– Photo by Terry Miller
A total of 58 stakes, including nine Grade I events, to be offered through Santa Anita Derby Day, April 8
Santa Anita Park, which will offer 58 stakes races beginning with opening day of its traditional Winter Meet on Dec. 26, has announced that the prestigious Grade I, $300,000 American Oaks, which was most recently run in May, 2015, will now be run on Dec. 31. Santa Anita’s 72-day Winter stand will conclude on April 9 and be followed by its Spring Meet, which will run from April 14 through July 4.
A blockbuster card consisting of four graded stakes will await fans on opening day, with a pair of Grade I, $300,000 races at seven furlongs–the Malibu for 3-year-old colts and geldings and the La Brea, for 3-year-old fillies, highlighting a 10-race program. The Grade II, $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile (turf) and the Grade III, $100,000 San Simeon Handicap, at 6.5 furlongs down the hillside turf course, will round out the graded stakes action.
Heading Santa Anita’s Grade I Winter Meet stakes lineup is the $1 million Santa Anita Derby, which has produced 17 Kentucky Derby winners, and will be run on April 8. The Grade I, $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap, to be contested for the 81st time, will be run on March 11.
Additionally, there will again be a similar number of $75,000 overnight stakes as well as a robust menu of California-bred stakes offered throughout the meeting.
Here is a complete roster of Santa Anita’s Grade I Winter Meet Stakes:
Dec. 26 $300,000 Malibu Stakes
Dec. 26 $300,000 La Brea Stakes
Dec. 31 $300,000 American Oaks
March 11 $400,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (turf)
March 11 $400,000 Triple Bend Stakes
March 11 $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap
March 18 $400,000 Santa Margarita Stakes
April 8 $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks
April 8 $1,000,000 Santa Anita Derby
For a complete roster of Santa Anita’s Winter Meet stakes, please visit santaanita.com.
