Fall racing returns to Santa Anita

By a vote of 6-0 on Thursday, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB)

awarded fall dates to Santa Anita Park, to be run from September 28 through

November 6.

Santa Anita, in conjunction with the Oak Tree Racing Association, had

conducted a live fall meeting since 1969, with the exception of 2010, when Santa

Anita's synthetic track was closed for repair, resulting in the dates being

transferred to Hollywood Park. Since then, Santa Anita has taken out the

all-weather surface and replaced it with a traditional dirt track.

"We've had a harrowing past 10 months," Sherwood Chillingworth, executive

vice president for Oak Tree, said during the meeting. "We really appreciated the

accommodations that Hollywood Park provided for us last year. They did a

marvelous job of changing the meet that was supposed to be run (at Santa Anita)

to their venue."

Chillingworth explained that Oak Tree had "an agreement" with Hollywood Park

to return in 2011 if they were awarded the fall dates.

"We were presented with an offer by Santa Anita about a week and a half ago

and we told them that unless we knew that the intent of this board was to move

the racing dates to Santa Anita that we couldn't comment on it. It was unfair to

Hollywood Park," he stated.

Thursday's ruling means the non-profit organization will not be directly

involved in a race meet for the first time in over 40 years.

Santa Anita

officials discussed working out a financial arrangement with Oak Tree to allow

the track to run the organization's popular Breeders' Cup prep races. The

arrangement would also allow Oak Tree to continue operating in the interim.

"This is great news for Santa Anita and for the California horse racing

industry," Santa Anita President George Haines said. "This means so much to so

many people. From all of our employees and the people who work within the

industry, to our fans and to the entire business community here in the San

Gabriel Valley, this means jobs, revenue and the opportunity to remain viable

and to grow our business into the future."

Live racing at Santa Anita is a key component to a viable economy in the city

of Arcadia, California, and beyond.

"Obviously, this is very welcome news, on several fronts," Arcadia City

Manager Don Penman stated. "Not just from the standpoint of providing fans with

the opportunity to visit what we believe is the most beautiful racing facility

in the world, but having live racing back here in the fall is a great

opportunity for our hotels, restaurants and other businesses in this very tough

economy.

"Live racing at Santa Anita is something that clearly distinguishes Arcadia

from any other city in the region. Arcadia and Santa Anita are in many respects,

regarded as one and the same. Both are known for their beauty and geographic

location and when people think of one, they really think of the other."

Santa Anita's current 76-day winter/spring meeting will conclude on April 17.

For more information, fans are encouraged to visit

santaanita.com, or to

call 626-574-7223.