Arcadia

Santa Anita Park will host friends of late trainer John Shirreffs for a Celebration of Life to be held Sunday, March 15 in the Chandelier Room from 1-3 p.m. The public gathering is open to all who knew the trainer during his tenure as a fixture on the Southern California racing circuit, including his many years at Santa Anita Park. Shirreffs passed away unexpectedly at age 80 on Feb. 12 in his Arcadia, CA home after a brief illness.

The latest salvo in the fight over the legality of a suite of Racing On Demand slot machine-style pari-mutuel games that were removed from Santa Anita by state Department of Justice (DOJ) law enforcement officers Saturday afternoon was fired Tuesday by the track, which filed a writ of mandate against the DOJ in the Los Angeles Superior Court. There had been 26 such machines in total operating in the Santa Anita grandstand pavilion since last Thursday. They offered $1 bets and required gamblers to select the first three finishers of...

The 26 Racing on Demand slot machine-style parimutuel games—with distinct similarities to Historic Horse Racing—that were removed from Santa Anita by Department of Justice law enforcement officers Saturday afternoon will be destroyed after 30 days unless there's some intervening court action, according to a California Department of Justice "notice of intention to destroy machines and devices." The 30-day window began the day the notice was posted, which is dated January 17. The notice was provided by the CA DOJ in response to a series of questions by the TDN about...

Tradition since 1995, Santa Anita Park's Derby Day 5K Run & Walk is set for Saturday, Apr. 5 for the 30th running of the event, the track announced Saturday afternoon. The race will kick off at 8 a.m. with participants encouraged to arrive early between 6:30 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. and horsemen as well as locals are reminded that Baldwin Avenue will be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. to all but foot track. The closing extends between the 210 Freeway and Huntington Drive. The race begins from South...

Among several notable workers for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Saturday morning at Santa Anita was Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), who this week was named the 2024 champion 2-year-old male. With rain expected later in the day and continuing through the weekend, it was a busy training session on both the main track and training track as 229 horses recorded timed workouts ahead of the weather. Citizen Bull worked in company with older horse Pilot Commander (Justify), who most recently was fourth in the GI Malibu Dec. 26....

Santa Anita opened its track Thursday morning to limited training--just joggers and gallopers for most of the morning. For the Santa Anita backstretch community, it was a slice of normality as the extent of the damage caused by the wildfires that have ripped across Los Angeles this week began to set in. "I've lived there half my life, almost. My daughter was born there. It's where she grew up. All of our memories together. I was just telling her, 'all of your medals and trophies for all the years you...

The third annual Horse Racing Women's Summit (HRWS) presented by 1/ST and FanDuel TV returned to the West Coast where 125 gathered in Arcadia, California to attend panel discussions and engage in a variety of networking activities, the conference said in a press release on Saturday. After Wednesday's welcome reception, the group convened the next day at the Le Meridien Hotel with opening speaker Catherine Iste, Chief Administrative Officer for the Los Angeles Chargers. The first panel discussion followed, which was entitled "Peak Performance," and featured Zoe Cadman, Karen Crouse,...

Construction that began earlier this summer on three horse show arenas is nearing completion in the Santa Anita Park infield and will not affect training or racing at the track, according to a Wednesday 1/ST Racing press release. Led by track consultant Dennis Moore, the construction will not impact morning training or afternoon racing as the Autumn Meet opens at the end of September. The arenas will be used for the first time in collaboration with The Lugano Diamonds Split Rock Jumping Tour, and will feature two weeks of back-to-back...

Santa Anita's popular Runhappy Santa Anita Derby Day 5K Run & Walk returns following a two-year absence on Derby Day, Saturday, Apr. 9, with 5K post time at 8 a.m. Deferred for the last two years due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Derby Day 5K has long been a springtime happening for participants ranging in ages from five years to 90-plus years of age. "We are thrilled that the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby Day 5K Walk and Run is back, after two years due to the pandemic," said Pete Siberell, Santa...