Santa Anita renames 14 autumn stakes

Santa Anita Park has announced name changes for 15 stakes, six of

them Grade 1 events, effective with the opening of the 2012 Autumn Meet on

September 28. The affected stakes had all been identified with the Oak Tree

Racing Association's meet formerly held at the Arcadia, California, track.

"This has been an important process for all of us involved with live racing

here at Santa Anita," Rick Hammerle, Santa Anita Vice President of Racing, said.

"We did a lot of research and tried hard to make sure each name had a

tangible meaning, either geographically, historically or culturally. We feel

good about the new names, and we'd like to sincerely thank all of our fans that

participated in the 'Name That Stakes Contest' to rename the former Harold C.

Ramser Sr. Stakes. It will now be the Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes and will be run

on October 27.

"We're also excited to be honoring one of the all-time best Cal-breds, with

the Lava Man Cal Cup Classic on October 13."

A good number of the renamed stakes will serve as preps over the track for

the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which Santa Anita will host on November

2-3. Moreover, the races formerly known as the Goodwood, Lady's Secret, Yellow

Ribbon, Norfolk, Oak Leaf and Ancient Title are all Breeders' Cup Challenge

races for their respective divisions.

Here is the list of Autumn Meet Stakes (excluding Breeders' Cup races), with

their prior names where applicable, and the dates they will be run:

Name (and Grade)		Former Name		Date
Eddie D. Stakes (Grade 3)		Morvich		Sept. 28
FrontRunner Stakes (Grade 1)		Norfolk		Sept. 29
Awesome Again Stakes (Grade 1)		Goodwood		Sept. 29
Rodeo Drive Stakes (Grade 1)		Yellow Ribbon		Sept. 29
Zenyatta Stakes (Grade 1)		Lady's Secret		Sept. 29
Chandelier Stakes (Grade 1)		Oak Leaf		Sept. 29
John Henry Turf Champ. (Grade 2)		Clement Hirsch		Sept. 30
Arroyo Seco Mile (Grade 2)		Oak Tree Mile		Oct. 6
Santa Anita Sprint Champ. (Grade 1)		Ancient Title		Oct. 6
Swingtime Stakes		Same		Oct. 6
Tim Conway Stakes		Jack Goodman		Oct. 6
L.A. Woman Stakes		Louis Rowan		Oct. 7
Zuma Beach Stakes		New		Oct. 8
Surfer Girl Stakes		New		Oct. 8
Lava Man Cal Cup Classic		Cal Cup Classic		Oct. 13
California Cup Distaff		Same		Oct. 13
California Cup Sprint		Same		Oct. 13
California Cup Juvenile		Same		Oct. 13
California Cup Juv. Fillies		Same		Oct. 13
Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes (Grade 3)		Same		Oct. 20
Autumn Miss Stakes (Grade 3)		Harold Ramser Sr.		Oct. 27
Breeders' Cup World Champ.				Nov. 2-3
Twilight Derby (Grade 2)		Oak Tree Derby		Nov. 2
Damascus Stakes		Same		Nov. 3
Goldikova Stakes (Grade 2)		Las Palmas		Nov. 4

First post time on most racing days, including opening day, September 28, is

1 p.m. (PDT). First live race post time on Breeders' Cup Friday, November 2, is

11:15 a.m. First post time on Breeders' Cup Saturday, November 3, is 10:05 a.m.

To make dining and seating reservations for the upcoming Autumn Meet, fans

are encouraged to visit

www.santaanita.com, or call (626) 574-RACE.

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