San Felipe gets $100,000 boost

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita will run 60 stakes, including eight Grade 1 races, during its winterspring meeting, which runs from Dec. 26 to April 7. There are several changes to dates and purses on the Santa Anita stakes schedule.

The purse of the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes for 3-yearolds at 1 1/16 miles has been increased from $400,000 to $500,000. The San Felipe Stakes will be run March 9 and is a key prep for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 6, the richest race of the meet.

The Grade 1 Beholder Mile for fillies and mares will be run in March rather than early June as in the past. The Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles, previously held in March, will be run at a date to be determined during the track’s spring-summer meeting, which runs from mid-April to late June.

The Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes for fillies and mares at seven furlongs will be run a month earlier than in 2018, on Feb. 16, as a prep for the Beholder Mile. The purse of the Santa Monica has been increased by $50,000, to $250,000.

The richest race for older horses at the winter-spring season is the $500,000 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles on March 9. The purse has been reduced by $100,000 from 2018. The Big Cap suffers from competition from the $9 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in late January and the $10 million Dubai World Cup in late March.

The purse of the Grade 3 Robert Frankel Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf Dec. 29 has been increased $50,000, to $150,000, while the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes at seven furlongs will be worth $50,000 less, at $200,000.

Two Grade 3 races worth $100,000 last year will not be run in 2019 – the Midnight Lute Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs and the Adoration Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles. A $75,000 race for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on turf – the Lady of Shamrock Stakes – will be introduced on opening day, Dec. 26.