Attendance for the two-day event increased 11%, while the overall handle slipped 7% largely because two less races were run compared with 2008. On-track handle grew 3% compared with a year ago.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Citing a sluggish local and national economy as primary factors, the Oak Tree Racing Association announced Oct. 21 that overnight purses will be cut 10%, effective Oct. 24.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Oak Tree Racing Association announced Sept. 24 that it is launching a free new wagering platform, OakTreeBets.com, and that it will allow HRTV to provide daily coverage on a non-exclusive basis.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Oak Tree Racing Association will kick off its 41st racing season Sept. 30 at Santa Anita, and the highlight of the meeting will no doubt be the 26th running of the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will be hosted by Oak Tree for an unprecedented second consecutive year on Nov. 6 and 7.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Breeders' Cup board of directors Sept. 11 said the organization will increase the purse of the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) by $1 million if Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta start in the 1 1/4-mile event Nov. 7 at Santa Anita Park.
Friday, September 11, 2009
It's too early to tell if the Oak Tree Racing Association will owe the Breeders' Cup payment as a result of falling short of revenue guarantees for operating the two-day racing extravaganza at Santa Anita Park, according to an executive for the 2008 host.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
An otherwise sluggish Oak Tree at Santa Anita meet got turned around by hosting the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Oct. 24-25. Excluding the Breeders' Cup, the Oak Tree handle was down 14%.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced he will attend the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park on Oct. 25, and he will become the first California governor to ever present the winner's trophy for the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I).
Friday, October 17, 2008
Industry stakeholders received a tongue-lashing from Richard Shapiro, chairman of the California Horse Racing Board, as the agency took its first swipe at a race dates calendar for 2009.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It didn't take majority owner Jess Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen long to make plans for Curlin, winner of the Sept. 27 Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational (gr. I) at Belmont Park.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Oak Tree Racing Association will card a record total of six grade I Breeders' Cup prep stakes on Sept. 27. The Goodwood, Yellow Ribbon, Oak Leaf, Clement Hirsch Turf Championship, Lady's Secret and the Ancient Title will offer horsemen nearly $2 million in purses on what is believed to be the biggest Breeders' Cup prep day in racing history.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
A memorial tribute to long-time racing executive and publicist Bob Benoit has been set for Thursday, Oct. 16, at Santa Anita Park.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The 19th running of the California Cup, a series of 10 races worth $1,325,000 dedicated to horses bred in California, will be staged at Oak Tree at Santa Anita on Oct. 5, earlier than usual this year.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Taste of Arcadia will also be offering a taste of the Breeders' Cup World Championships when more than 1,200 people are expected to attend the Sept. 22 event.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Unable to travel to Saratoga Springs for the national Hall of Fame induction ceremony Aug. 4, retired jockey Ismael "Milo" Valenzuela will receive his commemorative jacket and plaque on Sunday in a special induction ceremony at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Safety was the watchword as Santa Anita became the third and final major Southern California racetrack to unveil its synthetic surface on the opening day of the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The Oak Tree Racing Association announced Sept. 17 that it has reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Turf Club to extend the Oak Tree lease through the fall of 2016.
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Breeders' Cup World Championships will return to Southern California, where the event began in 1984, for its 25th running, Breeders' Cup Limited announced April 19. The two-day races will be held Oct. 24-25, 2008.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Robert L. Bork, president and general manager of Sam Houston Race Park, was elected the 33rd president of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA) at its annual board of directors' meeting March 12. Bork succeeded Corey S. Johnsen, former president of Lone Star Park at the conclusion of his two-year term as TRA president.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
More than racing will miss Trudy McCaffery, Trudy McCaffery will miss racing. One of the most popular people in the sport, the prominent horse owner and breeder who died Feb. 12 at 62 after a long battle with cancer had an unmatched love of the game.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Both on-track attendance and handle increased in 2006 as the 38th Oak Tree Racing Association meet concluded at Santa Anita Oct. 29.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Coupled entries for wagering due to common ownership should be eliminated, the California Horse Racing Board decided at its meeting Jan. 19 in Arcadia.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
In his first opportunity to bid public farewell at Santa Anita Park, Laffit Pincay Jr. will be honored by the Oak Tree Racing Association Saturday. He'd rather be riding.
Friday, October 14, 2005
The Oak Tree Racing Association presented a check for $25,000 to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina to the Arcadia chapter of the American Red Cross Saturday at Santa Anita.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Laffit Pincay Jr., the world's winningest jockey who retired with 9,530 victories in a career that spanned nearly four decades, will be honored by the Oak Tree Racing Association Oct. 15 at Santa Anita Park.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
The Los Angeles Turf Club and Oak Tree Racing Association will honor the leading public handicappers at their respective Santa Anita Park meetings with memorial awards named for leading California owner/breeder Bernard J. Ridder and Los Angeles Times columnist Allan Malamud.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
The Oak Tree Racing Association, internationally acclaimed equine artist Fred Stone, and a number of the nation's top jockeys will join forces at Santa Anita Oct. 1, to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
The Oak Tree Racing Association has contributed $100,000 to the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program to help endow a proposed faculty chair to conduct business industry research and head the RTIP's masters degree program.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Santa Anita Park isn't waiting for a statewide ban to make its stand against "milkshakes." Starting at its upcoming meet that begins Dec. 26, the Arcadia, Calif., track will test every horse in every race for excess bicarbonate in their bloodstreams.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Oak Tree Racing Association, which will hold its meet beginning Sept. 29 at Santa Anita Park, will offer a $1 pick five wager. It is believed to be a first, the racing association said.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Use of alkalizing agents -- so-called "milkshakes" -- on horses would be illegal under a new regulation proposed Sept. 15 to the California Horse Racing Board.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
The 2004 Oak Tree season will include twilight racing on Fridays throughout the 26-day meeting as well as a daily $1 "Pick Five" wager.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Does a Breeders' Cup in California mean less people attend the Cal Cup two weeks later? This year that was the case, and as a result, the Cal Cup could be in October in 2004.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Santa Anita Park's Oak Tree meet, which began with high expectations as the host site for the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, will end with a 10% reduction in purses for the remainder of the season.
Friday, October 31, 2003
One jockey will be honored for overall outstanding performance in this year's Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships and subsequent editions of the event with the Bill Shoemaker Award, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Breeders' Cup announced Oct. 21.
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
When the Oak Tree Racing Association hosts the 20th Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Santa Anita Park on Oct. 25, more than $38 million in "economic output" will be generated in the Los Angeles area, according to a study by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation.
Thursday, October 16, 2003
When Sherwood Chillingworth remembers the last time Santa Anita Park hosted the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships in 1993, the Oak Tree Racing Association executive vice president concludes the event has matured greatly in that decade span.
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
The Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita will get an additional day of racing Sept. 28, allowing it to run four Breeders' Cup prep races under a plan endorsed Friday by the California Horse Racing Board.
Friday, February 21, 2003
Fairplex Park was at the center of the California Horse Racing Board's attention once more Thursday. Just a couple of months after the CHRB turned down a proposed lease of the Los Angeles County Fair's end-of-summer racing dates to Hollywood Park, Fairplex issues were in the middle of things once more -- on a couple of fronts.
Thursday, January 23, 2003
The proposed transfer of Los Angeles County Fair racing dates from Fairplex to Santa Anita Park has drawn immediate opposition from another tenant of Santa Anita, the Oak Tree Racing Association, as well as others.
Monday, May 27, 2002
The Oak Tree Racing Association will be the host for the 2003 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Santa Anita Park.
Friday, April 19, 2002
Numbers in most categories were up during the Oak Tree Racing Association meet that concluded Nov. 5 at Santa Anita Park. Total, in-state, and out-of-state handle were up from the corresponding meet in 2000.
Tuesday, November 06, 2001
Santa Anita may withdraw as the host for the 2002 Breeders' Cup because of construction plans. The news has frustrated Oak Tree Racing Association officials, who conduct racing at the Arcadia, Calif., track in the fall. An executive with racetrack owner Magna Entertainment said the news should not surprise anyone since construction plans have been discussed for months.
Friday, April 27, 2001
