As was expected following the March 21 California Horse Racing Board meeting that awarded fall race dates to Northern California, purses have been cut for Santa Anita Park‘s upcoming spring meet that runs April 19-June 16.
At the meeting, Craig Fravel, 1/ST Racing and Gaming’s executive vice chairman, stated that Santa Anita’s purse account was overpaid by $4 million.
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“That’s not easy to make up,” Fravel said. “So what you hope for, again, is we have three to four years to spread out the pain on that and try to figure out the additional revenues we can generate.”
According to a report from the Daily Racing Form, overnight purses were reduced by approximately 12% in comparison to the corresponding period in 2023. Notable changes in the three-week condition book released for April 19 to May 5 include:
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- Maiden races worth $54,000 compared to $61,000 in 2023,
- First-condition allowance races worth $55,000 compared to $63,000 in 2023,
- A $20,000 claiming race worth $19,000 compared to $22,000 in 2023.
Several stakes races that were downgraded by the American Graded Stakes Committee at the end of last year also saw purse decreases.
- The Hollywood Gold Cup (G2) will have a purse of $200,000 compared to $400,000 in 2023,
- The Californian (G3) and Royal Heroine (G3) each will have a purse of $100,000 compared to $200,000 in 2023.
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