Sir Beaufort Stakes Renamed to Mathis Brothers Mile
Santa Anita Park has announced that the Grade II Sir Beaufort Stakes will now be run as the Grade II Mathis Brothers Mile on opening day of the track’s Winter Meet, Dec. 26. The prestigious turf event for 3-year-olds at one mile on turf will be contested for the 15th time.
The $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile will serve as the centerpiece of a multi-year agreement between Santa Anita Park and Mathis Brothers Furniture, one of the nation’s largest and most successful furniture retailers.
Mathis Brothers will also offer opening day fans several thousand dollars worth of prizes and giveaways throughout the day as part of the celebration.
“Opening Day at Santa Anita is a huge event, a great party, loads of fun and the best Thoroughbred racing in the world,” said Mathis Brothers President, Bill Mathis. “Santa Anita has spent many millions of dollars in rejuvenating their facility and fans come from all over Southern California on opening day. They’ll be wearing their fascinators and fedoras, and immersing themselves in all the excitement and anticipation and we’re so happy to be a part of it.
“With our flagship store just a few miles away in Ontario, we feel this is also a mixed-marketing opportunity,” Mathis explained. “We’re excited about exposing our customer universe to the ‘new’ Santa Anita, and further raising our awareness in the marketplace by introducing Santa Anita’s patrons to the Mathis Brothers experience.”
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Named for the winner of the 1993 Santa Anita Handicap, who was trained by the late Hall of Famer, Charlie Whittingham, the Sir Beaufort Stakes was initiated at Santa Anita in the year 2000.
“We’re very happy to be able to enter into this partnership with Mathis Brothers Furniture and we’re proud to be able to offer fans and horsemen the Mathis Brothers Mile on opening day,” said Santa Anita President, Tom Ludt. “This has been an outstanding race over the years and we feel that the Mathis Brothers brand will be of great benefit to us all. They’ve got an outstanding reputation and this is a tremendous way for us to keynote a long-term relationship that will help the entire racing community.”
In addition to the Grade II Mathis Brothers Mile, Santa Anita will also present the Grade I, $300,000 Malibu Stakes and the Grade I, $300,000 La Brea Stakes on opening day. First post time will be early, at 12 noon.
