The curtain will rise Wednesday on the Oak Tree Racing Association’s 41st
season at Santa Anita. While the opening-day feature is the $100,000
Morvich
H. (G3) for turf sprinters, the highlight of the meeting will be the 26th
running of the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships on November 6-7. Oak
Tree, which also staged last year’s Breeders’ Cup, thus ranks as the first site
to host consecutive runnings of the World Championships.
Also on opening day, Oak Tree’s popular collector’s item commemorative stein
will once again be offered free of charge to all paid attendees (limited to one
per paid admission, while supplies last).
The 23rd in a series, this year’s stein will feature the likenesses of 2008
Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Raven’s Pass and Ladies’ Classic (G1) queen
ZENYATTA (Street Cry [Ire]), as well as the racing colors of all 14 World
Championship winners from last year. Additionally, the late founder of the
Breeders’ Cup, John Gaines, will be honored as the colors of his Gainesway Farm
will also be represented.
On Saturday, the California Cup, a series of races restricted to horses bred
in the Golden State, will be run for the 20th time. A total of $1 million in
purse money will be offered throughout the program, and all fans attending will
receive a beautiful Cal Cup T-shirt with paid admission.
Oak Tree will offer a total of seven Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup prep races over
the first two weekends, beginning with Oak Leaf S. for two-year-old fillies and
the Norfolk S. for two-year-olds on October 4. Both races will be run at 1 1/16
miles.
On October 10, Oak Tree will offer three Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup preps — the
Lady’s Secret, Yellow Ribbon and Goodwood S.
The 1 1/16-mile Lady’s Secret for fillies and mares is expected to feature
“That’s a discussion we’re going to have later on,” trainer John Shirreffs
The 1 1/8-mile Goodwood is expected to include Kentucky Derby (G1) winner
The Yellow Ribbon, a 1 1/4-mile affair for distaffers on the grass, is a key
Two Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup preps will be run on October 11 — the Clement L.
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Oak Tree first hosted the Breeders’ Cup in 1986, and this year will mark the
fifth time the World Championships have been conducted at the Arcadia,
California, venue.
A total of six World Championship races will be run on November 6, with the
$2 million Ladies’ Classic at 1 1/8 miles taking center stage. Day Two of the
Championships, on November 7, will feature eight Breeders’ Cup races, with the
$5 million Classic at 1 1/4 miles serving as the afternoon’s centerpiece.
“Last year’s Breeders’ Cup was a resounding success,” Oak Tree Director and
Executive Vice President Sherwood Chillingworth said. “Both the main track and
the turf course performed perfectly and drew rave reviews from horsemen all over
the world. We believe we have the best venue in the world, and we are very
optimistic that, despite the fact we’ve again got a soft economy to deal with,
we’re going to have a tremendous two days of racing.
“We’ve structured our Breeders’ Cup preps in such a way that all of those
horsemen competing in our seven Grade 1 stakes over the first two weekends will
have ample time to have their horses ready for the Championships on November 6
and 7. From start to finish, we are expecting to have a great meet.”
The Breeders’ Cup programs will have special post times. On November 6, the
1ST race will get underway at 11:15 a.m. (PT) and on November 7, first post is
scheduled for 10:05 a.m.
First post time on opening day and most weekdays is 1 p.m. First post on
weekends and holidays will be at 12:30 p.m., except for Cal Cup Day, October 3,
when first post is at noon. First post on closing day, November 8, is also noon.
In addition, there will be a special 2 p.m. post time on Fridays. Oak Tree
will be offering a full menu of “Free Fridays” throughout the six-week meet,
which will feature free general admission, free box seats (while supplies last)
and $1 hot dogs, beer, popcorn, sodas and coffee. The only “Free Friday”
exception will be Breeders’ Cup Friday on November 6.
“This promotion was extremely popular with our fans at the Santa Anita
winter/spring meet, and we are very confident it’s going to remain so here at
Oak Tree,” Chillingworth said. “We’re also very excited about the 2 p.m. post
time. We feel this is going to make it easier for people who are getting off
work to come out, have a good time and get their weekend off to a good start.”
For the first time, HorseRacing TV (HRTV) will provide, on a non-exclusive
basis, live on-site daily coverage throughout the meet. HRTV’s live coverage at
Oak Tree will include the California Cup post position draw on Wednesday and
in-depth advance coverage of the Breeders’ Cup.
“We are pleased to be able to make this announcement at this time,”
Chillingworth said of HRTV’s coverage of Oak Tree. “The New York Racing
Association made the decision earlier this year to move away from exclusivity as
regards their live racing product, and we agree with that.
“We firmly believe our fans and the industry are going to be better served
with the addition of HRTV as Oak Tree’s non-exclusive television partner.”
HRTV will provide viewers with expert analysis, pre- and post-race
interviews, Trevor Denman’s live calls and a nightly replay show at a time to be
determined.
For additional information about the meet, log onto www.oaktreeracing.com.