how Santa Anita has fallen...

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by ultracapper

$20K older horses, $30K for age restricted.

Thanks👍

[andtheyreoff]

Originally Posted by MonmouthParkJoe

I really didnt follow Santa Anita that much back in the day (like ten years ago or so), but was it always normal for them to card 8 races on a thursday and friday?

Yeah, they've always had eight races on Thursday & Friday for as long as I can remember.

[cj]

Originally Posted by andtheyreoff

Yeah, they've always had eight races on Thursday & Friday for as long as I can remember.

It hasn't been that long. Eight race cards weren't the norm probably 15 years ago, and they raced on Wednesdays too. The only eight race cards I remember back then were Friday night Hollywood cards.

[airford1]

Originally Posted by ultracapper

They still don't race on the turf for less than a $25K tag, $50K if maidens.

I remember when they went down to $8K, and now the $6250, which Los Al has been carding, with N2X conditions, since Hol closed. Nickel claimers in SoCal may become a reality one day.

"The Great Race Place", running the same races as Mountaineer, the Nickel Claimer. That will kill Los Al and once again when the owner of Los Alamitos passes away it will be sold for the property value. Racing in SoCal has closed Hollywood Park, Fairplex and I might mention Caliente across the border. I mention these because there was a time when you had the stables full at Santa Anita and had Hubbard bringing in trailer loads of horses to run from Hollywood Park and Pomona. The cheap horses went to Caliente and came back to race at the Pomona Fair. Then California embraced Slot machines with "NO TAX MONEY". Smart move to kill the horse racing industries employment and tax base. Sorry for my rant, but California had GREAT racing from 1930's till 1990. RIP.

[Si2see]

Originally Posted by ultracapper

Great point. Not exactly sure if that's the exact reason, though it makes sense. Bobby Wayne Grayson is a trainer/owner that definitely fits this mold. His 4 and 5 year old fillies and mares disappear, and then a number of them will pop back up in the late summer/ early fall. Probably ones that didn't conceive and then had to be put back into training. The open claimers for older horses for anything over a $20K tag are far and few between this time of year, and they draw small fields. It's been a seasonal type thing for years now down there. They'll start running the 3yo with the older maidens in about 4 to 6 weeks, and in open claiming races soon after, and that's when the open claiming fields will start filling and they'll start carding more.

The horse population is a real concern in SoCal. That, along with what appears to be a shortage of really, really committed owners, is a real issue down there, and one that, from the outside, really looks to need addressing aggressively. The loss of the types like Ben Warren, Bud Johnston, Barry Abrams and John Liviakis, and the lack of anybody stepping into their shoes, is disconcerting for SoCal race fans. Being a total outsider, I have no idea what the real issues are, but on the surface, it looks kind of scary. Joe Torres and Jim Rhomes pop up for awhile, and then their gone just as fast.

I was unaware of the bolded above. Especially Ben Warren and Barry Abrams, do you know why they aren't involved in California ( or period ) ? 5 years ago there wasn't a California bred races that didn't have at least one of them involved.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by MonmouthParkJoe

I really didnt follow Santa Anita that much back in the day (like ten years ago or so), but was it always normal for them to card 8 races on a thursday and friday?

No. They used to have 27 races on weekdays each week, now they have 16.

[Inner Dirt]

I seem to remember Santa Anita having 9 races during the week with the 8th always being the feature even if it was just a high grade allowance race. The 9th was usually one of the lowest, often a $10k claimer. This was mid to late 80's when I used to haul butt after work to catch the late double. Maybe someone can look this up. My insomnia does effect my memory so maybe I am wrong and was catching race 7 & 8 and not 8 & 9.

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

They carded a 7 horse $6,250 claimer yesterday.

In the 1980's, their lowest class was $10,000 (over $21,000 in today's dollars).

Ummm, it was $62,500

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by Si2see

I was unaware of the bolded above. Especially Ben Warren and Barry Abrams, do you know why they aren't involved in California ( or period ) ? 5 years ago there wasn't a California bred races that didn't have at least one of them involved.

Barry's been battling very aggressive cancer for about 4-5 years.

[illinoisbred]

Originally Posted by elhelmete

Ummm, it was $62,500

The OP was referencing the 2nd race on Friday.

[Track Phantom]

Racing is suffering from a lack of horses everywhere. The only track really worth following right now is Oaklawn. Full fields, interesting races and not dominated by just a few chemically savvy trainers.

[JohnGalt1]

Remember when maiden winners had to face open company?

There were no NW2, or NW3 conditions.

[airford1]

Ben Warren kept California racing in horses for years with his home breeds and the cost plus his age helped him decide to stop. Bud Johnston passed away.

[PhantomOnTour]

Just for perspective, does anyone know the bottom levels at NYRA tracks for Mdns and regular Claimers?

[Cratos]

Originally Posted by PhantomOnTour

Just for perspective, does anyone know the bottom levels at NYRA tracks for Mdns and regular Claimers?

Based on our data, MdClm and OpenClm minimum tags are 20k, but our database doesn't make a distinction between NYSB claimers and non-NYSB claimers.