california racing

Since Bob Baffert made the shift from Quarter Horse racing to Thoroughbred racing in the early eighties, no one has been more loyal to Southern California racing. Especially when it came to stakes races, he filled the entry box like no other trainer. Consistency and quality were his trademarks. He has his critics and some have bristled at his dominance, but California racing has been lucky to have him. But with things being what they are in California, even Baffert had to make what must have been a tough decision...

A fairly quirky notion, perhaps, but let's just give it a little rein. Because it was in California that Collected reached his peak on the racetrack, including when beaten only by the Horse of the Year in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic; and it is also in California that he has been making his name in his second career. Is it conceivable, then, that his stock may be inheriting some aptitude peculiarly adapted to the demands of the West Coast theater? Regardless, his cumulative resonance among Californian breeders certainly gives...

After power issues that forced the cancellation of four races on the Thursday card at Santa Anita, the closing day of the winter-spring season will be extended one additional day to Monday, June 15 as a make-up afternoon, the track announced via release. Thursday's power issues began after the fifth race, necessitating the cancellation of the remaining four races, including the Listed Affirmed Stakes set for race 8 that afternoon. Those contests were redrawn Friday morning, and additional races will be added to the program. First post time on Monday...

The 2025-26 Classic Meet at Santa Anita wrapped Sunday as jockey Emisael Jaramillo, trainer Doug O'Neill, and owner Kretz Racing stood atop their respective categories as leading rider, trainer, and owner, the track announced Monday evening. Leading rider at Gulfstream Park, Jaramillo won 50 races from 229 mounts at the Great Race Place, a 22 percent strike rate, in his first season riding full-time at Santa Anita Park. Of that total, six were stakes races including the GIII San Marcos and the GIII Santa Ana Stakes. Jaramillo's mounts earned a...

Last week's news that FanDuel TV is gradually winding down its product through 2027 has ripped through the industry like a tornado. In response, some, like the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, have urged the company to reverse course. "Should there be a viable path to reconsider this decision, we urge FanDuel and Flutter Entertainment leadership to explore it. We also encourage consideration of a sale of the network to an entity willing to continue regular operations. The infrastructure, audience, and brand equity built over decades represent valuable assets," the...

Over two months have lapsed since the California Department of Justice (DOJ) swooped into Santa Anita midway through the races to remove 26 Racing-on-Demand terminals that allow a form of pari-mutuel wagering on previously run races. Santa Anita subsequently filed suit against state attorney general Rob Bonta making several claims including how the state "unlawfully seized" the terminals "without warning or warrant," and that they have yet to provide "any legal basis or explanation for their warrantless seizure of Petitioner's property, which Respondents have threatened to destroy." At the heart...

Samantha Siegel has been named this year's recipient of the Ed Friendly Industry Service Award, also known as the TOC Chairman's Award, the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) announced on Tuesday. The annual award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Thoroughbred racing industry. Siegel, who races as Jay Em Ess Stable, is an active owner and breeder whose family has been involved in California Thoroughbred racing for more than five decades. Her late father, Mace, was a founding member of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. Jay Em...

Gary Biszantz, who bought his first Thoroughbred for $400 at age 21 in 1956 and was still active in the sport nearly 70 years later, passed away Saturday afternoon after an accidental fall, according to Mike Owens, long-time manager of his Cobra Farm. Owens added that Biszantz's wife, Betty, and six daughters were all with him at the time. Biszantz was 91. Biszantz established Cobra Farm in the 90s, selling it last year after enjoying 480 winners, 32 in stakes and four at Grade I level, and twice went down...

At the OBS March Sale, trainer Michael McCarthy confirmed that his prize pupil Journalism (Curlin) continues to work well out in California as the colt prepares for his 4-year-old debut. "He's training great," McCarthy told TDN. "I don't see a whole lot of difference in him this spring compared to last. He's holding his weight well. Obviously, he's put some on since having a little bit of a break. He's training forwardly." McCarthy said that Journalism has drilled two good half-mile works at Santa Anita Park. "We're going to work...

With an elite-level victory under his belt, jockey Diego Herrera will move his tack east to set up at Gulfstream Park in South Florida, the track announced Sunday afternoon. The 21-year-old Herrera was the pilot aboard British Isles (Justify) last Saturday when the gelding pulled the upset to take home the Big Cap. An Inglewood, CA native, he's also won the 2025 GIII Cecil B. DeMille on Unrivaled Time (Not This Time) and the 2024 GIII Autumn Miss Stakes with Watchtower (Demarchelier {GB}). His move comes after Herrera traveled to...

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on Thursday voted down a pair of dates allocation requests for spring and summer meets at Red Bluff (Tehama District Fair) and Ferndale (Humboldt County Fair), meaning that no Thoroughbred racing is likely to occur in 2026 on the state's once-vibrant Northern circuit that has been dark since December of 2024. "As much as I'd like to see them do well, they have no chance of success," the CHRB's chairman, Gregory Ferraro, DVM, said prior to the first of two separate votes that each...

The Tehama and Humboldt County Fairs have submitted summer race date applications to be considered at this Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting. Tehama's proposed fair racing meet would run from Apr. 29 to May 26. Humboldt's requested dates would go from Aug. 5 to Sept. 1. There remain, however, several outstanding financial, bureaucratic and logistical questions about the proposed race meets that need to be rectified and a tight timeline to rectify them (particularly for Tehama County), according to a racing board staff analysis. The race date applications...