Highly Distorted ($24.80) led throughout an allowance race at 6 1-2 furlongs on turf in Saturday's sixth race, the first time the Santa Anita has used a backstretch turf chute constructed in recent months.

Santa Anita no longer runs sprints on the hillside turf course. The new backstretch turf chute will allow for races at distances of six and 6 1-2 furlongs. Previously, turf sprints on the oval turf course were run only at distances of five and 5 1-2 furlongs. The track last ran a sprint on the hillside turf course in March 2019. That portion of the course is used only for the starts of races ranging in distances of 1 1-4 miles to about 1 3-4 miles, which are infrequent.

The new chute is adjacent to the seven-furlong chute on the main track.

In Saturday's race at 6 1-2 furlongs, a field of 12 ran approximately a furlong before crossing the main track and onto the main turf oval, with about 5 1-2 furlongs remaining.

Highly Distorted, ridden by Juan Hernandez for trainer Mike Puype, set fractions of 22.64 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.72 for a half-mile before fiishing in 1:14.85.

The new turf course chute will not be used again on Saturday. On Sunday's 10-race program, the seventh race is a six-furlong allowance race on turf for California-breds.

Through Jan. 9, the tentative list of races has turf sprints at distances of six and 6 1-2 furlongs.