Santa Anita

Three key events will highlight the Horse Racing Women's Summit for 2023. The second annual edition will take place at Santa Anita Park during the final week of September next year, coinciding with the opening of the Autumn Meet which culminates with the 40th Breeders' Cup on Nov. 3 and 4. Prior to that, the Horse Racing Women's Summit community will have the opportunity to participate in two events on the East Coast, starting with a HRWS Meet Up at Gulfstream Park on January 27, followed by a HRWS Series...

Jockeys Daniel Cedeno, Javier Castellano, Terry Houghton, Edwin Maldonado, and Willie Martinez have been named by Santa Anita Park as finalists for the 2023 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. Determined by a vote of their fellow riders nationwide, the Woolf Award can only be won once in a lifetime. It has been presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950. All of the finalists, except Castellano, are appearing on the ballot for the first time. The Woolf Award was named in honor of the late George Woolf, known as "The Iceman,"...

Trainer Richard Baltas is facing a one-year suspension and a $10,000 fine for the alleged race-day administration of substances to his horses 21 times over roughly a three-week span this past spring at Santa Anita Park, according to a ruling posted Friday on the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) website. Baltas told Daily Racing Form that he's "terribly disappointed" and plans to appeal. In a bit of an odd legal twist, timing-wise, Baltas is already engaged in a legal fight with the CHRB over essentially these very same allegations. Back...

Santa Anita's winter meet, dubbed the 'Classic Race Meeting,' will open on its traditional Dec. 26 date with a new minimum stakes purse of $100,000 for both dirt and turf black-type events. In addition, allowance races will get a boost, with all open allowances set at $85,000 and first- through third-condition allowances run for purses ranging from $72,000 to $76,000. It is the largest purse structure in Santa Anita's 88-year history. "There's no denying that expenses are up, across the board, in all facets of our economy," said Santa Anita...

The Superior Court of San Diego judge hearing the case between trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has denied both writs of mandate filed by the trainer. The two writs constituted a twisty legal knot essentially surrounding which entity--the tracks or the agency regulating California's racing industry--had the ultimate jurisdiction to bar the trainer from licensed premises in the state, a hearing for which was held on Oct. 8. According to Hollendorfer's attorney, Drew Couto, both decisions are appealable, "and those decisions are under consideration." The...

Santa Anita will again offer its Ship & Win Program to provide bonuses to connections of horses brought in from other states to race at the Arcadia oval at its upcoming meet which opens Dec. 26. "Simply put, the Ship & Win program is a winner," said Santa Anita Director of Racing and Racing Secretary Chris Merz. "Santa Anita is a great place to train and race in the winter and with these bonuses in place for out-of-state horses, it's made us even more attractive to many owners and trainers...

Equine industry leaders and stakeholders across California announced the launch of the California Horse Power Coalition (CHPC) Tuesday. The new coalition's mission is to preserve and protect the state's vibrant equestrian culture by bringing together equine industry leaders, workers, families and fans of the sport to illustrate its significant benefits. Founded by Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Santa Anita Park, and Thoroughbred Owners of California, the coalition is creating a space for the public to learn about the significant impacts that the industry has on California's economy, tourism, agricultural sustainability, and...

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez won a pair of races on the opening day of the Bing Crosby meet at Del Mar and his presence is something that Southern California is about to get more used to. The 50-year-old is using his time at Del Mar as a steppingstone to the winter stand at Santa Anita Park, where he plans to ride full time. "I wanted to get it started here so the trainers and owners know I'm going to be here for the winter," Velazquez told the Del...

Jockey Ramon Vazquez, a 38-year-old native of Puerto Rico, finished with 25 victories through the 18-day stand Santa Anita Autumn meet to capture the riding title, finishing five wins ahead of runner-up Juan Hernandez. Vazquez, who started riding in California in March after stints at Prairie Meadows and Oaklawn, took his first-ever Santa Anita title on the meet's closing day Sunday. "I'm grateful to be here and to the owners and trainers who have supported me," said Vazquez. "I'm blessed, this is big for me because not everybody who comes...

Superstar European rider Frankie Dettori has announced that he will ride at the Santa Anita meet, starting with opening day, Dec. 26. Dettori made the announcement on the Nick Luck Daily podcast. "I think I will possibly spend the winter in California at Santa Anita where I started many years ago as a young boy," Dettori said. "I did four lovely winters there in the late eighties. I've been doing my winters in Dubai the last few years, but I'm getting a lot of requests from trainers to come over....

Fort Warren (c, 2, Curlin--La Appassionata, by Bernardini), a $550,000 Keeneland September yearling acquisition, took race-long pressure through fast internal fractions and clung on gamely late to graduate at first asking Sunday at Santa Anita en route to the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction. He is the 22nd 'Rising Star' for his leading Hill 'n' Dale-based stallion. Away only fairly from the inside gate, Fort Warren had to be used some by go-to rider Juan Hernandez, but speared through to take up the running and covered the opening couple of furlongs...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 4th-CD, $120k, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, post time: 2:30 p.m. ET BO DEREK (Speightstown) must have ticked all the proverbial boxes at last year's Keeneland September sale, as she was acquired by WinStar Farm and Siena Farm for $900,000, the priciest of 42 (53 ring) of her Eclipse Award and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint-winning sire's yearlings that were reported as sold in 2021. And the family behind her is extremely live. The Mar. 12 foal is the first from Wildwood Rose (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a...