2025 Santa Anita Park Autumn Meet Wagering at OTB
2025 Santa Anita Park Autumn Meet Schedule At OTB
Santa Anita Park is set to offer seven automatic qualifiers for this year's Breeders' Cup races among the 22 stakes races offered during the 2025 Autumn Meet that begins on Friday, September 26.
The seven Breeders' Cup Challenge races are slated to be run the first two weeks of the 16-day meet.
The legacy of California owner-breeder John C. Harris will be honored with the renaming of the GIII John Harris Stakes to be run on Saturday, September 27. Harris, who passed away on July 2, was a stalwart in the state for decades, serving on the boards of numerous California and national racing organizations, and in accepting accolades for his high-quality runners.
The John C. Harris Stakes will be for 3-year-old fillies on Santa Anita Park's unique hillside turf course. It was previously known as the Unzip Me Stakes in honor of the 10-time stakes winner of $959,228 who was co-owned and bred by Harris in partnership.
"John Harris has been synonymous with California racing," said Nate Newby, SVP and General Manager of Santa Anita Park. "It is appropriate to honor him with a stakes race in appreciation of all he has done for our sport in the state. We will miss seeing John in the Santa Anita winner's circle, but the impact of his stewardship will long be remembered."
The name "Goodwood" will be restored to the 2025 running of the Autumn Meet's top race for older horses. The Grade I, 1 1/8-mile Goodwood Stakes is a "Win and You're In" race for the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic. It will be run on Saturday, September 27.
The Oak Tree Racing Association founded the race in 1982 through its partnership with Goodwood Racecourse and it ran with that name for 30 years, producing multiple champions including Breeders' Cup Classic winners Tiznow and Ferdinand. The name change signals a tie back into history as well as moving forward. 1/ST has numerous partnerships with prestigious racecourses around the world, including Goodwood in Chichester, West Sussex, UK. The Goodwood offers a purse of $300,000, which equals that offered for ten of the last 11 runnings of the race.
Opening Saturday will also feature an additional Breeders' Cup Challenge stakes with the GII City of Hope Mile at one mile on the grass. A pair of GII races on the turf, the 1 ¼ mile GII John Henry Turf Championship and the 6 ½ furlong GII Eddie D. Stakes, will be joined by the newly named John Harris Stakes to complete the quintet of September 27 stakes.
The following day, Sunday, September 28, will be headlined by another pair of Breeders' Cup Challenge stakes: the GII Zenyatta Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on dirt and the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship presented by Estrella Jalisco. The 2024 Santa Anita Sprint winner was Straight No Chaser, who went on to win the Breeders' Cup Sprint and the Eclipse Award as the nation's top sprinter.
Key steppingstones to the Nov. 1 & 2 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar will be the focus of the second week of the Santa Anita Autumn Meet as well.
Saturday, October 4 will offer three Breeders' Cup qualifiers among the five stakes races scheduled that day. The 2-year-olds get their chance at a "Win and You're In" with the GI American Pharoah Stakes presented by DK Horse for the males and the GII Oak Leaf Stakes presented by Oak Tree Racing Association for the fillies. Both races are at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. Citizen Bull won last year's American Pharoah prior to winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and being named champion 2-year-old male.
Also on the second Saturday will be the GII Rodeo Drive Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 1/4 miles on the turf which provides yet another "Win and You're In" opportunity, awarding the winner an automatic berth in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The GIII Chillingworth for fillies and mares and the Speakeasy for 2-year-old turf sprinters complete the five stakes to be offered on October 4.
On Sunday, October 5, Santa Anita will host a pair of Grade III's at one mile on turf for 2-year-olds: the GIII Zuma Beach for the males (open) and the GIII Surfer Girl for fillies. Both are preps for their respective division's Breeders' Cup races on the turf.
The five-week season will wrap up with a pair of graded stakes that anchor the closing weekend of the Autumn Meet. They are the GII Twilight Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Saturday, October 25 and the GIII Autumn Miss for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on turf on October 26.
Overnight purses for the Autumn meet will see an increase averaging 10 percent over the 2024 season. This marks the third consecutive Santa Anita Park meet with a purse increase for owners, as the sport continues to transition and create opportunities within the single race circuit in California.
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