Santa Anita

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on Thursday approved a slate of 2026 Thoroughbred race dates that will closely resemble the state's 2025 schedule. Over the last decade or so, hammering out the state's annual race-dates calendar has usually been a long, controversial and often argumentative process that gets drawn out over many monthly commission and sub-committee meetings, with stakeholders often testifying and advocating for hours on end and some entities not pleased with their eventual allotments. But with the demise of the entire Northern California racing circuit, and Southern...

Stablemates Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) and Kopion (Omaha Beach) were among several Breeders' Cup hopefuls to make an appearance Monday morning on the worktab at Santa Anita ahead of a multi-day rainstorm that's expected to arrive in the area later in the evening. Trained by Richard Mandella, Grade I winners Tamara and Kopion both worked three furlongs with the former being clocked in :37.40 (7/19) on the main track while the latter went to the synthetic training track and was timed in :39.80 (4/4). Kopion wears glue-on shoes, according to Mandella,...

Baoma Corp's Nysos (Nyquist) worked six furlongs in 1:11.20 (1/4) Sunday at Santa Anita and remains on track for the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, according to trainer Bob Baffert. "Very happy with the work," Baffert said. The 4-year-old Nysos, whose lone loss to date is a narrow runner-up effort behind Mindframe in the GI Churchill Downs Stakes in May, is coming off wins in the GIII Triple Bend Stakes and GII San Diego Handicap. Shortly after that work, Baffert sent out Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) to work the same...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This column is highlighted by the victory of Silawi at Woodbine. Dubawi Gelding Claims The Canadian International Wathnan Racing's Silawi (Dubawi) earned his first top-tier win in the Canadian International Stakes at Woodbine on October 4 (video). Bred by Wertheimer and Frere, he is trained by Hamad Al Jehani. Sold for €380,000 out of the Arqana Arc Sale in 2023, the five-year-old gelding is also a winner of the G3 Winter Hill...

2nd-KEE, $110k, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, post time: 1:32 p.m. ET Kia Joorabchian's AMO Racing USA splashed out $900,000 for THAILAND (Not This Time) at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, and the chestnut colt is a candidate to offer only a fraction of his 3-1 morning line at post time. The chestnut is a son of dual Grade III winner Queen Bee to You (Old Topper), making him a half-brother to Princess Madison (Speightstown), third in the 2024 GII Charles Town Oaks for Rigney Racing. Queen Bee to You is...

Making his belated debut after earning a final bid of $2,000,000 at Keeneland September as a yearling in 2023, Jude (Uncle Mo) proved waiting for as he put in a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'-worthy performance at Santa Anita for Bob Baffert and Zedan Racing Stables Friday. Drawn outside his favored stablemate in second time starter Into Midnight (Into Mischief), Jude earned second billing of the three Bob Baffert-trained starters, going off at 3-1 just off the rail while Mutaz (Nyquist), also owned by Zedan, had improvement to find...

Grade I winners Journalism (Curlin) and Baeza (McKinzie), each among the leading 3-year-old colts of 2025 with GI Breeders' Cup Classic aspirations, drilled Friday morning at Santa Anita in advance of their joint Nov. 1 target. Journalism, who is campaigned by the partnership of Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Elayne Stables 5 LLC, Robert V. LaPenta, Mrs. John Magnier-Lessee, Derrick Smith-Lessee, and Michael B. Tabor-Lessee, went a half mile in :49. The Michael McCarthy trainee was last seen finishing second to Fierceness (City of Light) in the...

Spendthrift Farm homebred Brave Deb (Authentic) completed a big weekend for the historic farm--while adding a second graded win in two days for her sire--with an authoritative victory in the GIII Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita Sunday. Spendthrift's colors were carried to victory at Keeneland by Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) in the GI Darley Alicibiades Stakes Friday and by Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) in the GI Claiborne Futurity Saturday. The farm's homebred Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), a daughter of champion Beholder, returned with a victory of her own in the...

The last Amerman Racing homebred by Oscar Performance to carry the colors home in the GIII Zuma Beach Stakes was Endlessly, who captured the race as the 80 cents on the dollar favorite in 2023. Stark Contrast, a horse with a pair of races under his belt, duplicated the feat at Santa Anita Sunday. Like Endlessly, Stark Contrast is also from the Michael McCarthy shedrow. The colt tried turf for his conditioner at second asking over the seaside oval grass course and he won by a length Sept. 6. Set...

All five stakes winners on Saturday's card at Santa Anita--GI American Pharoah Stakes winner Intrepido (Maximus Mischief), GII Oak Leaf Stakes winner Explora (Blame), GII Rodeo Drive Stakes winner Mission of Joy (Kitten's Joy), GIII Chillingworth Stakes winner Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) and Speakeasy Stakes winner Later Than Planned (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB})--were reported to be doing well Sunday and will move on to the Breeders' Cup. "He's got a lot of class," trainer Jeff Mullins said of Intrepido, who earned an automatic berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with...

The final round of preps for the Breeders' Cup took place this weekend and there was no shortage of stories or races. There were 26 graded stakes run from Friday through Sunday and nine of them were Grade I's. As always, this weekend helped to clear up the Breeders' Cup picture. Here's a look at what happened: GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile: You had three races, the GI Champagne, the GI Breeders' Futurity and the GI American Pharoah and each race featured a potential superstar in Ted Noffey (Into Mischief), Desert...

RyZan Sun Racing LLC and Madaket Stables LLC's Mission of Joy (m, 5, Kitten's Joy--Smart Mission, by Smart Strike), whose last graded win was two years ago, moved west this summer to Phil D'Amato's barn and must like the weather and the firm turf that's a hallmark of California grass racing. In her third Golden State start, she captured Saturday's GII Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita, a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar in four weeks. It was a...