12/28: Santa Anita Opening Day
 

SANTA ANITA TO POSTPONE OPENING DAY TO SUNDAY, DEC. 28,

AHEAD OF LOOMING RAIN FORECAST



The opening day of Santa Anita’s Classic Meet will be postponed for two days until Sunday, Dec. 28th, ahead of this week’s declining weather forecast.



While it is difficult to predict weather forecasts with certainty more than 48 hours in advance, the current models have an atmospheric river set to dump between significant rain on the Southern California area beginning Tuesday afternoon through late Friday.



“With the amount of rain being forecast, it’s important to make this call as early as possible to give everyone advance notice,” said Nate Newby, Santa Anita’s General Manager. “Everyone looks forward to Opening Day as it’s traditionally one of our biggest days of the year, so it’s not a decision we make lightly. But after speaking with our stakeholders, adjusting the racing schedule at this time provides the best opportunity to have a great opening to kick off the season.”



Santa Anita’s revised Opening Week schedule has live racing Sunday, Dec. 28th and Monday, Dec. 29th, returning on Wednesday, Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve) through Sunday, Jan. 4th.



Entries for Opening Day will continue to be drawn as scheduled today, Sunday, Dec. 21, with entries for Monday, Dec. 27th, being taken on Monday, Dec. 22nd. The entry schedule for the rest of the week will be adjusted as well.