Santa Anita extends winter-spring meet after power outage cancels races

Santa Anita Park turned a damaged race day into one more chance to run, extending its winter-spring meet by a day after a power outage wiped out races 6 through 9 on June 11. The added Monday, June 15, card gives horsemen another start, keeps owners from losing a planned opportunity, and gives bettors a fuller closing program instead of an abbreviated finish in Arcadia, California.

The track was forced to stop racing after the fifth race when power failure hit parts of the west side of the building, including the broadcast production and production truck. Santa Anita said a backup generator briefly restored power, but that system also failed. The track then moved quickly to preserve the meet’s final days, redrawing the four canceled races on Friday morning and adding more races to the makeup program so the season would not end on a partial card.

The practical stakes were immediate for the wagering pools. Santa Anita said the $1 Pick 3 that started with race 4 and the $2 Daily Double that began with race 5 would have consolation payouts, while BloodHorse reported that wagers were refunded in accordance with California Horse Racing Board rules. The cancellation also knocked out the Affirmed Stakes, a $100,000 race for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on dirt, one of the meet’s most notable late-spring events and one that will now be folded into the makeup schedule.

For horsemen, the extra day matters because it preserves a final shot at a start that otherwise vanished with the outage. Trainers can stay on their intended targets, and the added races give the June 15 program a more complete shape than the one left behind when the lights went out. Santa Anita said the makeup card would be an eight-race program with first post at 1 p.m. Pacific time, and the track’s calendar now runs live racing from December 26 through June 15.

That small calendar adjustment carries outsized weight at a major California venue. Instead of closing the winter-spring season under the cloud of a truncated card, Santa Anita gets one more day to restore order to the meet, put horses in the gate, and give fans a full final round of racing.