SANTA ANITA ANNOUNCES 2017-18 WINTER MEET STAKES SCHEDULE

By Mike Willman —-

SANTA ANITA ANNOUNCES 2017-18 WINTER MEET STAKES SCHEDULE AS GRADE I MALIBU & GRADE I LA BREA HEAD OPENER ON DEC. 26; PRESTIGIOUS GRADE I AMERICAN OAKS TO BE RUN DEC. 30
A TOTAL OF 62 STAKES, INCLUDING NINE GRADE I EVENTS, TO BE OFFERED THROUGH CLOSING DAY, APRIL 8

ARCADIA, Calif. (Nov. 30, 2017)—Santa Anita Park, which will open for its 81st Winter Meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 26, has announced its Winter Meet Stakes Schedule, which will include 62 added money races, highlighted by nine Grade I stakes, over the course of 60 racing days concluding on April 8.

A pair of Grade I stakes at seven furlongs, the $300,000 Malibu and the $300,000 La Brea, will headline the opening day program Dec. 26 and be complemented by the Grade II, $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile (turf) and the Grade II, $300,000 San Antonio Stakes at a mile and one sixteenth.

The prestigious Grade I, $300,000 American Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and a quarter on turf, will serve as Santa Anita’s final Grade I stakes of the year on Saturday, Dec. 30.

Santa Anita’s Grade I stakes roster will again be headed by the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 7 and the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 10. A producer of no less than 17 Kentucky Derby winners, the 1 1/8 miles Santa Anita Derby is the most important race for 3-year-olds on the West Coast, while the mile and a quarter “Big ’Cap” remains America’s longest continually run hundred grander for older horses.

HERE IS A COMPLETE ROSTER OF SANTA ANITA’S GRADE I 2017-18 WINTER MEET STAKES:

Dec. 26 $300,000 Malibu Stakes
Dec. 26 $300,000 La Brea Stakes
Dec. 30 $300,000 American Oaks
March 10 $400,000 Triple Bend Stakes
March 10 $600,000 Santa Anita Handicap
March 10 $400,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (turf)
March 17 $400,000 Santa Margarita Stakes
April 7 $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks
April 7 $1 million Santa Anita Derby

For a complete roster of Santa Anita’s Winter Meet stakes, please visit http://www.santaanita.com/stakes-schedule/.

About Us
Santa Anita Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is North America’s premier supplier of virtual online horseracing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.