Santa Anita hoping for a little Sunshine

The eight-race Sunshine Millions, with four of the races at Santa Anita and four at Gulfstream Park in Florida, will be held Saturday. The event is the branchild of Frank Stronach, founder and chairman of Magna Entertainment Corp., Santa Anita's parent company, and has turned into one of the track's four major days, including opening day, Big 'Cap day and Santa Anita Derby day. This will be the seventh Sunshine Millions, which pits Cal-breds against their Florida counterparts, for purses totaling $3.6 million.

It's doubtful Santa Anita will match or surpass its Sunshine Millions record on-track crowd of 36,355 set in 2007, what with the ailing economy and the possibility of less than ideal weather. There is an 80 percent chance of rain Thursday, according to weather.com, and a 30 percent chance both Friday and Saturday.

In 2006, there was an on-track turnout of 32,116 at Santa Anita for the Millions, and 28,414 showed up last year. The inaugural event drew 17,537 in 2003 and its popularity has grown since.

It will be interesting to see what type of crowd shows up Saturday, considering Santa Anita's all-sources handle is down and management is mulling purse cuts for the second time this meet.