Santa Anita

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 7th-CD, $79K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1m, 4:08 p.m. ET SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables and Fred Hertrich III's BEACON HILL (Blame) debuts for trainer Rodolphe Brisset. The dark bay, who realized a $500,000 final bid at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling sale, was the highest priced yearling out of 27 sold by his sire in 2018. Dam My Mammy, already responsible for the colt's full stakes-winning sibling Sweet Victory and stakes-placed Ferdinanda (Giant's Causeway), is a half-sister to Grade I-winner Bandini (Fusaichi Pegasus) and Group 3...

California is an island, they say. Well, for the past few years, it sure has felt as though the industry in the state has been left to circle the choppy waters surrounding this island in a leaky vessel. At times, these leaks have threatened to submerge the boat completely--like the Santa Anita welfare crisis that erupted last spring which led to a sweeping set of reforms that have improved safety but pushed some cash-strapped operators further along the financial gang-plank. At other times, stormy seas have proven galvanizing, bringing this...

6th-Santa Anita, $59,088, Alw (NW2$X)/Opt. Clm ($62,500), 5-17, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:10.03, ft COLLUSION ILLUSION (c, 3, Twirling Candy--Natalie Grace, by First Dude) bested a hard-knocking field of older rivals to assert himself as a sophomore to watch in the right season to get off to a belated start. A debut winner at Del Mar last July, the :10 flat OBSAPR breezer added a 7-1 score in the GII Best Pal S. there three weeks later, but came up empty early when stretching out for the GI American Pharoah S. Sept....

Recent GIII Fantasy S. winner Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), previously considered for a run in the G1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in England June 6, will instead stay Stateside and point to the GI Santa Anita Oaks the same day, trainer Ken McPeek said on Twitter Sunday. McPeek cited logistical concerns and a purse reduction among the reasons he's choosing to keep his pupil in America for her next start. The Peter Callahan colorbearer worked a half-mile over the Keeneland turf in :51 flat (8/9) Saturday. "She handled her turf workout...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 10th-CD, $84K, Alw, 5 1/2fT, 5:44 p.m. ET Breeze Easy's unbeaten Four Wheel Drive (American Pharoah) leads a stakes-quality field of sophomores while making his first start of 2020. The $525,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad and $825,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream buyback debuted a convincing stakes winner at Colonial Aug. 31 before adding Belmont's GIII Futurity S. Oct. 6 and running to favoritism in the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Nov. 1. Second that day was Chimney Rock (Artie Schiller), who came back to romp in the...

Three-time GISW Bellafina (Quality Road) will look to snap a six-race losing streak in Sunday's GIII Desert Stormer S. at Santa Anita. The $800,000 FTFMAR breezer, winless since posting a dominating score in last term's GI Santa Anita Oaks, sports a record of 6-4-2-0 at the Great Race Place, including a very strong second in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Nov. 2. After closing out her 3-year-old campaign with a runner-up finish as the 3-5 chalk in the GI La Brea S. Dec. 28, nothing went right...

Santa Anita was up and running Friday, the first time racing had been held at the Southern California racetrack since Mar. 22. All that was missing were fans in the stands. The card was strong, the handle was robust and it appeared that the many strict protocols put in place by Santa Anita didn't affect the racing. "We're, overall, really happy with how things went," said Aidan Butler, who heads the California racing operation for The Stronach Group. "It is so good to be back racing. From a logistics standpoint,...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 4th-CD, $85K, Alw/Opt. Clm ($80K), 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 2:32 p.m. ET Wildly popular champion MONOMOY GIRL (Tapizar) headlines a stacked opening day card at Churchill as she makes her long-awaited return in the day's fourth race. Unseen since locking up her 3-year-old filly title with a score in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff over this track in 2018, the chestnut has overcome a variety of issues and comes back with a snappy worktab in tow for trainer Brad Cox. Showing a half-dozen breezes at...

Devil Made Me Doit (Daredevil) put on a show with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance in the lid lifter on Santa Anita's opening day program back on Dec. 28--feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it--but where has he been since? "He came out of his race with a little P1 [ankle chip]," said Ciaran Dunne, who campaigns the 3-year-old colt in partnership with Reddam Racing. "We took it out and he went to Ocean Breeze-Mr. Reddam's farm in California--to recuperate. We gave him a little extra time because all that...

Brice Blanc is rested, swabbed, needled and raring to go. "It'll be good to get back to work," said the jockey, who's scheduled to ride Friday at Santa Anita before a grandstand empty of spectators--the track's first day of live racing since March 22. To get the green-light to ride, Blanc underwent a blood test Wednesday to see whether he carries antibodies showing that he's already been exposed to Covid-19. He was also given a nasal swab to see if he's currently infectious. "It wasn't that bad," said Blanc, of...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 4th-GP, $45K, Msw, 3yo/up, 5fT, post time: 2:41 p.m. ET UNCLE GEORGE (Uncle Mo), a $310K acquisition out of the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-Bred Sale, gets his career started for Jump Sucker Stable and trainer Christophe Clement. The bay colt is a half-brother to fellow Empire-bred Epping Forest (Exchange Rate), who defeated open company at first asking sprinting five furlongs over the Belmont turf and was runner-up in the 5 1/2-furlong Coronation Cup S. at the Spa in 2017. Uncle George's dam was a...

Officials at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA, announced late Wednesday afternoon that the track has received approval from the Los Angeles County Health Department to resume safe live racing beginning this Friday, May 15, as part of Los Angeles County's revision of its 'Safer at Home' guidelines. Racing will be conducted without spectators and with essential personnel following strict protocols to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. "We are very grateful for the open and continuous communication with both the Health Department and Supervisor Kathryn Barger's office," said...