Special Thursday card kicks off closing week of Classic meet

This week is the final week of the Santa Anita Classic Meet. There will be four consecutive days of racing starting this Thursday, which is a makeup card for earlier weather-related cancellations, and ending with closing day on Sunday when there will be mandatory payouts in all pari-mutuel pools. After closing day of the Classic Meet, Santa Anita will take a one-week break before live racing resumes with the start of the Hollywood Meet on Friday, April 17. The Hollywood Meet runs through Sunday, June 14.

Jockey Emisael Jaramillo won two more races last Sunday and is now eight wins clear of runners-up Juan Hernandez and Kazushi Kimura in the race for leading jockey with four days remaining in the meet. Doug O’Neill also won one race Sunday to extend what’s likely an insurmountable lead in the trainer’s race. O’Neill won 36 races at the stand, which is 11 more than runner-up Mark Glatt.