After a spectacular Breeder’s Cup run for the first time on Santa Anita’s synthetic surface racing has returned to Southern Californias first class track. Yesterday’s races were exciting as Bob’s Black Jack ran off with the Grade 1 Malibu stakes where one of the favorites, Colonel John, finished out of the money. The race was run at 7 furlongs and speed was key for the winner.

The bigger story was the attendance as 33,000 faithful horse racing fans ran through the turnstiles. Given the state of our economy and an image problem that racing got after the breakdown of Eight Belles in this years Kentucky Derby, management at Santa Anita can be proud that fans have picked up where they left off after the Breeder’s Cup. We look for attendance and handle to remain steady throughout the meet.

If that isn’t enough reason to get excited about Santa Anita racing, opening day saw a series of middle priced shots that resulted in a Pick 6 carryover for Saturday of $171,000. The Pick 6 starts with the 4th race so make your selections and take a shot. The pool should probably grow and near $500,000 and you have to play to win.