Daytime racing at Los Alamitos resumes Friday without the pomp of Del Mar summer or Santa Anita fall, but at least Los Alamitos will enter its September meet with momentum.
Los Alamitos is fresh from a field-size windfall at its June-July meet, with 7.64 horses per race marking the highest average field for a June-July meet since day racing began 12 years ago. The increase, from 6.91 last year, was due to the Northern California shutdown, which caused horses trickle to Los Alamitos races.
“As far as the inventory that’s available to race, it’s been a phenomenal change,” Los Alamitos racing secretary Randy Valdez said. “We had really good fields at the [June-July] meeting, and that had a lot to do with the horsemen from up North.”
The two-week Los Alamitos meet that begins Friday is the first September meet at Los Alamitos since Northern California racing ended. Valdez is hopeful the uptick in field size will continue.
“It’s hard to predict field size because, historically, September is the [most challenging] of the three meets at Los Alamitos,” Valdez said. “Based on last meet’s performance, as far as field size, I’m hoping it will be seven or eight.”
It will be an uphill battle, because September is the least significant of the three Los Alamitos daytime meets. The track’s meets are June-July, September, and December. The September meet is sandwiched between the summer meet at Del Mar and the fall meet at Santa Anita.
Los Alamitos will run Friday through Sunday with a first post of 1 p.m. Pacific. The meet is dirt only, and the win rate of favorites hovers around 40 percent. The high percentage matches the five-year win rate for dirt favorites at Santa Anita and Del Mar.
Although the 1,380-foot stretch at Los Alamitos is the longest in North America, the track plays fair to all styles. Contrary to racetrack blather, late-runners have no advantage racing over the long stretch. For the most part, Los Alamitos is bias-free.
The wagering menu in September includes a 50-cent pick five with a 14 percent takeout on the first five races, and $1 pick fours with a 23.68 percent takeout on races 2-5 and the final four races. The $2 pick six on the final six races is split 70 percent to perfect tickets or to the carryover, and 30 percent to consolations. Los Alamitos does not offer the low-takeout/high minimum wager double or pick three that are popular at Del Mar and Santa Anita.
Average field size for Friday, opening day, is more than eight horses per race. All eight races are claiming events, including four maiden-claiming races.
Kazushi Kimura, leading rider at the June-July meet, rides four live runners Friday, including potential favorites Nassau Circle in race 1 and Separator in race 5. The most probable winner on the card is Arabian Flirt in race 2.
Two stakes are scheduled for the two-week Los Alamitos meet. The $75,000 E.B. Johnston Stakes is for older California-breds at one mile on Sept. 13, and the $100,000 Dark Mirage Stakes is for fillies and mares at one mile on Sept. 20. The meet ends Sept. 21. Santa Anita opens Sept. 26.
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