Santa Anita

Accuracy to Make Stakes Debut in La Brea

Repole Stable's Accuracy (Arrogate), who romped to a 15-length maiden score at Santa Anita Oct. 19 and added a 7 1/4-length optional claimer win at Del Mar Nov. 29, will tackle stakes company for the first time in Thursday's GI La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita. The chestnut filly's back-to-back wins came at 1 1/16 miles and one mile and she cuts back to seven furlongs for the La Brea, where she is the 5-1 third choice on the morning line and will break from post two under Umberto Rispoli....

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Mystik Dan Works for Malibu

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) worked three furlongs in :37.80 (20/25) Sunday at Santa Anita in preparation for his return to the races in the GI Malibu Stakes Thursday. Mystik Dan was backed up to the seven-eighths pole before breaking into a gallop. He sped things up near the quarter pole, where he found company from a pair of horses to his inside, then continued to accelerate through the lane. After winning the Derby, Mystik Dan was second in the GI Preakness Stakes and has been unraced since...

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The Week in Review: Beholder's $4-Million Baby Fires a Bullet

While 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) will be a main attraction on the Dec. 26 opening-day card at Santa Anita, another highly anticipated foal who is also out of the fan-favorite champion Beholder--this one an unnamed and unraced 2-year-old colt by Curlin--fired a bullet three-furlong morning move Saturday in just his third published workout for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Zedan Racing. The in-company :36 clocking (1/18) just prior to the Christmas holiday on a non-racing Saturday at Santa Anita might have flown a touch under-the-radar for a juvenile...

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Enjoying a Breakthrough Year, D'Angelo Barn 'Loaded' Heading into 2025

A leading trainer in his native Venezuela, Jose D'Angelo decided that it was time to "head to the big leagues," and relocated to South Florida in 2019. After having GIII Sam F. Davis Stakes winner No More Time (Not This Time) on the GI Kentucky Derby trail this spring, winning his first career Grade I with Howard Wolowitz (Munnings) in the Aristocrat Franklin-Simpson Stakes at Kentucky Downs in September, and recording second-place finishes on the biggest of stages with Gabaldon (Gone Astray) in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot...

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Mystik Dan Arrives Safely and Gallops at Santa Anita, Citizen Bull Works

After vanning nearly 1,900 miles from Fair Grounds in New Orleans, GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) arrived at Santa Anita in good order Wednesday night, got a rest day on Thursday, and stretched his legs on California soil for the first time Friday morning. Backed up to the seven-eighths pole around 8:15 a.m. local time under exercise rider Tony Gutierrez, Mystik Dan galloped about nine furlongs, then took two turns around the paddock before heading back to Barn 54, where he is staying. Trainer Kenny McPeek was not...

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Santa Anita To Drop Claiming Minimums, Possibly Add Dates, In Response To NorCal Going Dark For Next Six Months

Starting the day after its Dec. 26 season opener, Santa Anita Park will drop its lowest-level claiming prices to $8,000 for maidens and $5,000 for other horses. The downward class-level moves, along with the possibility that Southern California's main meet could add additional dates and/or races to its upcoming six-month season that runs through June 15, are part of a negotiated effort to "give more opportunities for horses that have historically raced in Northern California," according to a license application amendment request by Santa Anita. The California Horse Racing Board...

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New Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes Kicks off Santa Anita Opening Day Card

In honor of Laffit Pincay Jr.'s legacy, Santa Anita has renamed its long-standing San Antonio Stakes the Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes. The Grade II test will be contested on Thursday, Dec. 26, opening day of Santa Anita' s 90th anniversary season. Pincay will join fellow Hall of Fame jockeys Bill Shoemaker and Eddie Delahoussaye with a Santa Anita stakes race named in their honor. "It really means a lot," Pincay said. "I remember when Shoemaker and Delahoussaye had a stakes named for them and I thought that was very special....

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“It Sucks, Basically”: NorCal Stakeholders React to Pleasanton News

On Monday, the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) board voted unanimously (with one abstention) to rescind a proposed Golden State Racing meet spanning the first half of next year, essentially leaving Northern California without Thoroughbred racing in 2025 outside of the annual suite of summer fair meets. This means that the Northern Californian horsemen and women have had little time to respond and adapt to a proposal by the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) and 1/ST Racing and Gaming--a business entity under The Stronach Group (TSG) umbrella--to maintain a...

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Golden State Racing Withdraws License Application For 2025

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...

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California Mainstay Eddie Truman Passes Aged 77

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...

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Letter to the Editor: Santa Anita at 90 Years–A Personal Retrospective

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...

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Santa Anita Wagering Menu Out For Classic And Hollywood Meets

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...

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