Horse Racing: Venue of the Oak Tree meet changed to Hollywood Park
Oak Tree is a horse racing event which has been taking place for 42 years now. The meet was a signature event of the Santa Anita Race track. For the first time in 42 years, the race will be taking place at the Hollywood Park, due to some issues related to
the race track. The trainers and owners of the horses now think that the Santa Anita Race track is not safe and the synthetic surface of the track needs repairing.
The event starts on Thursday, the 30th of September. The first race of the 22 day meet at the Hollywood Park is the Sen. Ken Maddy Handicap which carries a purse of $ 100,000. The race is meant for older horses, both mares and fillies. The total
distance that is to be covered during the race is six furlongs on a turf race track. This distance is half a furlong less than the length of the race track at the Santa Anita race track.
The unbeaten filly Zenyatta will be running her 19th career race at the Hollywood Park on this Saturday. She is expected to win the Lady’s Secret Stakes carrying a purse of $ 250,000. Zenyatta will have to hold off five opponents after the filly
claims her third consecutive victory in this event. This race will be one of the two Grade I races that are scheduled on the third day of the annual Oak Tree meet.
There will be a total of 10 races which will be run at Hollywood Park this year. Lady’s Secret is the seventh of these ten races. Norfolk Stakes also carrying a purse of $ 250,000, will be preceding the Lady’s Secret race. Yellow Ribbon and Goodwood Stakes,
both $ 250,000 will be the two races following the Lady’s Secret Stakes that will be run over the cushion track.
The race will be followed by an art exhibition and book signing by an artist Fred Stone. A jersey signing session by the Hall of Fame Jockeys including Eddie Delahoussaye, Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay Jr. and Gray Stevens.
The most significant race horse at Hollywood Park this season is the filly Zenyatta. If she manages to take over the field at the Lady’s Secret race, she will become the richest race horse. She has career earnings second to those of Ouija Board so far. Ouija
is the race horse with the most career earnings leading up to $ 6,334,296. Zenyatta, at the moment has a bank roll of $ 6,254,580.
Hollywood Park, being her home track, has always proved to be very lucky for Zenyatta. She has won a total of seven meets at this Park. Some of the victories that Zenyatta has claimed at this track are simply remarkable like the ones at the Breeder’s Cup
Classic and Lady’s Secret at Santa Anita last year. In the Breeder’s Cup Classic 2009, Zenyatta emerged victorious amongst her male competitors.
Zenyatta is owned by Jerry and Ann Moss and trained by John Shirreffs and is heading towards winning her ninth consecutive Grade I race at the Hollywood Park. She will start from the fifth post at the Lady’s Secret and weighs the same as she did at the Clement
L. Hirsch at the Del Mar Race Course, which was her most recent victory, claimed by her in the beginning of August.
The other contenders of the Lady’s Secret Stakes include the six year old Street Cry, who will be running at the Hollywood Park as her 20th career meet. Owned by Jerry Jangotchian and trained by Eric Reed, Rinterval is a tough competitor for Zenyatta.
The daughter of Desert Prince, Rinterval gave Zenyatta a hard time winning at the Hirsch race, Del Mar. Satan’s Quick Chick is also on the list of the five competitors that Zenyatta will be encountering at Hollywood Park. This is going to be Satan’s Quick
Chick’s first race after the Manatee that was run on the 30th of January at Tampa Bay Downs.
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