Santa Anita Race Track Opens Winter Season

Photos by Terry Miller
35,000 horse racing fans were delighted with opening day at Santa Anita on Boxing Day 2010.
The rains held off and the new (dirt) track that replaced the controversial artificial performed very well according to officials.

Despite weathering 14 ¼ inches of rain over the past nine days, including three quarters of an inch overnight on Saturday, venerable Santa Anita Park opened its doors for its 74th winter/spring meeting in rollicking fashion, as 34,268 came to The Great Race Place for a nine-race program that included four stakes.
“I’ll have to admit, I was a little nervous last night,” said Santa Anita President George Haines. “To be able to open on schedule and put on a world-class show as we did today, is incredibly gratifying.
“This was a great day for our fans and our horsemen. Due to the weather we’ve experienced, we faced some very significant challenges and we proved that this new track can handle just about anything. The racing was terrific and although we had some fast times, we had no problems during any of the races, and that is more important to us than anything else.”
Haines also noted that although Santa Anita first opened on Dec. 25, 1934, it is still one of the nation’s premier sporting venues.
“I think it’s safe to say that we again demonstrated in a very profound way that our fans will continue to support Santa Anita in a big way on our big days. We’re very hopeful we can build on the momentum we generated today and carry it through the entire meet.
“As much as anything else, I think it was imperative for us to show our fans and horsemen that we are back in business. Despite the fact we took on an unprecedented amount of rain leading into our opener, the new surface, as well as the plant, came through with flying colors.”
Santa Anita handled $3,851,594 on-track and total mutuel handle reached $11,707,276.
Santa Anita will present a nine-race program on Monday and be dark Tuesday. Racing will then resume on Wednesday and continue through Sunday, Jan. 2. First post time all days will be at 12:30 p.m.

CALIFORNIA BREEDERS’ CHAMPION STAKE QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

RAFAEL BEJARANO, THIRTYFIRSTSTREET, WINNER: “I thought I was going to finish third, for sure. But at the same time, I was thinking that my horse hadn’t switched leads yet. As soon as he switched leads and got in towards the rail, he showed me a big kick and I just thought to let him keep going. It was a small field, but I think he needs a little more distance. The track is getting better. Every race is getting better, the dirt is more firm and it looks good.”

TRAINER QUOTES

DOUG O’NEILL, THIRTYFIRSTSTREET, WINNER: “I haven’t talked with (Rafael) Bejarano) yet, but it did seem like he was weaving in between horses to find a spot. We were yelling, ‘Go outside, go outside,’ and then we’re like, ‘Go in between, go in between. Go in something . . . But Raffy just rode a great race. The horse is named for the street where I live in Santa Monica, 31st Street. We have a block party every year and I’ve been joking with people that I’m going to name a horse after our block, and it’s so nice that this happened.”

NOTES: The winning owners are Kevin Bogart of Tustin who races as Sterling Stable; Mark Gorman of Ventura; and Neil Haymes of Alta Loma.

MALIBU STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

JOEL ROSARIO, TWIRLING CANDY, WINNER: “He’s a nice horse. I wanted to wait until the last minute to make my move, and he responded really well when I asked him. He’s starting to improve a little more; we’ll see what happens later on. The track is staying consistent, but when you’re on the best horse like Twirling Candy, it’s no surprise that he ran that fast.”

RUSSELL BAZE, SMILING TIGER, SECOND: “The horse did everything he could to win the race. He just ran a brilliant race for me. It’s just the track was about this much too long.”

TRAINER QUOTES

LARRY BENAVIDEZ, ASSISTANT TO JOHN SADLER, TWIRLING CANDY, WINNER: “John (Sadler) made a million dollar move on Thursday by sending the three horses to Hollywood Park to breeze them. That might have helped in the cause. But we have three Grade I horses, so we were pretty confident going into today . . . At the half-mile pole, I was super-confident. (Asked what it’s like to win three graded stakes in row): “As you can tell, I lost my voice. I’m excited. It’s just a fabulous day.” Asked if he expected Twirling Candy to be closer to the pace going down the backstretch: “Probably the first quarter mile, yes, but Joel (Rosario) was loaded, so I wasn’t worried at all. This horse is a freak.”

NOTES: Sadler won a Santa Anita record three straight graded stakes races: the La Brea (Grade I, the Sir Beaufort (Grade III), and the Malibu (Grade I). On-track attendance was 34,268. The winning owner is Jenny Craig of the Craig Family Trust.

More from Arcadia Weekly