Santa Anita will offer 93 stakes in 2022-23 meet
Santa Anita's 2022-23 winter/spring stakes schedule will offer 93 stakes, 10 of them Grade 1 events, including the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 8, and 58 graded races, beginning with the track’s traditional opener on Monday, Dec. 26, through closing day, June 18.
“We’re pleased to be able to announce our winter/spring stakes schedule at this time and to once again let everyone know that our ‘ship & win’ program will be available to those out of state horses that qualify throughout the meet,” said Santa Anita director of racing and racing secretary Chris Merz.
Opening day again will feature six graded stakes, highlighted by three Grade 1, $300,000 events: the Malibu, for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs; the La Brea, for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs; and the American Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles on turf.
Additionally, three Grade 2, $200,000 races will be run on opening day: the Mathis Mile, for 3-year-olds on turf; the San Antonio, for older horses at 1 1/16 miles; and the San Gabriel, for older horses at 1 1/8 miles on turf.
Santa Anita’s roster of Grade 1 stakes will resume on Saturday, March 4, as the $500,000 Santa Anita Handicap and the $500,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (turf) will take center stage along with a Kentucky Derby prep, the Grade 2, $400,000 San Felipe Stakes.
Named for Spendthrift Farm’s four-time Eclipse Award champion and three-time Breeders’ Cup winner, the $500,000 Beholder Mile (G1) will be run on March 11.
The $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1), a race that has produced 19 Kentucky Derby winners, will be run on Saturday, April 8, and be complemented by four other stakes, including the $200,000 Charles Whittingham (G2) and the $200,000 Monrovia (G2).
Three Grade 1 stakes, the $500,000 Shoemaker Mile (turf), the $400,000 Hollywood Gold Cup and the $400,000 Gamely, all will be contested on Labor Day, Monday, May 29.
Santa Anita’s traditional closing day feature, the $100,000 San Juan Capistrano Stakes (G3), at 1 3/4 miles over the Camino Real Hillside Turf Course, will highlight proceedings on June 18.