Santa Anita has postponed its Friday thoroughbred racing card until Thursday, Jan. 16, citing a forecast for continued poor air quality in the Arcadia area because of smoke from the nearby Eaton fire and other blazes in Los Angeles County.
A decision will be made Friday about whether to race Saturday, when the California Cup program of stakes for Cal-bred horses is scheduled, track management said.
Morning training was canceled Wednesday and curtailed Thursday. A message to horsemen said a decision will be made early Friday morning about what kinds of training will be allowed that morning, based on air-quality measurements.
“While Santa Anita continues to remain well outside of any active fire area, the smoke from the wildfires is affecting all of Los Angeles County,” Nate Newby, Santa Anita’s general manager and senior vice president, said in a statement. “We also want to respect the impact that this tragedy has had on many of our community, including our horsemen and women and our own Santa Anita team, who have been devastated by these fires.
“By proactively moving the races, it gives our horsemen and women, horseplayers, fans and our team the opportunity to plan accordingly.”
Santa Anita said it has been distributing N-95 masks and protective eyewear to workers, and has offered financial assistance to trainers who wanted to evacuate horses to another facility.
The message to horsemen said the 10 races originally scheduled for Friday will be run next Thursday as post positions were drawn earlier this week. Santa Anita plans racing Thursday through Sunday next week.