Richard Mandella

A pair of Grade I turf tests in addition to the GII Hollywood Gold Cup highlight Santa Anita's Memorial Day card. Kicking off Monday's graded action, the Gold Cup will feature a quintet of hard-knocking handicappers, including Grade I winners Subsanador (Arg) (Fortify), victorious over ultimate champion National Treasure (Quality Road) in the 2024 renewal of the GI California Crown and last season's GI Big 'Cap winner British Isles (Justify). Now seven, the Argentine multiple Grade I winner returned off a 2 1/2-year hiatus to finish fourth in both starts...

Greenwich Village (Quality Road) with Juan Hernandez aboard timed things just right to get his head down at the wire in a tight finish in Sunday's Pasadena Stakes at Santa Anita. Sent off the 8-5 choice after a first-time turf score in the 6 1/2 furlong Baffle Stakes at this venue on Jan. 25, the bay exited post 2 in good order and soon set up camp in a ground-saving fourth as Medici (Into Mischief) led Brigante (More Than Ready) and Army Man (Battalion Runner) through an opening quarter in...

Beholder's Grade I-winning daughter Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) has been retired to Spendthrift Farm following an injury that occurred after training Saturday. The news, first reported by the Daily Racing Form, comes as the latest blow for the soon to be 5-year-old whose career has been a progression of starts and stops dating back through her 2-year-old campaign. Trainer Richard Mandella told the DRF's Steve Anderson that Tamara's post-workout X-rays were "clean, but she is off a little in her right front. They're planning to retire her, and I'm all for...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, trainer Carlos Sedillo has been suspended 18 months and fined $12,500 after he was found in possession of Levothyroxine—a banned synthetic thyroid drug—at Sunland Park in New Mexico on March 6. His suspension began on December 11. The case was resolved without a hearing. Sedillo has been training...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Dates: 12/04/2025 Licensee: Michael Catalano, trainer Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone—a class C controlled substance—in a sample taken from Mr Sandman on 10/24/25. Pending ADMC Violations 12/10/2025, Carlos Martin, trainer: Pending...

It's no surprise that Italian-born jockeys are doing well at the current meet at Del Mar. They have been making their mark in Southern California for some time now. Antonio Fresu is second in the standings and Umberto Rispoli is third. But who is the leading rider? The answer might surprise you. The 46-year-old veteran Mirco Demuro, who left Japan earlier this year to try the Southern California circuit, went into the weekend at Del Mar on top of the jockey standings with 10 winners. He has had just 22...

Spendthrift Farm's Kopion (Omaha Beach--Galloping Ami, by Victory Gallop), who posted three Beyer Speed Figures in excess of 107 in a season which included a blowout victory in the GI Derby City Distaff Stakes, has been retired, according to a report from the Daily Racing Form. Bred by Ivan Dalos's Tall Oaks Farm, Kopion was a $270,000 Keeneland September yearling and won a pair of stakes over seven furlongs at three, a 5 3/4-length success in the GIII Santa Ynez Stakes and a 2 3/4-length score at odds of 37-1...

After being a scratch by track veterinarians from the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) is back at Santa Anita Park undergoing tests to determine a possible cause. Both Tamara and Sweet Azteca (Sharp Azteca) were scratched the morning of the Filly & Mare Sprint, later won by Splendora (Audible), and were figured to be two of the favorites in the race. At the time of the scratch, no reason had been provided for either horse. Now back in the...

Both Sweet Azteca (Sharp Azteca) and  'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) will scratch from the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Each filly looked to play a substantial role in the wagering with Sweet Azteca 2-1 on the morning line for Richard Baltas and Tamara listed at 7-2 for Richard Mandella. The news was reported on social media by DRF's David Grening. No reason was given for either scratch. Additionally, 20-1 shot Atsila (Ire) (Phoenix of Spain {Ire}) has been announced via the same source...

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:...

Breeders' Cup pre-entrants Explora (Blame), Kopion (Omaha Beach), Straight No Chaser (Speightster), Goal Oriented (Not This Time) and Motorious (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) all had their final works Sunday at Santa Anita. Kopion, trained by Richard Mandella, covered three furlongs in :33.20 with Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith aboard. The 4-year-old was pre-entered in both the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint going seven furlongs and six-furlong GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, however, Mandella confirmed Kopion would be entered in the Sprint where she will be joined by Mandella-trained stablemate...

Most with a story to tell regale audience and bystander around the dinner table or the campfire or at the bar. More disciplined souls sit at the typewriter to memorialize it in print. But what possesses someone to then take that memoir and distill it into a screenplay, fundraise a small retirement account for a movie of that screenplay that you'll direct yourself before premiering the finished product in a packed Los Angeles movie theater for a collection of SoCal racing glitterati? "The summer of my first year in college...