Santa Anita

1st-SA, 60K, Msw, 3-5yo, 1mT, 4:00 p.m. Zedan Racing Stable went to $550,000 to secure MUTAZ (Nyquist) as a 2-year-old at OBS April last year. Debuting Saturday on the grass for trainer Bob Baffert, the colt is out of GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes winner Acoma (Empire Maker) who has produced four winners from six to race including the dam of GII Castle & Key Bourbon Stakes runner up Golden Afternoon (Goldencents). Acoma herself is a half-sister to GISW and sire Arch (Kris S.) along with UAE Horse of the Year...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Sugaree at Keeneland over 1 1/2 miles. Camelot Mare Thrives Over Classic Distance At Keeneland Blue Devil Racing Stable (Holliday)'s Sugaree (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) earned her first American win in her third start there, winning by a half-length at Keeneland on April 23 (video). Trained by Arnaud Delacour, the grey won once in six starts in Ireland. Bred by Pier House Stud, Sugaree...

The Southern California-based duo of Rodriguez (Authentic) and Baeza (McKinzie) turned in their final local works before shipping to Churchill Downs for the May 3 GI Kentucky Derby Sunday at Santa Anita. Baeza worked in company with stablemate Atitlan (The Factor), a multiple graded stakes winner on turf, for trainer John Shirreffs. Working under jockey Hector Berrios, the GI Santa Anita Derby runner-up was officially credited with a seven-furlong work in 1:28.00 (3/4). Shirreffs clocked the colt in 1:28.20. "Because his morning gallops have been a little on the easy...

Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), last year's champion juvenile, will give jockey Martin Garcia his first Derby mount since 2015. "It's a dream come true," said Garcia, a 40-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico. "It's what every jockey wants." Garcia has ridden in the Kentucky Derby four times, all between 2010 and 2015. His best finish came in 2015 when Dortmund, also trained by Bob Baffert, finished third behind subsequent Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. "I'm excited to get back, most of all because I know I have a very good horse...

Edited Press Release Professor Gordon Jones passed only four days after his 95th birthday. Jones was a pioneer of speed and pace handicapping. His best-selling book, "Gordon Jones to Win" (1976), inspired his popular pre-race handicapping seminars that were attended by legions of race goers. He brought his numbers to the track at a time when people would laugh at him, and he would hide his spiral notebook. Speed numbers are now a common barometer. He graduated from Whittier College, where his father had been president for several years. He...

The equestrian portion of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be conducted at Santa Anita Park. The decision brings a sense of continuity to the Olympics, as the track also hosted the equestrian disciplines when the event was last in Los Angeles, in 1984. The decision also caught many off guard. The Los Angeles City Council voted in March to approve the sprawling Galway Downs equestrian facility, nearly 100 miles south of LA, as the appropriate venue. But according to the LA Times, Galway Downs was taken out of consideration a day...

FanDuel TV, the New York Racing Association (NYRA), Keeneland, and Santa Anita will team up with Hall of Fame jockeys along with active riders and other prominent personalities Apr. 19 to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) via the seventh annual telethon event. According to the release sent Monday afternoon, the event will be broadcast on both FanDuel TV and America's Day at the Races on the FOX Sports family of networks as well as streamed on tvg.com. Fans can participate by calling 1-844-884-7353 on Saturday, Apr....

Edited Press Release The Santa Anita Classic Meet wrapped up Sunday, Apr. 6 with Mark Glatt as leading trainer, Juan Hernandez as the top jockey and Reddam Racing earning the title as leading owner. Live racing will resume at The Great Race Place on Friday, Apr. 18 with the start of its 29-day Hollywood Meet. For Glatt, a 52-year-old native of Auburn, WA, this was his second Santa Anita trainer's title and first at the traditional Classic Meet. He finished the stand with 31 wins from 122 starters (25%) and...

Journalism (c, 3, Curlin--Mopotism, by Uncle Mo) lived up to his billing and then some. In possibly the most anticipated Derby prep of this year, Journalism proved he was the real deal Saturday in the GI Santa Anita Derby and will go to Louisville as the GI Kentucky Derby favorite. The Santa Anita Derby rewarded points on a scale of 75-37.5-18.75 on the Road to the Derby (reduced due to a smaller field), giving Journalism 122.50 points total and a guaranteed spot in the starting gate at Churchill Downs. In...

Queen Maxima (Bucchero) validated odds of 1-5 in Saturday's GIII Monrovia Stakes down the hill at Santa Anita, winning for the fourth time in succession and for the fifth time in her eight career starts. Making her graded stakes debut following a facile success in the restricted Wishing Well Stakes over the flat six-furlong course on Feb. 22, the $40,000 OBS June graduate was last to load and first out of the gates and, having shown versatility in terms of running style, was allowed to make the running beneath leading...

The final weekend of major preps for both the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks got a few extra days tacked on as significant rain around Lexington pushed Keeneland to delay their spring racing features back to Monday and Tuesday next week. While the races will be missed as part of Saturday's action, there is certainly no void as Santa Anita and Aqueduct both offer their final stops on the Road the Kentucky Derby. The 1 1/8-mile GI Santa Anita Derby features a small yet mighty field with...

Amid the embattled economics of horse racing, more and more attention has been placed upon Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) players. One such focus has surrounded whether these behemoths of the betting pools are contributing their fair share back to the sport. That's the case certainly in California. Last year, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) became the first regulator of a major racing jurisdiction to really dig down into the issue during a public hearing--one that later led to a published Q&A. The scrutiny that California has received hasn't always...