Santa Anita, amid new fire concerns, calls off weekend racing

Santa Anita has called off racing Saturday and Sunday after the overnight expansion of wildfires devastating Los Angeles County.

The announcement came in a message sent to horsemen at 7:23 a.m. Saturday.

Santa Anita had postponed Friday’s races to next Thursday, citing unhealthy air caused by the nearby Eaton fire, as well as the wish to allow time for horsemen and women and others employed at Santa Anita time to deal with the effects of the calamity in many L.A. County communities.

But air-quality improvement Friday prompted Santa Anita to plan to go ahead, barring a dramatic change in circumstances, with the Saturday card that was to feature the California Cup program of five stakes for Cal-bred horses.

Those circumstances changed overnight as the more distant Palisades fire and evacuation zones grew larger, expanding into new parts of West L.A. and even part of the San Fernando Valley, closer to Santa Anita in the San Gabriel Valley.

“It’s continuing to impact people, and more people with each passing hour,” said Amy Zimmerman, Santa Anita’s senior vice president and executive producer.

The Cal Cup races will be run Saturday, Jan. 18, and Sunday’s races will be held Sunday, Jan. 19, with trainers having to re-enter horses for both days. Santa Anita said it will seek California Horse Racing Board approval to hold a makeup day of racing Thursday, Jan. 23.

In 2024, Cal Cup day drew 8,073 fans on-site and $11 million in total wagering, that handle figure the highest for any day at Santa Anita in the month of January.

The statement to horsemen said that as of early Saturday, air quality remained good enough for morning training to go ahead. At about 8 a.m., the air quality index for Arcadia was 109, “unhealthy for sensitive groups” but well below the 175 level under which activity is prohibited by CHRB rules.

After the Eaton fire broke out in Altadena on Tuesday, Santa Anita had called off morning training Wednesday and curtailed it Thursday and Friday.

Executives have emphasized throughout the crisis that the 90-year-old facility remained miles outside the fire zone and wasn’t in imminent danger.

Parts of Santa Anita’s 320-acre property are being used for charity drop-offs, which were moved there from the Rose Bowl, and as a base for Southern California Edison crews working to restore power to fire-affected areas.