Santa Anita

It's still not clear exactly what went wrong Saturday when a tote failure impacted several tracks, including Tampa Bay Downs. The Oldsmar, Florida track took a huge hit when it was forced to run the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby as a non-wagering event and to also cancel the last race of the day. Tampa Bay Downs Vice President and General Manager Pete Berube estimates that the track lost as much as $4.5 million in handle because betting wasn't available. There was a massive telecommunications network failure Saturday afternoon...

Facing a bevy of more experienced rivals, lightly raced SWEET AZTECA (f, 4, Sharp Azteca--So Sweetitiz, by Grand Slam) led every step of the way to capture the renamed GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile S. at Santa Anita Saturday. Last summer's GI Clement L. Hirsch S. winner and even-money favorite Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) was second, while 'TDN Rising Star' and Pumpkin Pie S. winner Green Up (Upstart), an East Coast shipper, was third. Final time for the mile was 1:36.40. A homebred for Pamela Cee Ziebarth, Sweet Azteca...

Saturday's GIII Santa Ysabel S. proved yet another walk in the park for Michael Lund Petersen's 'TDN Rising Star' Kinza (Carpe Diem), who treated her seven other rivals to a front-running beating while not asked for anything close to her best. It was a second straight win in the race for Petersen, who sent out fellow Fasig-Tipton Midlantic acquisition and 'Rising Star' Faiza (Girvin) last year. The 1-2 chalk to add to her facile two-length victory in her two-turn bow in the GIII Las Virgenes S. going a mile Feb....

The GI Beholder Mile is being renamed the B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile in honor of the multiple champion's late owner, who passed away in August 2021. Hughes, the founder of the Public Storage company and whose silks carried the same purple-and-orange color scheme, owned horses for five decades and was the proprietor of Spendthrift Farm from 2004. Beholder, a daughter of Henny Hughes, was purchased for $180,000 at the 2011 Keeneland September sale and won a record 13 stakes races at Santa Anita, including the 2012 GI Breeders' Cup...

Trainer Chad Brown has started but three horses in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, none of which has finished better than sixth, but in the form of Klaravich Stable's Domestic Product (Practical Joke), he could very well be getting his picture taken Saturday afternoon. Having won his maiden over nine furlongs at second asking at Aqueduct in late October, the next logical step was the Dec. 2 GII Remsen S., but he caught a rain-affected strip he may not have preferred and faded through the final furlong to...

With a forecast of heavy rains, Santa Anita has shifted its Saturday racing card--which was to feature the GI Santa Anita H.--to Sunday. Heavy rain is expected in the Arcadia area into Saturday afternoon, but Sunday's forecast calls for sunny skies and a high temperature of 62 degrees. The decision to move Saturday's card was done in consultation with Dennis and Robert Moore, who oversee Santa Anita track maintenance, as well as with officials from the CHRB, TOC, CTT and Jockeys' Guild. The Santa Anita H., GI Kilroe Mile, GII...

With rain in the Arcadia forecast for Friday night through Saturday, track officials at Santa Anita could move Saturday's card, according to The Daily Racing Form. Saturday's slate includes the GI Santa Anita H. and three other graded races, which could shift to Sunday. That day's card would then move to Monday. An announcement is expected Thursday morning.

In this TDN series, we curry lessons and wise counsel from veteran Californian figures who, like gold nuggets panned from the Tuolumne River in the High Sierras, have unearthed career riches on arguably the toughest circuit in the States. The series started with John Shirreffs and Art Sherman, and continues here with Eddie Truman, who announced his retirement last month. The land around Mulvane, Kansas, has been flattened as though by some colossal steamroller, and the vast, leafy battalions of maize and wheat and sorghum stretch outwards on and on...

Southern California News Group's veteran turf writer Art Wilson died early Sunday morning near his home in Victorville, California. He was 71. Wilson, who gallantly fought a form of blood cancer for more than 10 years, was scheduled to attend Sunday Winter Corgi Nationals at Santa Anita, but had to be transported to St. Mary's Hospital in Apple Valley late Saturday afternoon and subsequently passed away due to heart failure. First introduced to racing by his late father, Wilson fell in love with the game as a railbird and relished...

Students who are currently enrolled in the Cal Poly Pomona Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences Equine Studies Minor program will have the opportunity to intern at Santa Anita in a partnership announced Sunday. "We are truly excited about this new partnership with Cal Poly Pomona," said Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager Nate Newby. "This is a tremendous way for us to introduce up-and-coming young professionals, as well a large group of highly motivated Cal Poly students, to our industry and best veterinary practices in Thoroughbred racing....

With a forecast calling for significant rainfall, officials at Santa Anita Park have canceled Monday's Presidents' Day program at the track. The nine-race program on Sunday will proceed as scheduled, with a first post at 12:30 p.m. PT. The track will remain open Monday for simulcasting in the Grandstand Paddock Room beginning at 10 a.m., with free parking and admission. Races carded for Monday, including the $100,000 Tiznow S., will be offered as extras on the overnights for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 23-25. Similarly rainy conditions forced the cancellation...

Popular California-bred Brickyard Ride (h, 7, Clubhouse Ride--Brickyard Helen, by Southern Image) has been retired at age seven after suffering a minor injury in a workout at Santa Anita late last month, trainer Craig Lewis said. "It was nothing serious," Lewis said. "But Father Time is catching up with him." Brickyard Ride won 13-of-31 starts, including eight stakes, and banked $925,477 for owner-breeder Alfred A. "Sonny" Pais. His resume includes a trio of graded stakes victories--the 2021 GII San Carlos S. and the GIII Kona Gold S. in both 2022...