Santa Anita Park 2025 Autumn Stakes Schedule Features 22 Stakes

Santa Anita PressBox —-

SANTA ANITA PARK 2025 AUTUMN STAKES SCHEDULE FEATURES

ARCADIA, CA (July 24, 2025)— Santa Anita Park will offer seven automatic qualifiers for this year’s Breeders’ Cup races among the 22 stakes races offered during the 2025 Autumn Meet that begins on Friday, Sept. 26. The seven Breeders’ Cup Challenge races are slated to be run the first two weeks of the 16-day meet.

The legacy of California owner-breeder John C. Harris will be honored with the renaming of the GIII John Harris Stakes to be run on Saturday, Sept. 27. Harris, who passed away on July 2, was a stalwart in the state for decades, serving on the boards of numerous California and national racing organizations, and in accepting accolades for his high-quality runners. The John C. Harris Stakes will be for 3-year-old fillies on Santa Anita Park’s unique hillside turf course. It was previously known as the Unzip Me Stakes in honor of the 10-time stakes winner of $959,228 who was co-owned and bred by Harris in partnership.

“John Harris has been synonymous with California racing,” said Nate Newby, SVP and General Manager of Santa Anita Park. “It is appropriate to honor him with a stakes race in appreciation of all he has done for our sport in the state. We will miss seeing John in the Santa Anita winner’s circle, but the impact of his stewardship will long be remembered.”

The name “Goodwood” will be restored to the 2025 running of the Autumn Meet’s top race for older horses. The Grade I, 1 1/8-mile Goodwood Stakes is a “Win and You’re In” race for the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. It will be run on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Oak Tree Racing Association founded the race in 1982 through its partnership with Goodwood Racecourse and it ran with that name for 30 years, producing multiple champions including Breeders’ Cup Classic winners Tiznow and Ferdinand. The name change signals a tie back into history as well as moving forward. 1/ST has numerous partnerships with prestigious racecourses around the world, including Goodwood in Chichester, West Sussex, UK. The Goodwood offers a purse of $300,000, which equals that offered for ten of the last 11 runnings of the race.

Opening Saturday will also feature an additional Breeders’ Cup Challenge stakes with the GII City of Hope Mile at one mile on the grass. A pair of GII races on the turf, the 1 ¼ mile GII John Henry Turf Championship and the 6 ½ furlong GII Eddie D. Stakes, will be joined by the newly named John Harris Stakes to complete the quintet of Sept. 27 stakes.

The following day, Sunday, Sept. 28, will be headlined by another pair of Breeders’ Cup Challenge stakes: the GII Zenyatta Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on dirt and the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship presented by Estrella Jalisco. The 2024 Santa Anita Sprint winner was Straight No Chaser, who went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and the Eclipse Award as the nation’s top sprinter.

Key steppingstones to the Nov. 1 & 2 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Del Mar will be the focus of the second week of the Santa Anita Autumn Meet as well. Saturday, Oct. 4 will offer three Breeders’ Cup qualifiers among the five stakes races scheduled that day. The 2-year-olds get their chance at a “Win and You’re In” with the GI American Pharoah Stakes presented by DK Horse for the males and the GII Oak Leaf Stakes presented by Oak Tree Racing Association for the fillies. Both races are at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. Citizen Bull won last year’s American Pharoah prior to winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and being named champion 2-year-old male.

Also on the second Saturday will be the GII Rodeo Drive Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 1/4 miles on the turf which provides yet another “Win and You’re In” opportunity, awarding the winner an automatic berth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The GIII Chillingworth for fillies and mares and the Speakeasy for 2-year-old turf sprinters complete the five stakes to be offered on Oct. 4.

On Sunday, Oct. 5, Santa Anita will host a pair of Grade III’s at one mile on turf for 2-year-olds: the GIII Zuma Beach for the males (open) and the GIII Surfer Girl for fillies. Both are preps for their respective division’s Breeders’ Cup races on the turf.

The five-week season will wrap up with a pair of graded stakes that anchor the closing weekend of the Autumn Meet. They are the GII Twilight Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Saturday, Oct. 25 and the GIII Autumn Miss for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on turf on Oct. 26.

Overnight purses for the Autumn meet will see an increase averaging 10 percent over the 2024 season. This marks the third consecutive Santa Anita Park meet with a purse increase for owners, as the sport continues to transition and create opportunities within the single race circuit in California.

For the complete stakes schedule and for more information on the Autumn Meet please visit https://www.santaanita.com.

2025 Santa Anita Park Autumn Stake Schedule

Saturday, Sept. 27 Grade 1, $300,000 Goodwood Stakes
Saturday, Sept. 27 Grade 2, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes
Saturday, Sept. 27 Grade 2, $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship
Saturday, Sept. 27 Grade 2, $200,000 City Of Hope Mile
Saturday, Sept. 27 Grade 3, $100,000 John C. Harris Stakes
Sunday, Sept. 28 Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes
Sunday, Sept. 28 Grade 2, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes
Saturday, Oct. 4 Grade 1, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes
Saturday, Oct. 4 Grade 2, $200,000 Oak Leaf Stakes
Saturday, Oct. 4 Grade 2, $200,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes
Saturday, Oct. 4 Grade 3, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes
Saturday, Oct. 4 $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes
Sunday, Oct. 5 Grade 3, $100,000 Zuma Beach Stakes
Sunday, Oct. 5 Grade 3, $100,000 Surfer Girl Stakes
Saturday, Oct. 11 Cal-Bred, $100,000 California Flag Handicap
Sunday, Oct. 12 Cal-Bred, $100,000 California Distaff Handicap
Monday, Oct. 13 $ 80,000 Swingtime Stakes
Saturday, Oct. 18 $ 80,000 Lure Stakes
Sunday, Oct. 19 $ 85,000 Anoakia Stakes
Saturday, Oct. 25 Grade 2, $200,000 Twilight Derby
Saturday, Oct. 25 $ 85,000 Tokyo City Cup Stakes
Sunday, Oct. 26 Grade 3, $100,000 Autumn Miss Stakes

About The Stronach Group and 1/ST

The Stronach Group is a world-class technology, entertainment and real estate development company with Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core. The Stronach Group’s 1/ST business (pronounced “First”) is North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company and includes the 1/ST RACING & GAMING, 1/ST CONTENT, 1/ST TECHNOLOGY and 1/ST EXPERIENCE businesses, while advocating for and driving the 1/ST HORSE CARE mission. 1/ST represents The Stronach Group’s continued movement toward redefining Thoroughbred racing and the ecosystem that drives it. 1/ST RACING & GAMING drives the best-in-class racing operations and gaming offerings at the company’s premier racetracks, training centers and premier events including: Santa Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs (California); Gulfstream Park – home of the Pegasus World Cup and Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center (Florida); Laurel Park, The Preakness Stakes, Rosecroft Raceway and Bowie Training Center (Maryland). 1/ST CONTENT is the operating group for 1/ST’s media and content companies including: Monarch Content Management, Elite, TSG Global Wagering Solutions (GWS) and 1/ST TV. 1/ST TECHNOLOGY is racing’s largest racing and gaming technology company offering world-class products via its AmTote, Xpressbet, 1/ST BET, XB SELECT, XB NET, PariMAX and Betmix brands. 1/ST EXPERIENCE blends the worlds of sports, entertainment and hospitality through innovative content development, elevated national and local venue management and hospitality, strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and procurement development. As the advocate for critical industry reforms and by making meaningful investments into aftercare programs for retired horses and jockeys, 1/ST HORSE CARE represents The Stronach Group’s commitment to achieving the highest level of horse and rider care and safety standards in Thoroughbred racing on and off the track. The Stronach Group’s TSG Properties is responsible for the development of the company’s live, play and work communities surrounding its racing venues including: The Village at Gulfstream Park (Florida) and Paddock Pointe (Maryland). For more information, visit www.1st.com or follow @1ST_racing on Twitter or @1stracing on Instagram and Facebook.