Mike Smith

After a delayed start last December, Santa Anita's 2025-26 meet concluded on Monday, June 15, the first time the meet has ended on a Monday in its 91-year history. The on-track crowd totaled over 540,000 fans for the season and averaged more than 7,000 per day over the 77-day season, which included both the Classic and Hollywood meets. All sources handle totaled $708,112,231, with an average daily handle of $9,196,263. It marked the sixth consecutive year daily handle has exceeded $9 million for the Winter-Spring season. "Santa Anita is one...

When So Happy (c, 3, Runhappy--So Cunning, by Blame) won his first two starts--both sprints--impressively, then yielded when stretched out to 1 1/16 miles in the GII San Felipe Stakes Mar. 7, it could be assumed he had distance limitations. After all, his sire was the 2015 champion sprinter and So Happy had kicked off his own career with a 6 1/2-furlong maiden win Nov. 22 and a GII San Vicente Stakes win at seven furlongs Jan 10 . So Happy ignored both the PPs and his sire's aptitude Saturday,...

The long run of preps for the GI Kentucky Oaks will come to a close this weekend as the last of the 3-year-old filly preps will be run. All eyes will be on Keeneland Friday as the track will host the only Grade I prep for the Oaks, the GI Ashland Stakes. The favorite will be Zany (American Pharoah), who hasn't been out since the Feb. 7 Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Should she win, she will most likely be the favorite come May 1 at Churchill Downs. So,...

So Happy (Runhappy), Brant (Gun Runner) and Potente (Into Mischief) all worked Sunday in preparation for expected starts in the Mar. 7 GII San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. So Happy, winner of the GII San Vicente Stakes going seven furlongs Jan. 10, blazed four furlongs in :46.8 for trainer Mark Glatt. Hall of Famer Mike Smith was aboard for the work. "Dynamite," Smith said. "He's never been a flashy work horse in the morning, a bit lazy actually, but this was one of his best works if not the...

So Happy (Runhappy), winner of the GII San Vicente going seven furlongs on Jan. 10, is likely to mark his return in the GII San Felipe on Mar. 7, according to trainer Mark Glatt Sunday. The 3-year-old posted a bullet six-furlong work in company Sunday at Santa Anita Sunday morning. So Happy, with Hall of Famer Mike Smith in the irons, worked with Grade II winner Mi Hermano Ramon (Creative Cause), who is a 6-year-old. Both were timed in 1:11.60, which tied for the fastest of 11 works at the...

A trainer built equal parts brilliant and idiosyncratic, John Shirreffs passed away quietly in his sleep overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning. He was 80 years old. He leaves behind the kind of record unmatched by all but a select few. At the summit of Shirreffs's mammoth achievements was of course Zenyatta--elegant and imperious, who between 2007 and 2010 achieved the near impossible: 19 straight wins and 13 Grade I victories including back-to-back Breeders' Cup crowns, one of them a Classic. Zenyatta was just denied an exquisite send-off in the Breeders'...

Johnny Velazquez, who has served as Chairman of the Jockeys' Guild for more than 20 years and as Co-Chair with Mike Smith since 2018, will be stepping down from that role, the organization announced Thursday. The members have elected Smith and Javier Castellano as Co-Chairs; Joe Bravo, James Flores, and Julien Leparoux as Co-Vice Chairs; Tyler Gaffalione as Secretary; and Julien Leparoux as Treasurer. In addition, Alex Birzer, James Graham, Rodney Prescott, and Velazquez will serve on the Board of Directors. Velazquez will also remain actively involved with the Guild...

Norman Stables LLC and Saints or Sinners' So Happy (Runhappy) exited his win in the seven-furlong GII San Vicente Stakes Saturday in fine shape, according to trainer Mark Glatt, who said the colt is likely to make his next start in the 1 1/16-mile GII San Felipe Stakes Mar. 7. "I'm sure he'll run in one of these preps coming up here and we'll see if he can go two turns," Glatt said. "My first inclination would be to run in the San Felipe, but things change." So Happy, who...

So Happy (Runhappy) took the lead in midstretch, and refused to come back, keeping his perfect record with a strong win in the GII San Vicente Stakes. The Mark Glatt-trainee entered this contest with only one prior jump to his name. In it, he was last seen breaking his maiden at Del Mar Nov. 22 by three quarters of a length over a field which included two next out winners and GSP Blacksmith (Liam's Map) at 38-1 long odds. There was a scramble coming out of the gate as rivals...

A helping hand. A kind smile. A word of encouragement. A piece of advice. When in the company of Harry Rice III, an instrumental member of the jockeys' room on the New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit for 49 years, you're guaranteed to receive either one or all of the above. And it's that warmth and color Rice carries with him that has been notably absent from New York race days since the veteran valet officially retired this past spring after working his final day, April 19, at Aqueduct. The...

After claiming three winners during the marquee Breeders' Cup event at Del Mar, Irad Ortiz Jr. has won the 23rd Bill Shoemaker Award as outstanding jockey for the sixth time. The Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who rides the most winners in the 14-race Championship series with the tiebreaker being a 10-3-1 point system for second-through-fourth-place finishes. Ortiz opened his weekend on Cy Fair (Not This Time) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, and returned to the winner's enclosure Saturday with yet another filly beating the boys...

DEL MAR, Calif. - At the age of 56, the legendary Bill Shoemaker guided Ferdinand home by a nose over Alysheba as the two Derby winners famously hit the wire together in the 1987 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Hollywood Park. The late Shoemaker has held the record as the oldest jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race since. Hall of Famer Mike Smith will have five chances to make history as the two-day Championships return to Del Mar for the fourth time Friday. The 59-year-old's Breeders' Cup mounts include:...