even greater decrease—approximately 80%—during training. All told, since these reforms were enacted, Santa Anita has seen an incident rate of 1.86 per 1,000 starters during racing and approximately .019 per 1,000 training sessions, including morning gallops and workouts. During the course of this meet, Santa Anita's population of equine athletes raced or trained more than 270,000 times over the tracks.

"Even with these significant improvements, The Stronach Group and Santa Anita Park will continue, each and every day, to push for additional improvements and reforms to modernize our sport. We recognize that Thoroughbred horse racing is, above all else, a stakeholder sport, and we are grateful for the collaboration as we continuously strive to improve.

"We thank our industry partners—the Thoroughbred Owners of California, California Thoroughbred Trainers, California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, the jockeys at our track, and the fans who support our races—for adapting with us and continuing to be committed to a sport where horse and rider safety comes first. 

"We also thank our state regulators and elected officials who have shown an incredible commitment to making California Thoroughbred racing the safest and best in the world. The California Horse Racing Board, under the chairmanship of Chuck Winner, pulled together with us to put in place much-needed medication reforms that now serve as a model for the nation. We would also like to express our utmost appreciation and thanks to Gov. Gavin Newsom and to Secretary Alexis Podesta, both of whom have responded to this challenge by implementing significant reforms while recognizing the importance of horse racing throughout the state.

"Santa Anita is proud and excited to have the privilege of hosting this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships in November for a record 10th time. We would like to thank the Breeders' Cup Board of Directors for its progressive leadership and support.

"We look forward to welcoming you all back to 'The Great Race Place' in September."

On the track, the following horses and connections earned meet honors for the spring portion of racing:

Horse of Meet: Vino Rosso, winner of grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes

Sprinter: Mucho Gusto, winner of Grade 3 Lazaro Barrera and grade 3 Affirmed stakes

Older Horse: Vino Rosso                                                                               

Older Filly/Mare: Vasilika, winner of grade 1 Gamely Stakes

Claimer: Zuzanna, winner of two out of three spring starts

Grass Horse: Bolo, winner of grade 1 Shoemaker Mile Stakes

Grass Filly/Mare: Vasilika

3-Year-Old: Mucho Gusto

3-Year-Old Filly: My Majestic Rose, winner of grade 2 Summertime Oaks

Trainer: Doug O'Neill

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Apprentice jockey: Jorge Velez

Race: Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita

Owner: Reddam Racing

Achievement: Rafael Bejarano, 4,000 career wins