ARCADIA, Calif. (April 18, 2010)—Santa Anita’s 75th anniversary meeting ended on a high note Sunday as a crowd of 17,345 attended on-track and witnessed an action-packed day of racing that included the 71st running of the prestigious San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap, which was won by Bourbon Bay ridden by Rafael Bejarno. The San Juan Capistrano was carded as the 10th and final race, resulting in a crescendo-like finish to a meet that endured economic and weather-related challenges.
“It was great to finish-up like we did today,” said Santa Anita President Ron Charles. “The San Juan Capistrano was a great way for us to go out and despite the fact we faced a number of issues over the course of the meet, it went very quickly.”
Santa Anita continues to be America’s number-one winter racing venue in terms of all source handle, on-track handle and on-track attendance.
“We knew in December that we would be facing significant challenges,” added Charles. “The bad economy, especially here in California, is an obvious reason for some of the declines, but we also must acknowledge that the problems we continue to have with drainage on the main track and a reduced horse inventory definitely contributed as well.”
