Live racing for Friday at Santa Anita has been cancelled due to continued wet conditions, but officials are optimistic that with a dry forecast in store for the weekend, racing will resume on Saturday.
“We’re told that the heavy rain is supposed to be clear of us by about noon tomorrow,” said Santa Anita President Ron Charles. “The weather outlook for the weekend is favorable and we are optimistic that if the forecast holds, we’re going to be able to run Saturday and Sunday. As we’ve said, safety is our number one priority and we’ll continue to make all decisions based upon that.
“Even though it’s been raining hard at times over the past four days, we’ve seen a lot of improvement in the main track and the way it’s draining. However, we’re told we could get two or more inches of rain today, so we felt it would be in everyone’s best interest to make the decision to cancel Friday’s program this morning.”
Santa Anita will be open Friday for simulcast wagering on races run throughout America. Admission gates will open at 10:30 a.m. Santa Anita’s winter/spring meeting runs through April 18.