2025 Santa Anita Park Classic Meet Wagering at OTB
2025 Santa Anita Park Classic Meet Schedule At OTB
Santa Anita Park kicks off its 90th year of world-class Thoroughbred racing on Thursday, December 26th with an opening day stakes program that has a stakes race honoring Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. mixed among six graded stakes, including a trio of Grade I events.The Santa Anita's Classic Meet includes 78 days of live Thoroughbred racing ending on June 15.
The Grade II San Antonio Stakes, which Pincay won five times in three decades, will be renamed for the legendary Panamanian rider who ranks as one of the world's best to ever sit in the saddle. Pincay won the San Antonio in 1968 on Rising Market, in his first full season at Santa Anita, and his last one in 1989 aboard Super Diamond. He retired in 2003 with a then-record 9,530 wins, five Eclipse Awards as Outstanding Jockey and a Special Eclipse Award for his achievements.
The Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes joins an opening day card highlighted by three Grade 1s: the Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs, the La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs and the American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies going 1 ¼ miles on turf. Also run being run are a pair of Grade II turf races: the San Gabriel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles and the Mathis Mile.
The blockbuster start to Santa Anita's Classic Meet on the day after Christmas is the first of 78 days of live racing at The Great Race Place. The Classic Meet, which consists of 49 days, runs through April 6 and will be followed by the 29-day Hollywood Meet, which opens April 18 and ends June 15.
As part of a comprehensive stakes schedule worth over $12-million, Santa Anita will host a combined 79 added-money events between the Classic and Hollywood Meets. They include 47 graded stakes, nine of them Grade I's, with 21 of those to be offered on Santa Anita's highly regarded Camino Real Turf Course.
"Laffit Pincay Jr. is one of the greatest ambassadors this sport has ever had, and it is past time for him to be honored," said Nate Newby, Santa Anita's SVP & General Manager. "Laffit will turn 78 two days after Opening Day, and we are delighted to give him an early birthday present."
Highlighting the Classic Meet are the 88th runnings of both the GI Santa Anita Derby and GI Santa Anita Handicap. The Santa Anita Derby, which has a purse of $500,000, will be held on Saturday, April 5. The supporting stakes on Santa Anita Derby Day are the GII Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita Oaks, GIII Monrovia Stakes and both the Echo Eddie and Evening Jewel for 3-year-old California-breds going 6 ½ furlongs on dirt.
The 2025 Santa Anita Handicap, which has a purse of $300,000, will be run on Saturday, March 1. In addition to the historic Big Cap, set to be run that day are the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile on turf, GII DK Horse San Felipe Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles and the GII Buena Vista for fillies and mares at a mile on turf.
While the purses for both of the track's signature races were reduced, the purses for overnight races are above what was offered last spring and autumn, with four allowance and maiden races increasing by over 10 percent.
"It's prudent and responsible to adjust the number of stakes races to fit the new landscape of foal crop and horse population with a still impressive 79 stakes over 78 race days," said Bill Nader, President & CEO of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. "The overnight purses have been increased over the spring and fall levels which is a step in the right direction. Despite challenging times, Southern California remains a big part of American racing and the racing here at Santa Anita over the next several months will help reinforce that message."
As California bred and sired runners are a vital component to the Southern California racing program, Santa Anita will offer a total of 14 stakes restricted to those horses, with five of them to be run both on California Cup Day Jan. 11 and again on California Gold Rush Day May 24.
The highlight of the Hollywood Meet comes on Memorial Day, May 26. That day Santa Anita will host the GI Shoemaker Mile on turf, GI Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf and the GII Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 ¼ miles on dirt.
Putting a bow on the Hollywood Meet June 15 will be Santa Anita's longstanding closing day feature, the GIII San Juan Capistrano Stakes. This will be the 86th running of the about 1 ¾-mile turf test for 3-year-olds and up.
In addition to wagering on-track, fans have a variety of betting options, including OffTrackBetting.com, which can be downloaded free of charge at the Apple App Store.
OffTrackBetting.com - US Legal Santa Anita Park OTB is a great way to bet Santa Anita Park horse racing online. Available to customers across the United States, OTB features Standardbred racing from major racing venues in the US as well as top international racing from Europe, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong.
2025 CLASSIC MEET COMPLETE WAGERING MENU
- Traditional $1 Pick Six offered on the final six races each day
- Low 14 percent takeout 50 cent Early Pick 5, as well as the traditional 50 cent Late Pick 5
- $3 All Turf Pick 3, to be offered on the final three grass races each day $1 Golden Hour Pick Four, with 15 percent takeout
- $5 Golden Hour Double, with 15 percent takeout
- $2 Win, Place & Show wagering on each race, featuring the lowest takeout (15.43 percent) of any major racetrack in North America
- $1 Trifectas on each race with a minimum of four scheduled runners
- 10 cent Superfectas on all races with a minimum of six scheduled runners
- $1 Exacts on each race
- 50 cent Early Pick 4, which is comprised of races 2 through 5
- 50 cent Late Pick 4, covering the final four races each day
- 50 cent Mid Pick 4, available only when there are 10 or more races carded. In the event of an 11-race program, the wager begins with race 5
- Rolling $2 Daily Doubles
- $1 Rolling Pick 3's, beginning with the first race each day
- $1 Super Hi 5, available on all races with seven or more declared starters and requires players to pick the first five finishers in exact order. If there are no perfect tickets with five winners, there is no consolation payoff, as 100 percent of the net pool is carried over to the next Super Hi 5 race.
