Preliminary talks held to allow ontrack fans

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita executives have held preliminary discussions with Los Angeles County officials about reopening the track to customers this spring.

Nate Newby, Santa Anita’s senior vice president and general manager, said over the weekend that no plans have been finalized and that the presence of paying customers is contingent on a continued decline in the level of COVID-19 positives in Southern California.

Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers have asked state and county health officials for permission to host a limited number of fans beginning with team’s home opener on April 9. Disneyland and other amusement parks in the region have lobbied government officials to reopen their facilities in the near future, according to news reports.

Newby said that pandemic statistics need to show continued improvement to meet state and county health measurements to reopen. Newby said he was encouraged that the Dodgers are speaking with government officials.

“We’re in the same category, and it helps us more that everyone else is lobbying,” Newby said. “If the Dodgers get 10 or 20 percent, we would hope to get the same.”

“Every day the numbers improve in L.A. County.”

Los Angeles County, where Santa Anita is located, is rated by health officials as having widespread COVID-19 cases and is in the most restrictive tier for businesses. The widespread, or purple, tier is for counties with the most severe spread of COVID-19 and, consequently, under the most stringent restrictions for businesses. When pandemic conditions improve, counties are rated to have substantial (red), moderate (orange), or minimal (yellow) cases, allowing for looser business restrictions.

Most counties in California are in the restrictive tier. When counties reach the moderate or minimal levels, racetracks and other outdoor stadiums can operate at up to 25 percent capacity.

For Santa Anita, which hosted 67,811 on the Saturday program of the 2019 Breeders’ Cup, classification in the moderate or minimal tiers would allow for a sizable audience.

“Until the tiers change, there is not much of a push,” Newby said. “We have a big outdoor venue.”

Asked if Santa Anita could host some customers before the end of the meeting on June 21, Newby was optimistic.

“I think we have a shot,” he said. “We’re staying open to that possibility.”

Since late July, Del Mar and Santa Anita have allowed a small number of owners with horses entered to attend the races. Attendance has frequently ranged from 100 to 200 people.

On the weekend of March 6-8, 2020, a Friday through Sunday, Santa Anita had ontrack audiences of 3,398, 15,256, and 5,169 in the days before the pandemic put a stop to audiences at sport events.

By the following weekend, Santa Anita raced without an ontrack audience, and only with track officials and stable staff in attendance.

Smith handed two-day ban

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith has been suspended two days next Friday and Saturday after he was judged by Saudi Arabian stewards to have caused interference shortly after the start of the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.

Smith, 55, rode Charlatan to a second-place finish, but was ruled to have allowed his mount to drift to the left after the start, interfering with Sleepy Eyes Todd, who finished fifth. The stewards made no change in the order of finish.

Santa Anita stewards Ron Church, Luis Jauregui, and Kim Sawyer issued the twoday sanction Sunday after receiving the original ruling from the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia. The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia and California Horse Racing Board have a reciprocal agreement to honor penalties issued by the respective organizations.

Smith was given a nine-day suspension for using his whip excessively aboard runner-up Midnight Bisou in the 2020 Saudi Cup. Smith was fined $210,000 for that infraction.

Smith lost an appeal of that penalty, but he did not miss any mounts because he was allowed to serve the days when racing was canceled at Santa Anita because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Charlatan was beaten a length by Mishriff, who was ridden by David Egan. Saudi Arabian stewards hit Egan with a two-day suspension and $100,000 fine for excessive use of the whip aboard Mishriff, according to the HorseRacingPlanet.com website.

Hat trick by apprentices

Apprentice jockeys Alexis Centeno, Emily Ellingwood, and Jessica Pyfer each rode a winner on Sunday’s nine-race program at Santa Anita.

Centeno, who claims seven pounds, rode Cover Version ($54) to an upset in the third race, for $32,000 claimers at a mile on turf. Centeno, 27, has ridden five winners at the meeting, which began Dec. 26. At the Los Alamitos December meeting, Centeno finished eighth in the standings with five wins.

Ellingwood, 26, won the fourth race, which was for maiden claimers, on Robin’s Legacy ($24.40) for her fourth career win. Ellingwood claims 10 pounds, which will be reduced to seven pounds after her fifth win.

Ellingwood won the first race of her career at Los Alamitos in December and her third race on Friday. Ellingwood has had 26 mounts at the Santa Anita meeting.

“I’m feeling great,” she said between races Sunday. “I only get so many opportunities.”

In her brief career, Ellingwood said she has worked to stay calmer in races.

“I’ve got to stay more relaxed,” she said. “I get super excited to be riding races in general.”

Pyfer, 23, won her 10th race of the meeting in Sunday’s sixth race on favored Becca Taylor, leaving her tied for seventh in the standings. At the Los Alamitos December meeting, Pyfer finished third in the standings with 11 wins, two victories behind leader Abel Cedillo.

Pyfer, who claims seven pounds, began riding in September.