Santa Anita

The California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) board voted unanimously Monday to rescind a proposed Golden State Racing meet spanning the first half of next year, plunging an already tenuous situation for the horsemen and women in the North of the state into a world of even greater uncertainty. The decision was met with dismay and concern during Monday's online CARF meeting, with several stakeholders in Northern California voicing fears that the move would also jeopardize the future of the California fair meets. "I am in concert with Aidan Butler...

Eddie Truman, a trainer as renowned for his patience with the Thoroughbred as for a perennially genial disposition, has passed at the age of 77. "A great horseman and an even greater individual," said veteran trainer Gary Stute. "I never heard him say a bad word about anybody--anybody--and on the racetrack, that's few and far," Stute added. "Once you met him, you stayed friends with him. The ultimate honest good person." Over a career spanning nearly 50 years, Truman trained 763 winners and collected $15.7 million in earnings. He had...

Southern California, not known for tradition, has a rich and wonderful history in the world of horse racing. Santa Anita was built in1934 and they got it right. The track embraces the San Gabriel mountains, which loom in the forefront on an incredibly large piece of land by Southern California standards. Bob Baffert has called Santa Anita the most beautiful in the country. From almost any angle, fans get a good view of the horses. Santa Anita is the Wrigley Field of horse racing. Fans can get just feet away...

The traditional $2 Pick Six and a diverse set of wagers highlight the betting menu on offer for Santa Anita's 90th year, which begins with the Classic Meet on Thursday, Dec. 26, 1/ST Racing & Gaming said in a press release on Friday. Santa Anita made several changes to its wagering menu including raising the minimum bet for the Pick Six and adding what they describe as low-takeout wagers prior to the most recent Santa Anita Autumn Meet. Each will remain in place for both the Classic Meet, which ends...

This year's Breeders' Cup had a touch of deja vu all over again thanks to a series of veterinary scratches in the lead up to the event, some of which didn't exactly sit well with connections. The one that perhaps garnered the most attention is Californian flag-bearer The Chosen Vron's (Vronsky) removal from the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint on official veterinary advice. The horse's connections initially disputed the scratch, arguing he was 100% sound. It later transpired The Chosen Vron had a small ankle problem that necessitated a few months...

How did we get hooked on this sport? We all have stories about how our love affair developed and blossomed. The TDN will be reaching out to numerous notable people in the industry to get their stories to find out how they got hooked and stayed hooked on the sport. When I was very young, we would go to the races, my dad, my mom, my brother and I. My dad liked to bet, so he wasn't passionate about racing. But I became passionate very quickly. I started reading the...

The opening of Santa Anita's Classic Meet on Dec. 26 marks the return of the Ship & Win program, which offers bonuses to horses from out of state who ship in and start at the Arcadia oval. During the 49-day Classic Meet, Santa Anita will provide eligible shippers with a guaranteed $4,000 bonus for their first start (first-time starters excluded) plus an additional purse bonus. Eligible Ship & Win horses who finish first through fifth in a dirt race will receive a 50% bonus to the listed purse money earned....

Although the future of the Golden State Racing (GSR) meet at Pleasanton wasn't officially on Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) agenda, the reverberations of dismal betting business through the first five weeks of operation at Northern California's new anchor track became the impassioned focal point of the Nov. 21 meeting. Citing concerns that the autumn Pleasanton meet isn't living up to the hope that the former fairs-season-only track might help fill the NorCal void that occurred when The Stronach Group (TSG) closed Golden Gate Fields back in June, Aidan...

4th-Del Mar, $54,500, Msw, 11-10, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:35.58, ft, 6 lengths. MAGNIFY (c, 3, Justify--Stellar Wind {Ch. 3-year-old Filly, MGISW, $2,903,200}, by Curlin) was never a factor in his May debut at Santa Anita but came back with an improved effort off a break to be second at Del Mar Aug. 22. Now in his third try over the distance and off another brief layoff, the 5-2 third choice flashed early speed to duel for the lead up the backstretch with Harry Houdini (Good Magic). The pair went head to...

Three Chimneys has named the stud fees for the latest additions to their stallion roster in GISW Gun Pilot (Gun Runner), who will stand for $17,500 LFSN, and GISW Newgate (Into Mischief), who is set at $20,000 LFSN, according to a press release from the farm on Wednesday morning. A Three Chimneys homebred, Gun Pilot campaigned in the colors of owner Gonçalo Torrealba. Earlier this season, the 4-year-old captured the GI Churchill Downs Stakes, which made him one of 10 Grade I winners and 13 millionaires for his champion sire....

GI Breeders' Cup Classic contender 'TDN Rising Star' GISW Newgate (Into Mischief), along with three other horses pre-entered in this weekend's championships at Del Mar, worked Sunday morning at Santa Anita. Firing his second bullet in a row going five furlongs, this time in :58.80, the Bob Baffert-trainee shared the top ranking on the morning with John Sadler runner GSP-Arg & GISP Full Serrano (Arg) (Full Mast). In the Classic, Newgate will be making his second start since returning from a six-month layoff after a ninth-place finish in the G1...

GSW Stay Hot (Summer Front) may have been the 6-5 choice in the GII Twilight Derby after finishing in front of Atitlan (c, 3, The Factor--Armanda {Ger}, by Acatenango {Ger}) in both a La Jolla Handicap win and a GII Del Mar Derby placing, but it was the latter who is an improving sort and inverted the results Saturday at Santa Anita to secure his first stakes win. Cathal (Ire) (No Nay Never) finished third in his first stakes try. With Curlin's Kaos (Clubhouse Ride) speeding to the front early...