Santa Anita heavy with social media

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Arcadia, CA (Sports Network) - Social media platforms will be a prime focus for Santa Anita Park during its upcoming 76th racing season. The track has also unveiled a brand new website.

Leading the effort at Santa Anita in social media are Kattie Abbott, the track's Social Media Manager and Manager of New Media, Andrew Arthur.

"We have had tremendous response, in terms of hits, through all of these forms of social media," said Abbott, a 26-year-old graduate of California State University, Chico. "This sport is absolutely perfect for Twitter and Facebook, because there is 'down time' between races, during morning workouts, etc.

"At this past Autumn Meet, on Facebook alone, we had 22,498 total fans, 1,866 of whom were new. That was an increase of 62 percent over last spring and there's no doubt we can build upon that beginning with opening day, Dec. 26."

The new website has links to all social media outlets.

"We're excited about the new website and we think our fans are going to love it," said Arthur, a 25-year-old graduate of San Francisco's St. Mary's College. "We've found the main traffic for our website is Programs, Results, Entries, the Calendar, and Pro's Picks (handicapping). Those 'quick links' can now be found right below the Santa Anita Park logo on the home page.

"In addition to all that Katie is doing throughout the day, we'll also be offering our fans easy access to Flip Cam interviews that we post on YouTube."

Opening day will be Wednesday, Dec. 26 and extends through Sunday, April 21.