Santa Anita Betting Tips

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Santa Anita racecourse in Arcadia, California is one of the leading US racecourses, and one of the elite six tracks in America alongside Belmont Park, Churchill Downs, Del Mar, Keeneland and Saratoga.

Santa Anita racecourse is home to top stakes action throughout the year and has hosted the Breeders’ Cup a record-setting 10 times.

Santa Anita first opened its doors on Christmas Day 1934 and with it located just 16 miles from Downtown Los Angeles, is a regular hotspot for Hollywood stars on big race days.

With top-class action throughout the season, and multiple meetings each week our experts at myracing will be on hand to provide analysis, predictions, betting and Santa Anita tips for every meeting.

Santa Anita Tips

Santa Anita hosts both dirt and turf racing throughout the season with an outer main dirt course and an inner turf track, in addition to a hillside turf chute that crosses the dirt track used in races run over 6½f, 1m2f and 1m4f.

The main dirt track is a mile long and made of a mixed synthetic surface made of silica sand, synthetic fibres, elastic fibre, granulated rubber and a wax coating.

The inner turf track measures at around 0.9miles or 1,584 yards in circumference, characterised by its tight turns, the gate position and early speed is always key around Santa Anita.

The downhill turf chute is a unique track, starting in the hills turning right before a sharp left-hand turn across the dirt track onto the main turf track.

In races run over 6½f the winding downhill course can be unforgiving if not on the pace, everything happens quickly and it can be difficult to make up ground.

Santa Anita hosts three seasons throughout the year with early fall, winter and spring fixtures.

With a number of big race meetings as well as being a Breeders’ Cup host course, our expert tipsters are on hand throughout the season to provide you with the best race analysis, betting and Santa Anita tips.

Santa Anita Major Races

As one of America’s elite tracks, and the premier west coast track, its no surprise that Santa Anita racecourse is the host of some of the top races each year.

The main race on Santa Anita’s calendar is the Santa Anita Derby which is run in April with a purse of $1million in 2019.

Raced on the dirt over 1m1f and open to three-year-olds, the Santa Anita Derby is considered the last prep race before the Kentucky Derby, typically run in early May.

The most recent winners of the Santa Anita Derby to go on to contest and win the Kentucky Derby include Justify in 2018, California Chrome in 2014 and I’ll Have Another in 2012.

Aside from the Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita racecourse plays host to a stellar graded program, with 2019 hosting 80 graded contests, 15 being Grade 1’s.

Santa Anita Grade 1 races in 2019

• American Oaks
• American Pharoah Stakes
• Awesome Again Stakes
• Beholder Mile Stakes
• Chandelier Stakes
• Frank E. Kilroe Mile
• Gamely Stakes
• La Brea Stakes
• Malibu Stakes
• Rodeo Drive Stakes
• Santa Anita Derby
• Santa Anita Handicap
• Santa Anita Sprint Championship
• Shoemaker Mile Stakes
• The Gold Cup at Santa Anita

Santa Anita top course trainers

With its big Stakes and Grade 1 program, Santa Antia attracts runners for the leading yards across America.

When you look at a season’s totals by prize money you’ll see all of the top yards, from both the East and West coast, such as Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert to name a few, particularly in a Breeders’ Cup year.

The majority of racing and races don’t take part at the top level with the biggest purses on offer and this is where the local trainers, regulars of the course come to the fore.

Looking at the leading trainers by runners and wins is a good guide for the day-to-day meetings, but be sure to respect the big names that ship runners west for the bigger races.

Doug O’Neill led the way in 2019 with both number of runners at Santa Anita racecourse with 382 and also in winners with 71.

The leading trainers throughout 2019, sorted by their number of wins, can be found below.

2019                        Runners             Winners            Strike-rate             Earnings
Doug O’Neill              382                        71                     18.5%                 $3.7m
Richard Baltas           269                        51                     19.0%                 $3.7m
John W. Sadler          218                        47                     21.6%                 $4.1m
Philip D’Amato          261                        45                     17.2%                 $3.5m
Mark Glatt                  223                        44                     19.7%                 $2.1m
Bob Baffert                163                        37                     22.7%                 $5.2m
Peter Miller                199                         35                     17.6%                 $3.3m
Jerry Hollendorfer    147                        25                     17.0%                 $2.3m

Santa Anita top course jockeys

Flavian Prat and Joel Rosario are two go-to guys around Santa Anita and led the way once more in 2019.

Flavian Prat was 32 winners clear of Rosario in 2019, amassing $3.4m dollars more in prize money in the process, but having ridden in over 180 more Santa Anita races.

Similarly to the trainer’s standings, on the big days, you’ll see more jockeys who typically ride on the east coast or elsewhere in for the big races.

Mike E Smith being one of them, who rides less frequently than the likes of Prat or Rosario, with just 144 rides at Santa Anita in 2019, but had an excellent strike-rate of 26.4% at the track, earning 4.3m in prize money, and very much another jockey to keep on side on his forays to the track.

The leading jockeys throughout 2019, sorted by their number of wins, can be found below.

2019                         Runners             Winners          Strike-rate           Earnings
Flavien Prat                 423                      97                      22.9%               $10.2m
Joel Rosario                 242                     65                      26.9%                $6.8m
Rafael Bejarano           379                      58                      15.3%                $3.5m
Tiago Pereira                363                     54                      14.9%                 $2.5m
Drayden Van Dyke       325                      54                       16.6%                $4.0m
Geovanni Franco         365                      46                      12.6%                 $2.9m
Joseph Talamo            314                      40                       12.7%                $2.7m
Mike E Smith                144                      38                       26.4%               $4.3m

Whether you’re looking for a tip in the Santa Anita Derby, or a regular race card during the week, our expert tipsters are on hand at myracing, providing analysis, predictions and Santa Anita tips throughout the season.

All of our free Santa Anita Tips are on the website from midday on the day of racing and along with our American Racing Tips, we have our NAP of the Day, Accumulators and Double selections.

Where can I watch Santa Anita races?

Santa Anita is a mainstay of Sky Sports Racing’s Stateside Live show, with almost all of their meetings shown live. You can find Sky Sports Racing on Sky Channel 415, 535 on Virgin TV and 418 on Virgin TV Ireland.

You can also stream most Santa Anita races through leading bookmakers, who offer streaming services online. Simply log in to your account and place a bet that meets the minimum bet requirement, which varies but can start from as little as £0.05 to watch live Santa Anita action.

New to online betting or looking to make the most of our great offers and Santa Anita tips, head over to our free bets page to check out the latest offers.