Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif.— Santa Anita’s traditional Classic Meet will get off to a rollicking start on opening day, Tuesday, Dec. 26, as three Grade I, $300,000 stakes, the Malibu, the La Brea and the American Oaks, along with three Grade II, $200,000 stakes, the Mathis Mile, the San Antonio and the San Gabriel, will highlight a world-class card.
With 78 racing dates stretching through June 16, Santa Anita’s Classic and Hollywood Meetings will offer a total of 90 stakes, 10 of them Grade I events, highlighted by the 87th running of both the $400,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 2 and the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby April 6. In all, 53 graded stakes, 26 of them offered on turf, comprise a diverse stakes schedule over a six-month span concluding on June 16.
In addition to the opening day Malibu, for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs, the La Brea, for 3-year-old fillies at the same distance and the American Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and one quarter on turf opening day, fans and horsemen will be treated to the San Antonio, for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one sixteenth, the Mathis Mile on turf for 3-year-olds and the San Gabriel Stakes, for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one eighth on grass.
Along with the iconic Big Cap on March 2, Santa Anita will also offer the Grade I, $300,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (turf), the Grade II, $300,000 DK Horse San Felipe and the Grade II, $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes.
In addition to the Santa Anita Derby on April 6, three-year-old fillies will go postward in the Grade II, $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks, an important steppingstone to the Grade I Kentucky Oaks. Also on Santa Anita Derby Day, older fillies and mares will compete in the Grade III, $100,000 Monrovia Stakes and California-bred sophomores will be center stage at 6 ½ furlongs in both the $125,000 Echo Eddie and the $125,000 Evening Jewel Stakes.
As California bred and sired runners are a vital component to the Southern California racing program, Santa Anita will offer a total of 16 stakes restricted to those horses, with five of them to be run both on California Cup Day, Jan. 13 and again on California Gold Rush Day, May 25.
Live racing at Santa Anita will take a brief pause following the Santa Anita Derby, as the 49-day Classic Meet will draw to a close on April 7 and the 29-day Hollywood Meet will begin on Friday, April 19. The Hollywood Meet will be highlighted by three Grade I, $300,000 stakes on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27—the Gamely Stakes, for fillies and mares at a mile and one eighth on turf, the Shoemaker Mile on turf and the Hollywood Gold Cup, for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and quarter.
The Hollywood Meet figures to end on a crescendo on June 16, with the 85th running of the Grade III, $100,000 San Juan Capistrano, for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and three quarters over Santa Anita’s one-of-a-kind Camino Real Turf Course highlighting the day’s racing.
Santa Anita’s complete 2023-24 Classic Meet and Hollywood Meet Stakes Schedule is available at www.santaanita.com/stakes-schedule/. In addition to the track’s website, fans can get additional information by calling (626) 574-RACE.
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