Wet forecast washes out Thursday card

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita canceled Thursday’s eight-race program because of heavy rain predicted for the day before, the track announced Sunday.

Racing is scheduled to resume at noon Friday with an 11-race program. Friday programs have typically had eight or nine races.

Rain is forecast from Tuesday through Thursday, with as much as an inch projected to fall Wednesday.

The winter-spring meeting, which began Dec. 26, has been plagued by wet weather. The Jan. 17 program was canceled that morning because of wet conditions.

Through Sunday, 16.2 inches of rain has been recorded in Los Angeles since Oct. 1, according to the Los Angeles Times.

During the corresponding period last year, 1.88 inches of rain had fallen. The average is 12.4 inches for the same time period.

Early Sunday afternoon the track announced that races scheduled for Thursday would be offered again Friday. An 11-race program is scheduled for Saturday, while 10 are likely Sunday.

Saturday’s program is highlighted by the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes for 3-yearolds.

“We thought it was best to protect the weekend and not take the chance,” Tim Ritvo, the chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, the track’s parent company, said of Thursday’s cancellation.

“We’re trying to be really proactive. Thursday is not as important as the weekend.”

Thursday’s card was canceled at lunchtime on Sunday while entries were being compiled for Friday. Officials said entries were light for Friday at the time and that the program would have had a preponderance of short fields.

“We could have gotten there, but it would have been ugly,” said P.J. Campo, executive vic president of racing for The Stronach Group. “We didn’t want to push it. We could have gotten Friday done.”

The decision to cancel Thursday’s program comes less than a week after the main track was closed late on the morning of Feb. 25 and all day Feb. 26 and 27 to inspect the surface following 19 equine fatalities in recent months. Track officials and consultants said no irregularities were found during the inspection.

Racing resumed last Thursday.

On Saturday, Esken for a drink, a $16,000 claimer, was euthanized as a result of an injury sustained in the day’s third race.

The fatalities led to a protest near track property by animalrights activists midday on Sunday.

The wet conditions have affected business. Ritvo said all-sources handle is down about 5 percent for the meeting.

Through Sunday, average field size is down compared to the corresponding period last year. Through Sunday, fields had averaged 7.38 runners per race, compared to 8.06 runners for a similar period at the 201718 meeting.

Extra races have been run on numerous days this meet. This year, there have been 369 races through Saturday compared to 350 through the first Sunday of March in 2018.