After enduring the wettest winter in its 70-year history, Santa Anita concluded its 85-day winter/spring meeting
on Monday with a 3 percent decline in total handle. Average on-track attendance
for the meet was 8,062, a decrease of 9 percent, while average daily on-track
handle was $2.1 million, down 8 percent from 2003-04.
During the meet, 45 inches of rain fell on the Arcadia, California, track,
making it the wettest winter in Santa Anita history and the second wettest
winter in the Los Angeles area in the past 100 years, according to the National
Weather Bureau. The rain severely affected attendance and impacted handle. For 28 days, nearly one-third of the meet,
the main track was designated “off” versus five off-track days last season.
On many days, turf racing was canceled. A
full day of racing was canceled on January 9. The last date that Santa Anita
lost a day of racing due to rain was January 12, 1995.
On the other hand, virtually all of Santa Anita’s marquee events showed
substantial increases from a year ago.
The March 5 Santa Anita H. (G1) drew 35,484 fans on-track, an increase of
8,000 compared to last year, while the total handle of $24.3 million was up $1.6
million. On-track attendance for the April 9 Santa Anita Derby (G1) was 38,014,
an increase of 2,000, while the total handle of $24.3 million was up $1.5
million. The traditional opener on December 26 attracted a crowd of 31,874, up
3,000 from the previous year, and the total handle of $16.7 million showed an
increase of $800,000.
Trainer Doug O’Neill shattered the record for wins at the winter/spring meet
with 54, eclipsing the previous mark of 47 shared by Gary Jones and Bob Baffert.
Patrick Valenzuela, who missed more than a month of the meeting due to
suspensions and out of town commitments, won the riding title, booting home 69
winners.
The leading owner was Robert D. Bone, who won 11 races.