located in proximity to the Los Angeles city area has been confirmed as the venue of the equestrian events of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) “Santa Anita Park will be a spectacular venue for the LA28 Olympic equestrian events,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said “The FEI has very fond memories of Santa Anita which had hosted the equestrian events at the 1984 Olympic Games. The venue is set to offer a breathtaking stage for all the Olympic equestrian competitions and the proximity to LA City will undoubtedly attract many spectators to Santa Anita We look forward to continuing our cooperation with LA28 to deliver spectacular equestrian events at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.” “I would like to thank the FEI on behalf of the IOC for the active engagement in all the discussions regarding the venue,” IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said “We have created a strong partnership with the Organizing Committee and the city of Los Angeles which enjoys the full support of the local equestrian community.” "We have the utmost confidence in the LA28 Organizing Committee and we anticipate exceptional equestrian sport will take place at this special legacy venue from the 1984 Olympic Games We are also extremely pleased that the IOC has confirmed the athlete quotas across the disciplines for 2028 and they remain unchanged from 2024,” said Bill Moroney Santa Anita features an on-course veterinary clinic and has hosted some of the major Thoroughbred events in the USA including the Breeders Cup The famous champion thoroughbred racehorse Seabiscuit won his last race at Santa Anita in 1940 The facility also hosts a CSI3* as well as a FEI Jumping World Cup™ Qualifier CSI5*-W which this year will take place in November Santa Anita covers 130Ha (320 acres) and includes a 340m-long (1,100-foot) grandstand that seats 26,000 spectators which resembles a park with picnic tables and large trees The Park has 61 barns that can house more than 2,000 horses The venue for the Para Equestrian events will be announced at a later date following the review and approval of the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board The LA28 Olympic Games will take place from 14 to 30 July 2028 whereas the Paralympics are scheduled from 15 to 27 August 2028. Details on the LA28 Olympic equestrian events and quota places are available here captures the Charles Whittingham (G2)Benoit photo Whittingham (G2) presented by FanDuel TV on Saturday at Santa Anita as Atitlan got up in the final strides to prevail by a head Atitlan rallied from midpack and surged past game longshot Packs a Wahlop (15-1) to earn his second consecutive graded stakes win and third overall who was making his fourth attempt at winning the Whittingham also rallied determinedly in the stretch but finished another head back in third outran Packs a Wahlop for the early lead and then extended his advantage while setting fractions of :23.38 Atitlan settled in midpack while running close to 3-1 second choice City Exile who would ultimately finish second to last Balladeer continued to motor through a mile in 1:35.78 with Packs a Wahlop still tracking and Atitlan beginning to unwind under Berrios Packs a Wahlop overtook a tiring Balladeer but was then unable to fend off the oncoming rush of Atitlan won in a time of 1:59.92 for the 1 1/4 miles on firm turf Atitlan won the San Luis Rey (G3) under Berrios going 1½ miles on turf March 22 at Santa Anita “This horse has been getting very confident and he was traveling comfortably,” Berrios said so I tried to be closer to the front and made an earlier move He really fought on strong in the stretch.” This was the third Whittingham win for Shirreffs and first for Berrios Shirreffs previously won the Whittingham in 2022 with Beyond Brilliant and 2007 with After Market who last year won the Twilight Derby (G2) at Santa Anita improved to 4-0-3 from 10 career starts and $420,000 in earnings for owner John M.B bred in Kentucky by Anastasie Astrid Christiansen-Croy,  paid $3.20 for the victory did not have enough points to make the Kentucky Derby but looks to be the standout in the traditional prep for the Belmont Six days after informing Galway Downs officials that the Temecula, California, venue would not host the 2028 Olympic equestrian events the LA28 organizing committee announced today that Santa Anita Park has been confirmed as the new Olympic equestrian venue “The FEI has very fond memories of Santa Anita which had hosted the equestrian events at the 1984 Olympic Games,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said in a press release “The venue is set to offer a breathtaking stage for all the Olympic equestrian competitions and the proximity to [the city of Los Angeles] will undoubtedly attract many spectators to Santa Anita.” The 320-acre park includes veterinary facilities and 61 barns that can house more than 2,000 horses.  has ties to Olympic equestrian sports in addition to racing 1/ST CEO Belinda Stronach’s daughter is a jumper rider who has represented Canada through the CSI5* level the endurance portion of eventing—roads and tracks steeplechase and cross-country—was held at the Fairbanks Ranch Country Club the International Olympic Committee now prioritizes using only existing venues and it added a requirement that all the equestrian sports be held in one place versus staging cross-country at a remote site Tuesday’s announcement did not include details regarding where a cross-country course which rules stipulate should be 3.1 to 3.6 miles long (5,000-5,800 meters) would be built in or around the Santa Anita venue When the LA28 committee first proposed Galway Downs as the Olympic equestrian venue in June 2024 as part of a proposal to change several venues from the city’s original 2017 bid to meet the new IOC sustainability requirements it called Galway Downs “[t]he only existing venue that can accommodate the requirements of Equestrian while also reducing the cost and complexity of delivery.” And in late March, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to approve the venue. But last week, the day of an International Olympic Committee meeting in which Olympic officials gave a noncommittal answer about Galway becoming an Olympic host City of Temecula and Riverside County officials that another venue has been selected including Galway Downs’ owner and area politicians expressed their surprise and disappointment at Galway Downs being replaced “I’m deeply disappointed to learn that Galway Downs in Temecula is reportedly no longer LA28’s proposed host site for equestrian events at the upcoming 2028 Olympic Games,” U.S. Rep. Darrel Issa told the Orange County Register on Friday and our community deserves a clear explanation of the process that led to this change a satisfactory reason has yet to be offered.” Representatives of the LA28 committee have not responded to requests for comment The venue for the para-equestrian events will be announced at a later date following the review and approval of the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse Copyright © 2025 The Chronicle of the Horse We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Every morning this week, trainer John Shirreffs has taken Baeza out to the racetrack, preparing as if he would run in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby with fewer than 24 hours until the deadline Baeza still did not have a spot in the starting gate “He's probably the second-best 3-year-old in America,” said Randy Moss “It would be a shame if he were to be excluded from the race.” For Baeza, all’s well that ends well. The late Thursday afternoon scratch of Rodriguez opened up a spot in the field But the reason Shirreffs and Baeza found themselves in this predicament to begin with can be summed up simply: Their home base is Southern California which used to be arguably the most desirable racing circuit in the country but has now fallen behind states where casino gambling supplements purse money So even though the Santa Anita Derby is a Grade 1 race offering a $500,000 purse, only five horses were entered, triggering a new Churchill Downs rule that reduces Derby qualification points for races with small fields. Under normal circumstances, Baeza’s second-place finish to Journalism would have gotten him in the Kentucky Derby field Shirreffs brought the horse to Churchill hoping someone would scratch before the Friday morning deadline “I can’t really go there,” Shirreffs said Thursday when asked if he thought the point reduction was fair “We knew going in that the points were being reduced Having a small field for a big race in California is not an outlier these days who will likely be the Derby favorite on Saturday also had just four opponents on March 1 in the San Felipe Stakes and the Los Alamitos Futurity last December a race where three of the five horses were trained by Bob Baffert The Santa Anita Oaks and Santa Maria Stakes a historically important race for older horses a $300,000 Grade 1 race for fillies on grass but they all point to something everyone in the industry understands to be true: In the nationwide competition to attract horses Southern California is falling behind states that have managed to significantly boost purses through ties to other forms of gambling “Any time you’ve got a $140,000 maiden race (which are common in states like Kentucky or Arkansas) while you're running for $100,000 in a graded stakes in California there’s a huge disconnect there,” said Michael McCarthy the gaming is controlled by the (Native Americans) And I think that’s a huge burden on racing We just don’t get to share any of those funds.” which is having a direct impact on the Kentucky Derby is being watched closely on the nation's other coast has long been a crucial piece of the sport’s economic picture because of its weather and proximity to the huge population centers in Miami and Fort Lauderdale Though some large stables race at Gulfstream year-round New York-based trainers like Todd Pletcher will bring a large contingent of horses to Florida for the winter to prepare for races like the Kentucky Derby without having to dodge snowstorms Gulfstream has run its racing operation in tandem with a casino on property that offers slot machines and other electronic table games The gaming license was granted by the state with the help and support of the horse industry as the deal called for 7.5 percent of the casino revenue to go directly into the purse fund and 0.75 percent into the state’s breeding program a bill supported by the track’s ownership was filed in the Florida state legislature that would remove the requirement for live racing from the law that grants Gulfstream a casino license This so-called attempt at “decoupling” is being viewed by horsemen with ties to Florida — and rightly so — as both a knife in the back and an existential threat to racing’s future in the state if Gulfstream just decided to simply shut the track’s doors expand its casino and use its valuable property in Hallandale Beach for more profitable commercial ventures Florida’s most prominent racetrack could end up in a similar situation as Santa Anita — or worse imperiling an industry that supports an estimated 33,000 jobs in the state and more than $3 billion in economic activity and we’re definitely confused,” said Bill Mott the trainer of Derby contender Sovereignty “The horsemen were probably a big part of the racetrack to be able to get a casino in there and I think if they’re trying to bail out on us And I hope that the people that make the decisions stand up for us a little bit and at least make them run a certain amount of days per year.” a version of the decoupling legislation that would allow for a five-year window to phase it in passed the Florida House of Representatives and may not by the time the legislature’s session is scheduled to end on Friday if a bill isn't signed into law by the end of a session the process would have to start all over the following year But with the state’s budget not yet complete which means the decoupling fight could continue for a couple more months Ron DeSantis has signaled that he is against decoupling but it’s unclear whether he would absolutely veto the legislation since the decoupling language is only part of a much broader gaming bill being proposed “Horse racing is going to do well over the next five to 10 years in states where the industry has a strong relationship with its legislature and a legislature that understands the industry’s importance to the economics traditions and heritage of those states,” said Damon Thayer a former Kentucky state senator who is now advising a group called the Thoroughbred Racing Initiative that is fighting decoupling in Florida QUITE THE CHARMER: Silver Charm, oldest living Kentucky Derby winner, still charming fans at 31 “If horse racing is going to continue to be a national sport and I believe that racing in some fashion in South Florida has to continue Racing has to be alive and vibrant in a number of America’s greatest cities in order for us to be a national sport The concerns about horse racing’s future in Florida and California have a common denominator: Both Santa Anita and Gulfstream are owned by the Stronach Group a Canada-based company that at one time owned and operated a dozen other racetracks and has either closed or sold them off one by one Among those transactions was the transfer of Pimlico which will renovate the track and make it the hub of the state’s racing industry is then expected to close and be redeveloped It has led many in the racing industry to conclude that Belinda Stronach who got control over the company after a messy legal fight with her father that was settled in 2020 simply does not want to be in the horse racing business long-term on either coast “The biggest challenge in California is antipathy from Belinda Stronach toward the sport antipathy from legislators in Sacramento and antipathy from the Native Americans (who control the casino industry),” Thayer said “I don’t think any of them care about the future of horse racing in California and if California racing is going to survive and thrive somebody in those groups is going to have to start to care.”  One potential scenario is that decoupling passes in Florida racing in California continues to wither and the universe of viable racetracks continues to shrink with New York Kentucky and Arkansas eventually becoming the only major racing circuits with big purses Another scenario is even scarier: If Florida decouples will other states where casino gaming or sports wagering help fund horse racing start to think about following the same model As popular as gambling on horse racing is — nationwide handle in April exceeded $873 million including $104 million at Gulfstream — the numbers are on a downward trajectory year-over-year and racetracks are quite expensive to operate If horse racing is forced to stand completely on its own and compete with other forms of gambling that are growing more pervasive and continually easier to access across the country it’s just common sense that there will continue to be fewer racetracks and fewer horses to run at them That’s why decoupling in Florida is so dangerous and why a massive effort is being mounted to defeat it “Gaming wouldn't exist in a lot of these states if it weren’t for horse racing,” Thayer said “And these partnerships work well in a number of states where the racing industry the state government general funds and gaming companies all prosper due to a partnership And I’m going to continue to vociferously push back on those who say it’s a subsidy because it's not.” the reality of what decoupling might mean has motivated a number of groups to spring into action the thought that Stronach might eventually just pull the plug on Gulfstream Park has brought powerful wealthy people to the table to at least think about alternatives including trying to buy the part of the property devoted to horse racing the CEO and executive vice president of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Assocaition said a nonprofit subsidiary of their organization holds a permit to build and operate a track in Marion County near the heart of the state's breeding industry in Ocala understanding the fact that the Stronach Group does not want to be in racing in the big picture,” Powell said and we’re very optimistic and bullish on where we can take this industry.”  Though the fact that one of the best California-based Derby hopefuls only got in the race due to the misfortune of another horse isn’t necessarily a straight line to the issues in Florida What happens when some racetracks are supported by slots and other forms of gaming to keep racing alive and keep it alive long-term,” said Tom Cannell president of the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association “It's hard for me to believe that racing in the winter down here would ever cease But at one time there were three tracks down here You have to look at people who supply the grain I think a lot of folks that aren't around racing don’t understand the scope of what it does for the state So we're going to stay in the fight and hopefully find some way to keep it going for a long time.”  18-wheeled horse transport van rolled up alongside Barn 59 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia seven miles due west of Pasadena and about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains Workers efficiently loaded 15 horses in the care of thoroughbred trainer Michael McCarthy up a short ramp and into small travel stalls on the van driver Ysidro Cruz -- everybody calls him Sid -- slowly negotiated the hulking van off the backstretch to Baldwin Ave and toward his final destination at the San Luis Rey Downs thoroughbred training center just north of San Diego Cruz took the I-210 Freeway west to the I-15 Freeway south before exiting on Route 76 The 107-mile trip took two hours and seven minutes the third-generation horse transport owner whose company provided the exact travel times from her GPS tracking database.) The horses were offloaded into McCarthy’s barn at San Luis Rey “Nothing remarkable about the trip...,” Sahadi told me There was nothing remarkable about the trip It was what horses do every day in America and around the world: They get on vans and they travel from place to place for an array of functional reasons But the rest of that morning in Southern California In the evening before McCarthy’s (and others’) horses moved a wildfire had started in the steep hills above and to the west of Santa Anita; eight hours earlier a larger fire had exploded in Pacific Palisades dominating cable news coverage and stretching emergency resources the second fire was encroaching on residential areas and was ominously visible from the racetrack it would become the Eaton Fire (for Eaton Canyon the second-most destructive wildfire in California history and upending daily life for what is likely to be years It would kill 18 people before containment Many track employees stayed overnight on the grounds not only to help oversee emergency operations but because many of their own homes were endangered McCarthy’s family had left their Altadena home in the fire’s path and moved into a hotel but McCarthy slept only fitfully and got up at 4 a.m to check on his house before going to work “And there were embers flying around.” There was a justifiable sense of uncertainty Among the total of 17 horses (two on another van) that McCarthy sent away was a handsome and well-balanced three-year-old bay colt named Journalism He had raced three times before the fire -- losing a maiden six-furlong race that was too short for his long stride and big body winning the 1 1/16-mile Los Alamos Futurity by a widening and dominant 3 1/2 lengths It is a weary narrative tool to explain a successful racehorse’s story as a “journey.” Where he was born (and who were his parents) where he landed in the sprawling ecosystem of the sport and under whose ownership and in what trainer’s hands We do this in large part because horses cannot tell their own stories Today Journalism is the favorite to win Saturday’s 151st Kentucky Derby to the extent that any horse can be favored to win a 20-horse rodeo witnessed by more than 150,000 raucous partygoers at a distance of 1 1/4 miles which none of them have run previously and most will never run again The longer view: Journalism was moved from his home in the midst of a natural disaster just as tens of thousands of Californians hope to do As North Carolinians and Floridians are still doing from hurricanes and their side effects as millions of Americans attempt to do every day in these disquieting times of ours I drove my rental car north out of downtown Pasadena on Lake Ave. across the border into Altadena and up into the hillside streets most damaged by the Eaton Fire It is part of small-j journalism to observe the detritus of tragedy where possible and to not accept others’ descriptions of painful landscapes tinged with guilt from voyeuristically co-opting pain I rode with New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees through the city’s Lower Ninth Ward which had been disproportionately punished by Hurricane Katrina with members of a high school football team after an F5 tornado leveled many of their neighborhoods It’s not possible to experience what took place The destruction goes on until blocks turn into miles each empty parcel representing a family or some other collection of humans the carnage is intermittently paused by a home that was seemingly untouched trees have blossomed in vibrant shades of green mountains stretch horizontally across the field of vision; the areas toward Altadena and Sierra Madre CA - APRIL 22: Altadena timelapse photographed at 2900 N Fair Oaks Ave Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) It will be at least late summer before McCarthy and after more than a decade living the successful but itinerant life of a trainer he came back and started his own operation in 2014 and then walked to the track and talked some more he pointed in one direction and then another “My parents live across the street over there,” he said “My in-laws’ house backs up to the turf course We’re over there on the hill.” He could hear race calls from his childhood yard His middle school friends were the sons and daughters of horse trainers on up the ladder until he was a trusted assistant for Hall of Famer and two-time Derby winner Todd Pletcher His life unfolds in the 24/7/365 rhythm of the racetrack and now there is more with the aftermath of the fire He struggles with the contrary emotion that those who lost their homes entirely can find a fresher start When I characterize his situation as “Pain,” he corrects me: “Not pain inconvenience.” These are degrees of massive upheaval; it will take time to work through it all “Eighty or 90 miles an hour.” His thoughts: “The horses were in their environment,” McCarthy said which is where they go when they know something is going on I felt like this was the safest place for them.” But to make sure we didn’t upset their routine I asked McCarthy if he feared the fire might make it all the way across the freeway and onto the track “From those mountains to right here is two-and-a-half miles plus a huge fire break with the 210 Freeway.” Pause but this is a story about living with and moving past all kinds of pain.) Sahadi remembers both his departure and his return ‘I’ll walk right on there for you.’ Some horses are fearful “He came home and fell right back into his routine Journalism is the son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin who McCarthy helped Pletcher defeat in the 2007 Belmont Stakes with the filly Rags to Riches; and of a mare a Pletcher colt who was scratched from the field on the day before the 2011 Kentucky Derby The human side of racing can sometimes seem as familial as the equine piece Journalism came back to the races this year on the first day of March and won the San Felipe Stakes by 1 3/4 lengths; the third-place finisher was Rodriguez the Bob Baffert-trained colt who went on to win the Wood Memorial prep race and would have been among the Derby contenders had he not been scratched Thursday afternoon Journalism was twice cut off by other horses in the running of the race incidents that would discourage many horses “Love that he overcame that adversity,” said McCarthy “He just doesn’t get discouraged.” Metaphor alert And this: Both prep races were run at Santa Anita against the backdrop of burned mountains in the nascent stages of recovery Now we’re standing in Journalism’s stall No which is pressed against the wooden barrier at the back of the stall; and me Journalism stands 16 hands and nearly two inches tall at the base of his neck an inch shorter than Secretariat (just for reference (But Journalism is verifiably fast and has shown he can recover from trouble if not avoid it altogether.) Straw is gathered around Journalism’s feet like a blanket like a runner with big quads.” As McCarthy talks Journalism shifts his right eye in our direction for reasons entirely unknown A Division of NBCUniversal DISCLAIMER: This site and the products offered are for entertainment purposes only and there is no gambling offered on this site This service is intended for adult audiences No guarantees are made for any specific outcome If you or someone you know has a gambling problem Journalism won the $500,000 Santa Anita Derby by three-quarters of a length Saturday to confirm his status as the Kentucky Derby favorite with trainer Bob Baffert's duo finishing fourth and fifth in the West Coast's major prep with Rodriguez leading all the way to win the $750,000 Wood Memorial by 3 1/2 lengths earning enough points to move into the 20-horse field for the Kentucky Derby Journalism stamped himself as the favorite for the 151st running of the Derby on May 3 He overcame some trouble in the race and put away Citizen Bull serious racehorse he really is," winning co-owner Aron Wellman said Journalism got shuffled behind Westwood and bumped with Barnes at the seven-sixteenths pole before moving into the clear and going three-wide into the stretch in front of 34,312 at Santa Anita "Obviously in a five-horse field like this was today if he can't do it against five he's going to have an awfully hard time doing it against 20," trainer Michael McCarthy said "The horse did everything we could have asked of him." "Glad that he got the education he did today," Wellman said so he's got the appropriate seasoning going into what really has been our ultimate goal all along." Baeza finished second and 40-1 shot Westwood was third The Baffert-trained Citizen Bull and Barnes finished fourth and last "We're not raising the white flag yet," Baffert said He said Citizen Bull's fitness wasn't up to the task on a deep "It's demanding and he was blowing pretty good," Baffert said Barnes is off the Derby trail since he doesn't have enough points to qualify "We'll just have to regroup," Baffert said The five-horse field was the smallest since 2006 Rodriguez broke from the rail and ran 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:48.15 under Hall of Famer Mike Smith in light rain and 45-degree temperatures at Aqueduct The victory was worth 100 qualifying points for the Derby potentially giving Baffert three entrants as he seeks a record-setting seventh victory in his return to the race from which he was banned for three years Baffert sent Rodriguez to New York to split up his Derby contenders The colt was sent off at 7-2 odds in the 10-horse field and paid $9.30 to win the 100th edition of the Wood He is a son of 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic "Bob told me this horse is probably quicker than you think," Smith said and the whole key was just letting him alone out there I don't think he necessarily has to have the lead Rodriguez would be his first mount since 2022 "That's up to all the owners and Bob," Smith said "I was glad they pulled me off the bench and I hit a 3-shot for them." He went from having zero qualifying points to 50 which should get him into the Derby starting gate for owner Mike Repole who hasn't had a Derby runner since 2010 after winning the 2008 race with Big Brown The $1.25 million Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland was postponed from Saturday to Tuesday due to heavy rain and potential flooding in the region That race and the Lexington Stakes on April 12 are the final Derby preps of the season Synthetic turf sports fields are needed in order to increase the program time on grass fields Experience shows if grass fields are used more than 20 hours per week they will end up as a dirt field At Santa Anita Park we have the ability to change an existing grass field to a synthetic turf field for the community and Community Services Agency was successful in obtaining a multiple grants to make this happen The new synthetic field project will also include other park improvements that will help make the park patron's experience at Santa Anita Park enjoyable The project also includes a new 8,000 square foot community center that will house Recreation SAPD Substation and PAAL (Police Athletics and Activities League) programming as well as a fully renovated swimming pool and deck Below is a project description of all the proposed improvements Total project cost of $18 million with five funding sources: The story of Santa Anita Park began on September 13 when residents from an eight-block area along South Figueroa Street were invited to help shape their neighborhood park The first community meeting took place on September 25 where local citizens gathered to discuss their vision for the space the City outlined the construction process and presented preliminary design sketches for the park a permanent advisory committee was formed under the name Organization for the Betterment of the Santa Anita Community One of the committee’s first initiatives was selecting a name for the park Ballots with five proposed names were distributed and more than 400 residents voted in favor of Santa Anita Park in the spring of 2025—fifty-five years later—Santa Ana will once again celebrate this beloved community landmark Get directions to City Hall This content is for decoration only skip decoration. cemented his reputation as a special horse from whom In the winner’s circle after winning the 1 1/8-mile race As for the 1¼-mile distance of the Kentucky Derby Trainer Michael McCarthy told Santa Anita publicity on Sunday that things are “all good” after Saturday’s win by three-quarters of a length “I thought he showed a lot of poise being down inside,” McCarthy said “He had to kind of bide his time and wait for a seam to get through he is amenable to whatever [jockey] Umberto [Rispoli] asks of him.” is widely considered on the greatest horse racing callers of all-time McCarthy said he was going to give the 3-year-old colt a couple of easy days before resuming training at the end of the week It’s unclear when he will ship to Churchill Downs in Louisville What made Journalism’s performance so special was overcoming adversity started to back up at the three-eighths pole causing Journalism to significantly slow down even risking clipping heels with the horse in front of him This would have been the end for a lesser horse but Journalism rallied out of the trouble and ran down Baeza in the stretch “We knew we had a target on our back,” said Aron Wellman, the managing partner of the ownership group. “He was on the rail and facing two [Bob] Baffert’s and two [John] Shirreffs We knew they were going to be riding us and they did For him to overcome that adversity just proves what a spectacular horse he is.” His accomplishment was not lost on Rispoli “It’s rare for a horse to get held up at the three-eighths pole and to get back in the race that way,” Rispoli said But he has such an amazing style and is just an amazing horse … Not many horses that big could make it out of there especially on a track like Santa Anita’s.” (()=>{const e=document.getElementById("yt-img-onExQh1jSMU");e&&e.addEventListener("load",(t=>{t.target.naturalWidth<=120&&(e.parentNode.children[0].srcset=e.parentNode.children[1].srcset=e.src)}),{once:!0})})() Even before the race bettors showed their confidence in the horse by making him the 5-1 favorite in the final future’s pool from Churchill Downs there is no way he will go off at odds that long The last Southern California-based horse to win the Kentucky Derby was Authentic in 2020 when COVID forced the race to be run in September Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first in 2021 but was subsequently disqualified when he tested positive for a legal medication It took a couple years and several court hearings before that case was finally resolved It’s still unknown how many Southern California horses will make the 20-horse starting field for the Kentucky Derby the field is almost set after Saturday’s 100-point qualifying races the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland was moved to Tuesday Churchill Downs changed the qualifying structure to penalize races that have small fields The Santa Anita Derby was only worth 75% of its usual point total because of the five-horse field a trip to the Derby because he was awarded only 37.5 points instead of the usual 50 barring injuries and the uncertainty of horses coming from Japan with Blue Grass points still to be determined wins the $1-million UAE Derby in Dubai on Saturday (Martin Dokoupil / Associated Press) Journalism is definitely in winner of Saturday’s Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Citizen Bull (71.25 points) and Madaket Road (46 points) are also currently in the field All three horses not named Journalism are trained by Baffert Baffert has long had a strategy that to go to Louisville a horse has to finish first or second or a troubled third to make that trip Citizen Bull and Madaket Road both finished fourth in their last race “We have a week and then we’ll decide what is next.” a colt who like Journalism is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners is on the cut line but it’s likely he will opt for the Pat Day Mile on Kentucky Derby day Sports field sizes and foal crops puts California racing in trouble Santa Anita is known for inflating attendance figures, even forcing the California Horse Racing Board to send a memo to commissioners as to why crowd sizes are no longer part of its annual report because of a lack of accuracy. But, for those at the track on Saturday, there was little doubt it was a much larger crowd than normal, even for a big day. The track also reported a verifiable mutuel handle of $22.388 million, a 24% increase from last year. It was in part because of race card cancellations at major tracks Keeneland and Oaklawn Park because of weather, thus shrinking the number of national betting options, sending more wagering to Santa Anita. High School Sports Galaxy Dodgers Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE TDN FOR FREE! Remember Ben with a gift to Thoroughbred aftercare Subscribe for FREE to the Daily PDF or the News Alerts Home » Archive » Top News » Letter To The Editor: Gulfstream Pegasus Day at Gulfstream is one of my most enjoyable days at the races It is expensive to put on and showcases our sport in the highest light It is also the most ironic considering the recent announcement regarding the closing of Gulfstream and seeking development absent horse racing I was perplexed to listen to Belinda Stronach on Pegasus Day speak of the non-compatibility of racing in an urban environment despite all of the major racetracks worldwide being domiciled in such urban centers her citing a crowning achievement of her tenure as the exit of Maryland racing was confusing at best This is not a personal attack on 1/ST Racing but merely an acknowledgment that avarice and 'land values' are now the driving force of the company Contrary to the ethos of founder Frank Stronach whose goal was to place corporate holdings into a trust to preserve and protect racing the properties are now meant to be used for their 'highest and best use.' The interpretation of such is that return on investment and profitability are primary motives and the acknowledgment that we do not meet this standard has been settled within the corporate ranks It is incumbent upon all stakeholders to recognize this new reality and plan for a future without 1/ST Racing Our 'partner' seeks a divorce and we can and must protect our interests post-divorce Without a concession that allows for racing and development to co-mingle we have an unwilling 'partner' and the inexorable march to the inevitable closure of both stares back at us The above racing properties have always had a higher and best use as urban density if your determination is that of profitability and land value versus a recognition that' we' bought racetrack properties in urban environments and their purpose is that of Thoroughbred racing That is their tradition and a disregard for the impact these closures will have upon our industry is callous and self-centered absolving any responsibility to the business that created this windfall opportunity as well as to the chaos it thrusts us into through the loss of two iconic and historically important racetracks We must negotiate the best divorce we can and I implore those parties that can and do have influence to align in order to create permanence and a certainty for our sport The idea that 1/ST Racing would exit the racing business then consider building another racetrack to reenter a business they just exited defies credibility Suspend reality for a moment and accept the statement as true we are certain to face the same scenario once again when this new location becomes too valuable to conduct racing We cannot accept decoupling in Florida and build our own gallows Accepting the casino license committed Gulfstream to offer horse racing as a primary premise–not an arbitrary premise that they can eliminate for further profit The same goes for horsemen's rights and the independence of a horsemen's group to protect their interests independent of the racetrack The idea that a 'horsemen's group' would support or be neutral on the issue of decoupling suggests either collusion or an inability to understand any semblance of a fair deal To give up more than six million annually in purse enhancements in return for a promise of three years of racing challenges the absurd despite any corporate help offered during this time frame If the threat of a reduction of racing dates and the inevitable retribution of any who opposed decoupling comes to fruition Horsemen are tough and resilient; these are requisites for the life we live Please get involved in the fight and do not wait for a savior no compromise without compromise must be our united stance We must determine our own future and bring to bear political influence and the financial resources of individual and industry groups to ensure racing has a home in these important centers Not a subscriber? 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Copy Article Link Editor / News Stories:editor@thetdn.com Advertising:advertising@thetdn.com Customer Service:customerservice@thetdn.com Click Here to sign up for a free subscription Home » Archive » Top News » Santa Anita Classic Meet Posts Increases in key Metrics With the Sunday conclusion to Santa Anita's Classic Meet the 2024-25 season enjoyed significant gains in handle The all-source handle topped $510-million with players from around the world responding favorably to the modifications to the wagering menu The handle on just Santa Anita's races increased five per cent from the last Classic Meet 26 brought the third largest opening day handle in the venue's 90-year history and the final three-day weekend claimed more than $40.6-million in wagers on the local races with on track attendance drawing almost 50,000 people Field sizes bucked the overall national trend as the number of starters per race rose by 7% over last year granted partially due to the influx of Northern California horses transitioning to the single circuit Santa Anita offered 61 more races during this season's Classic Meet as a result the track saw 99.9715% safe trips which translate to a fatality rating of .285 per 1,000 starters It was a 17I improvement from the same time last year and the rating is less than a third of the national average of .90 per 1,000 starters Those figures are as reported by tracks covered by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Racing returns for the Hollywood Meeting Friday On the back of the successful Classic Meet the purses for the upcoming Hollywood meet will increase “The value proposition and positive momentum carries forward to the upcoming 29-day Hollywood meet with a 10% increase to overnight purses,” said Bill Nader president & CEO of the Thoroughbred Owners of California “California racing is showing renewed life and the transition to a single circuit is fulfilling its purpose.” Copy Article Link Los Angeles Olympic equestrian competitions will be at Santa Anita Park the site of horse sports at the 1984 summer Games and within the city area central to most events of LA28 The choice of Santa Anita was disclosed to dressage-news.com by Los Angeles organizing committee sources Friday after the proposed venue at Temecula about 100 miles/160km in rural southern California was rejected An official announcement is expected early next week and has hosted some of the major Thoroughbred events in the United States including the Breeders Cup and has an on-course complete veterinary clinic At least 25 hotels are within easy distance of Santa Anita a privately owned race track that is part of horse and Hollywood lore The famous Seabiscuit won his last race at Santa Anita the track attracted the most famous movie stars The change of the 2028 Olympic equestrian venue from Temecula had been speculated for months because of the distance from Los Angeles lack of hotels and other facilities and the likely requirement of millions of dollars to make the venue acceptable for the most high profile event The success of Paris Olympics’ equestrian competitions at the spectacularly beautiful and historic Palace of Versailles as well as flawless management of dressage eventing and jumping and sold-out crowds of supportive spectators added pressure on Los Angeles to provide a quality facility It includes a 1,100-foot/340m-long grandstand that seats 26,000 spectators The 2028 Olympics specify only 200 horses for competitions–60 for dressage 65 for eventing and 75 for jumping–but even with reserves will have more than enough stalls at Santa Anita Areas surrounding Santa Anita will be used to provide the cross-country course for eventing The decision to switch equestrian events to Santa Anita came as a shock to the prospective organizers in Temecula was recommended and approved as the proposed Olympic venue by the Los Angeles City Council two weeks ago LA28 officials informed Galway Downs and local officials that another venue had been selected “We are extremely surprised that we were suddenly removed from consideration,” said Galway Downs owner Ken Smith based on the March 28 City Council’s vote of approval When we started this process more than four years ago we understood the equestrian venue selection for LA28 would be a highly competitive Being selected as the proposed equestrian venue put Galway Downs and Temecula Valley on the world stage Galway Downs will continue to host elite national and international competitions as well as additional sporting events.” Germany won dressage team gold in 1984 and German rider Reiner Klimke on Ahlerich took individual gold Santa Anita Park has been confirmed as the host of the equestrian events of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) One week after Galway Downs in Temecula, CA, heard it was dropped as venue candidate Santa Anita has been officially confirmed of its allocation in the proximity to the Los Angeles city area close to Pasadena and has experience hosting equestrian events as it was already the equestrian venue for the 1984 Olympics “Santa Anita Park will be a spectacular venue for the LA28 Olympic equestrian events,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said “The FEI has very fond memories of Santa Anita which had hosted the equestrian events at the 1984 Olympic Games The venue is set to offer a breathtaking stage for all the Olympic equestrian competitions and the proximity to LA City will undoubtedly attract many spectators to Santa Anita We look forward to continuing our cooperation with LA28 to deliver spectacular equestrian events at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.” Ulla Hakanson and Flamingo at the 1984 OG“I would like to thank the FEI on behalf of the IOC for the active engagement in all the discussions regarding the venue,” IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said “We have created a strong partnership with the Organising Committee and the city of Los Angeles which enjoys the full support of the local equestrian community.” "We have the utmost confidence in the LA28 Organizing Committee We are also extremely pleased that the IOC has confirmed the athlete quotas across the disciplines for 2028 and they remain unchanged from 2024,” said Bill Moroney The facility also hosts a CSI3* as well as a FEI Jumping World Cup™ Qualifier CSI5*-W The Swiss team at the 1984 OGIn March 1/ST Racing a subsidiary of the Stronach Group which owns the Santa Anita Race track threatened to sell or close Santa Anita if the California Horse Racing Board authorizes racing in Northern California this year "It’s unclear if it’s a serious threat or just gamesmanship," the L.A. Times wrote wrote in a letter "An analysis of alternative uses for Santa Anita and San Luis Rey will be undertaken in short order [if racing is allocated to the north] The current financial model and required capital expense make no sense and the consolidation of operations as discussed last year and at the January Board meeting is the only alternative that has been presented.” The L.A. Times also wrote "it’s a very real possibility that a clear huge profit could be achieved by selling the track land to developers The price might have a B instead of an M before the “illion” if it’s sold even if it means cutting loose a part of the family business in a sport that is in serious decline in a state that offers almost no incentives to stick around." Hilda Gurney (USA) and Keen at the 1984 OGThe venue for the Para Equestrian events will be announced at a later date following the review and approval of the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board Photos © Hugo Czerny - Elisabeth Weiland - no reproduction allowed Related LinksGalway Downs Loses Allocation as 2028 LA. Olympic Equestrian VenueGalway Downs in Temecula Proposed as Equestrian Venue for 2028 L.A. Olympics Stalls for Rent at Durondeau Dressage in Peer, Belgium Exceptionally Well Located Equestrian Facility in Wellington, Florida Well-built Equestrian Estate With Multiple Business Opportunities in Sweden Stable Units for Rent at Lotje Schoots' Equestrian Center in Houten (NED) For Rent: Several Apartments and Stable Wing at High-End Equestrian Facility Stable Wing Available at Reiterhof Wensing on Dutch/German border Real Estate: Well-Appointed Country House with Extensive Equestrian Facility in the U.K. Rémi Blot In a throwback to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Games, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, has once again been confirmed as the host venue for the 2028 Olympic equestrian competition, the FEI said on Tuesday “The FEI has very fond memories of Santa Anita But the decision is not without controversy As an established location for major Thoroughbred racing events—including the prestigious Breeders’ Cup which it’s hosted 11 times—historic Santa Anita Park is located just 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles Proximity is just one reason it’s been reported that the venue has been selected over the previously proposed Galway Downs in Temecula (the latter facility is more than 93 miles from the city) along with its well established options for spectator seating for more than 75,000 people At present, Santa Anita Park houses some 2,000 stalls across 61 barns, ample space to accommodate the 200 horses expected to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games across all disciplines, and the 78 that will qualify for the Para-Olympic Games. It also contains an on-site equine veterinary clinic with services including surgery, endoscopy, radiology, nuclear medicine, and laboratory service, according to its website along with a cutting-edge MILE-PET scan machine that’s only one-half of the equation On the other side of the tug-of-war Galway Downs has long been preparing to host the 2028 Games, even featuring a dedicated page on their website Local leaders have cited the region’s deep equestrian roots and existing infrastructure as top reasons the venue should be selected to host dressage Eventing, in particular, is well-suited for Galway Downs, which already includes a 4-mile CCI4*-L course that could easily by updated for 5* Olympic eventing. During the 1984 Olympic Games, the Fairbanks Ranch Country Club in San Diego County all equestrian events should to be held in a single location for logistical efficiency the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to approve Galway Downs as the equestrian site on the 2028 Olympic Venues Plan “It must be said that for several years the state-of-the-art facility at Galway Downs and the Riverside County community have prepared to host these important events and showcase the very best that all three have to offer and preparation have already been dedicated to serving as the host site and Galway Downs is the only equestrian venue in the greater Los Angeles region with the existing infrastructure to accommodate all Equestrian Events including a full-length cross-country course.” Galway Downs houses 500+ permanent stalls (again more than enough to accommodate the Olympic horses) according to an initial letter drafted by Congressman Issa and others that the infrastructure created by LA2028 would also benefit the local community long-term “Equine culture has especially deep roots in the Temecula Valley, and the Southern California community has prepared for years to amplify and sustain the momentum generated by the tourism, viewership and celebration that comes with hosting the Olympic Games,” the letter read Olympic Organizers had not responded to a request for comment This story has been updated to include statements from the FEI Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Home » Archive » Top News » Santa Anita To Drop Claiming Minimums In Response To NorCal Going Dark For Next Six Months Santa Anita Park will drop its lowest-level claiming prices to $8,000 for maidens and $5,000 for other horses 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 (CHRB) unanimously approved that request by a 4-0 vote Thursday 19 decisions–which have the backing of the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the California Thoroughbred Trainers–were part of a multiple-stakeholder reaction to deal with Monday's revelation that there will be no NorCal “anchor” track running for the first half of 2025 until the traditional fairs season starts in that region of the state in the summer On Dec. 16, the California Authority of Racing Fairs board voted unanimously (with one abstention) to rescind a proposed Golden State Racing meet at Pleasanton spanning the first half of next year That CARF vote came on the heels of discussion at the CHRB meeting back on Nov. 21 that the now-concluded autumn Pleasanton meet wasn't living up to the business expectations that had fueled a hope that the former fairs-season-only track might be able to fill the NorCal void that occurred when The Stronach Group (TSG) closed Golden Gate Fields back in June TSG also owns the financially struggling Santa Anita which has now taken on the responsibility of trying to create racing opportunities for NorCal horses explained how the new lower-level races came about and would be worked into the daily mix we've had a lot of productive meetings with pretty much all stakeholders; racing offices from every group in the state [and the] CTT and [we've] come up with this,” Newby said And we're ready to provide racing opportunities and do everything we can,” Newby said Newby noted that although Santa Anita's first condition book for the meet has already been published “the racing office put out 'extras' [on Wednesday] for the first week and they'll continue to put them out in advance.” Newby continued: “And then those races will be included starting in Book 2 But they'll be offered on race days starting the day after opening 27 will be the start of the new claiming hierarchy Pleasanton will remain open as an 850-stall training facility before segueing into its fairs-season dates in the summer Details are being worked out to provide subsidies for shipping from Pleasanton which Santa Anita management estimated at $1,000 per round trip Santa Anita's supporting documentation also included the possibility that three-day racing weeks could expand to four days (and maybe five days on holiday or special-event weeks) if enough horses from NorCal swell the entries Santa Anita's documentation for the changes stated that each day's racing could consist of “between 7 and 11 races on weekdays and between 8 and 13 races on opening day Thursday's subdued and generally somber monthly CHRB meeting lacked the impassioned (and often hours-long) stakeholder discourse that has hallmarked similar NorCal/SoCal discussions in recent years only one industry participant spoke during the public comments session to address Pleasanton's decision (at least for the time being) not to continue after one lackluster two-month meet as the region's anchor track a situation that TSG's 1/ST Racing first put into motion by closing Golden Gate Fields a longtime NorCal-based owner and breeder who retired from a three-decade training career in 2023 succinct question of the CHRB commissioners “My observation is [that] the flaw in this whole system is that once the 1/ST [Racing] group gets the Northern California simulcast money what's to keep them from just withdrawing the training at Pleasanton or the subsidizing of the transportation or the purse structure I don't see any guarantee for us,” Jackson said “I think your guarantee is the board,” Ferraro asserted “And you're going to have our back?” Jackson queried “Absolutely,” added commissioner Dennis Alfieri I know this is going to be a difficult period of time for this transition And hopefully it's a temporary thing and we can we can go back to where we were,” Ferraro said we really have no choice,” Ferraro summed up Copy Article Link Santa Anita Park has been confirmed as the host venue for the equestrian events at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games Located in close proximity to the Los Angeles city area Santa Anita Park will be staging Olympic equestrian events for the second time having also been the host venue for the 1984 Games Santa Anita features an on-course veterinary clinic and has hosted some of the major Thoroughbred events in the USA was the venue where the famous champion racehorse Seabiscuit won his last race in 1940 Santa Anita also hosts a CSI3* as well as a Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ qualifier CSI5*-W Santa Anita Park hosted the equestrian events at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics FEI President Ingmar De Vos welcomed the LA28 announcement describing Santa Anita as a “breathtaking stage” “Santa Anita Park will be a spectacular venue for the LA28 Olympic equestrian events,” Mr De Vos said which hosted the equestrian events at the 1984 Olympic Games The venue is set to offer a breathtaking stage for all the Olympic equestrian competitions and the proximity to LA City will undoubtedly attract many spectators to Santa Anita Park “We look forward to continuing our cooperation with LA28 to deliver spectacular equestrian events at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.” The facility has 61 barns that can house more than 2,000 horses IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said: “I would like to thank the FEI on behalf of the IOC for the active engagement in all the discussions regarding the venue The US Jumping team wins Olympic gold at Santa Anita Park in 1984 The venue announcement comes a week after the equestrian events and athlete quotas for LA28 were confirmed The equestrian programme will consist of Individual and Team medal events in Jumping Equestrian retains the 200 quota places it had at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the breakdown by discipline remains unchanged – 75 for Jumping said: "We have the utmost confidence in the LA2028 Organizing Committee “We are also extremely pleased that the IOC has confirmed the athlete quotas across the disciplines for 2028 and they remain unchanged from 2024.” The LA28 Olympic Games will take place from 14 to 30 July 2028 with the Paralympics scheduled from 15 to 27 August 2028 Looking ahead to the FEI World Cup™ Finals 2025.. We speak to David Will as the Longines League of Nations™ season continues.. Looking ahead to the Longines League of Nations™ season.. We take a closer look at the victorious French combination.. We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies The 2025 Santa Anita Derby takes place this Saturday, April 5, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Live coverage begins at 7 PM ET on CNBC and Peacock Since only five horses are entered in the race only 75 percent of the 200 possible Kentucky Derby points are set to be awarded on a 75 / 37.50 / 18.75 / 11.25 / 7.5 scale then points will be awarded on a 50 / 25 / 12.5 / 7.5 scale Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has two horses entered in Saturday’s race: Citizen Bull Citizen Bull has secured a spot in the Kentucky Derby field with 60 points but Barnes will need to finish in the top two to qualify looks to secure another win at Santa Anita The $825k auction purchase is considered the Kentucky Derby favorite after defeating Barnes in the G2 San Felipe last month The 2025 Kentucky Derby takes place on May 3 See below to find out how to watch the 2025 Santa Anita Derby as well as additional information on how you can stream all of the exciting horse racing events on Peacock Click here to sign up for Peacock! The 2025 Santa Anita Derby will take place Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Click here for the most up-to-date list of entries Watch the recap of last year’s victory below: Sign up to watch all of our live sports and events You can enjoy Peacock on a variety of devices. View the full list of supported devices here Home » Archive » Top News » Former PR Director Sues Santa Anita For Alleged Wrongful Firing Related To 2019 Horse Deaths Crisis a former publicity director who worked at Santa Anita Park for nearly two decades alleging that he was fired in March 2024 under the pretext of using inappropriate language when making an off-color joke to a subordinate but that the “real reason” he was terminated was for refusing to participate in a purported cover-up of alleged mismanagement following a series of highly publicized horse fatalities that occurred at Santa Anita in 2019 According to the civil complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court Willman is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Santa Anita and its owner Specifically named as defendants are Belinda Stronach (TSG's chairman Aidan Butler (the chief executive officer of TSG's 1/ST Racing and Gaming) and Amy Zimmerman (the senior vice president and executive producer for the media team) wants a jury trial and is suing for damages related to “lost employment income and benefits” and for “pain and suffering.” Willman's lawsuit summarized his allegations: “[Willman] was and had been the main point of contact for all the news organizations that were following the tragic surge in horse fatalities that erupted in 2019 and continued thereafter Plaintiff's career was ended because Defendants knew he wouldn't lie or mislead the public the regulators or the District Attorney of Los Angeles County they could destroy his career and his credibility and he wouldn't be able to fight back,” the complaint stated as a long-term employee who was loyal to the defendants resisted those attempts to put out false narratives to deflect responsibility for the horse deaths Plaintiff believed it was his legal duty to tell the truth or face possible prosecution for deliberately misleading government regulators investigators and the public trust,” the complaint stated “Defendants directly and indirectly instructed Plaintiff to mislead government investigators regulators and the public about what was really going on and at a minimum confuse and obfuscate so that the public would never find out the reasons why so many horses were dying,” the complaint stated “Defendants' attitude towards Plaintiff changed when Mercury Crisis Management was brought in by defendants to quarterback messaging in March of 2019,” the complaint stated Following a 2020 shutdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic “Plaintiff noticed a definite change of attitude from his superiors They began looking for a justification to undermine his credibility and then to fire him,” the complaint stated he was placed on administrative leave after a subordinate complained that he had made an off-color joke that offended the subordinate Willman was “wrongfully” terminated for using the off-color language and he was further accused “of using a derogatory term in reference to another Santa Anita executive” in a private conversation “The proffered justification for terminating Plaintiff's employment was completely pretextual and done to retaliate against Plaintiff and to destroy his credibility by then being able to claim he was a 'disgruntled' bad former employee,” the complaint stated the individual defendants acting for and on behalf of the corporate defendants fraud and oppression to defame and destroy Plaintiff's reputation and career doing everything in their power to make it as difficult as possible for Plaintiff to survive,” the complaint stated “They even attempted to prevent Plaintiff from receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits.” The defendants in the lawsuit have not yet filed a written legal response to tell their side of the story “I welcome the opportunity to have the truth come out in the appropriate setting and at the appropriate time.” Copy Article Link Click Here to sign up for a free subscription. Santa Anita Park did what locals always have counted on the 80-year-old track to do It stepped up and fulfilled its role as a community citizen It canceled racing the first week after the fires so that the track’s expansive space could be used as a center for donation collection and distribution staging utility vehicles that were helping fight the fires and housing large animals that could not be accommodated at animal shelters The track was unaffected by the fires and the air quality was well within the range for safe racing Pasadena and other areas that were affected by the worst fire disaster in L.A It’s not the first time Santa Anita has stepped up It donated the land at the corner of Huntington and Baldwin for a fire station It also gave away the land near the track that houses the Arcadia City Hall and police department Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke feels equally grateful and guilty that his home in Altadena was spared as wildfire ravaged his neighborhood But these charitable gestures are getting harder to pull off The sport is decades past the days when cars would back up onto Baldwin Avenue after leaving the 210 freeway spectators just trying to get into the Santa Anita parking lot The Santa Anita Handicap is no longer a must-attend event for horsemen nationally Gone are competitive purses because of the lack of a secondary source of income such as casino gambling Field sizes are so small that it cripples wagering And attendance is a fraction of what it was years ago The unfathomable idea that the track may soon close or be sold is closer to reality than ever The Stronach Group, owner of Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park in Florida, has hired Keith Brackpool, a former TSG executive and chairman of the California Horse Racing Board, to kick the tires on a possible sale of the company’s 1/ST Racing division and the tracks, according to two people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly. While they publicly are saying Santa Anita is not for sale, Brackpool met with at least one investor about the sale, according to the two people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly. The understanding is if the track were sold, whoever buys it would continue racing at least in the short term. Jockey Tiago Pereira guides Katonah to a win in the Grade II $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes horse race on Jan. 25 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia. (Benoit Photo via Associated Press) The price tag of $2 billion was thought to be too high for at least one prospective buyer who was more in the look-and-see mode, the people said. The land the two properties sit on is easily worth more than $2 billion, but as race tracks, not so much. TSG denied a Times request for an interview with Brackpool and he did not return a phone message. While neither confirming nor denying the details, TSG issued a statement that read: “Racing in California is facing challenging economic circumstances. This is not an easy problem to solve. We are continuously thinking about solutions and in discussions with various stakeholders about the best way forward. Those discussions remain ongoing.” The Stronach Group has decided to permanently close down Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley after its final meet ends in December, boosting Santa Anita. If racing becomes a three-legged stool, the chances of collapse are major. Santa Anita has been there when the community needed help. But now, it’s the track that needs help. And by extension, so does horse racing in the United States. The bigger question: Is anybody willing to help them? In order to find out what racing executives think about the future of racing in California and the U.S., The Times spent several days at the 50th Global Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Ariz., in December. About two dozen industry people painted a picture laced with shreds of optimism, but only if California can get Historical Horse Racing (HHR), an electronic gaming product, to supplement purses. Without it, few see hope of survival. The tracks say they are working toward a solution but offer little public evidence of success as it likely would take an agreement with Native American tribes, which control non-pari-mutuel gambling in California. Jockey Hector I. Berrios steers El Potente to a win in the Grade III $100,000 Thunder Road Stakes horse race on Feb. 1 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia. (Benoit Photo via Associated Press) The problems with racing did not just crop up. The decline has been going on for quite some time. Sal Sinatra, 60, has been around horses since he was 12 years old. He grew up in the business and was the vice president of racing at Parx Racing in Pennsylvania, president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club and chief executive of Equibase, a company that supplies racing statistics. He’s currently a consultant for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. “I play fantasy sports,” Sinatra said, speaking as a horse owner, not as a HISA consultant. “Last night I was up all night because I played in a lousy $10 tournament and I won $10,000. I have more enjoyment doing that. I live in Lexington [Ky.] and every bar has [FanDuel] on, I have a [betting] account. I don’t even look up at the track or bet anything.” The Northern California racing experiment will be coming to an end this week, effectively killing racing in the northern part of the state and having an impact statewide. Don’t mistake Sinatra for someone who has abandoned the sport. He had just finished a workshop with many of the country’s racing secretaries, offering ideas on how to make the sport more attractive to customers. He really wants horse racing to thrive, he’s just not sure how. “I have two mares at home, and I’m not sure what I’m doing because I don’t know what it’s going to be like in three or four years,” Sinatra said. “We move like snails in this industry. If we do not protect the small outfits [trainers and owners], whether it’s by ratings classifications rather than claiming [races], the sport is limited. “It’s the people who used to breed and race for joy, the people who protected horse racing now see it as time to retire, they’re out of the game. I think it’s very important to look at that sector. I really believe there’s a lot of purse money out there that is not being paid properly to keep the economic engine flowing.” Sinatra was quick to recall tales of his time on the front line of racing, especially running the Maryland Jockey Club, whose marquee race is the Preakness Stakes. He painted a picture of dysfunction that included exaggerated attendance numbers, a former boss’ obsession with mutuel handle (going so far as to give Sinatra wads of money to bet to give the mutuel pool a good head start), and deficits in his racing budget because of having to move money from racing to support big-name musical talent at the Preakness. He suggested the roots of the problems extend beyond Maryland and have been around racing for decades. “Simulcasting has destroyed us,” he said, referring to the practice of broadcasting races on TV or at other tracks where betting can take place. “We all thought we had found money and then the simulcasters were in our own state and our own backyard. We just poached our own bettors away. That’s all we did, for less money. It’s just insane.” Sunday is the last day of racing at Golden Gate Fields The track will be missed for its inclusiveness and place in California racing history Sinatra also believes the influx of money through casino gambling has been a problem for the industry “The casinos do better when we race as if we’re a sideshow for them,” Sinatra said they want us to run and don’t care if you run five-horse fields and make no handle I’ve lost $3 million and I want to cut days but I can’t increase purses.’ And a lot of things were wrong.” Sinatra thinks there should be coordination between track organizations which historically has been as achievable as detente between the Hatfields and McCoys A very old analogy for entrenched rivalries in a sport that is aging not so gracefully “When I was first at Parx and it went from $125,000 [in purses] a day to $250,000 a day and I had all this extra money for stakes,” Sinatra said I should contact the graded stakes committee and suggest what races I’m going to add money to’ and the group says ‘No there are already three in that category.’ “You have to either increase distances or put them on different surfaces everybody’s going to have million-dollar races all over the place and there’s no planning Supply California with horses bought from Kentucky California did not get to this position overnight deal with the changing sports landscape and the gulf between people who view horses as pets and those who view them as livestock driven by racing interests in Southern California deciding it needed to kill racing in Northern California to save racing to the south The north capitulated and even planned its own circuit, calling it Golden State Racing. It ran for 25 days, failed to meet any of its financial goals and pulled its license application for this year. TSG may have been the architect of the closure of Northern California racing, but the Thoroughbred Owners of California was driving the getaway car, primarily supporting racing only in Southern California. It drew up benchmarks for success in the north that even Santa Anita would have had difficulty executing. Several Northern California board members quit in protest over the terms of the Golden Gate extension. At one point in dealing with the California Horse Racing Board, Craig Fravel, the former chief executive of 1/ST Racing, sent a letter threatening the board with closing Santa Anita if it didn’t get its way. TSG recently went to the same playbook in regard to Gulfstream Park. The track’s operators are pushing for something called “decoupling,” which would mean it could operate its slot-based casino without having to run horse racing. The same decoupling happened to dog racing, harness racing, quarter-horse racing and jai alai a few years ago. Dog racing was killed by ballot initiative in Florida and the other sports are, for all intents and purposes, nonexistent. At a recent meeting with Florida horsemen, Brackpool and TSG executive Stephen Screnci said if horsemen don’t oppose decoupling, they will promise racing for at least three more years. If they oppose it, the track could close sooner. The horsemen took it as a threat as one might expect, leading to a fistfight after the meeting. The California Horse Racing Board meets this week to decide if racing will continue in Northern California, or if that business will be sent to SoCal. TSG chief executive Belinda Stronach poured gasoline on the situation in an interview on NBC during coverage of the Pegasus World Championship last week when she said: “The fact is that Gulfstream Park is now in a very dense, urban setting, and that’s not great for horses, ultimately.” Not mentioned is that all three Triple Crown races — the Kentucky Derby (Louisville, Ky.), the Preakness (Baltimore) and the Belmont Stakes (soon to be back in Long Island after a rebuild) — are in urban areas. Jerry Bailey, a Hall of Fame jockey and NBC commentator, stated after the segment that Gulfstream Park would be gone in 10 years. Any way you look at it, the decoupling move makes a potential sale of the track a lot easier. Blackpool, a controversial figure in California who has settled lawsuits he filed against Stronach, is playing a significant role leading discussions about the future of racing. Missing from the Florida meeting with horsemen was Aidan Butler, the current chief executive of 1/ST Racing. Butler, when reached by The Times, declined to discuss any aspect of company business, instead referring to the statement issued by TSG. The one thing that most agree on is that there is too much racing. The problem is that contraction is great as long as it’s not your business that is contracting. And therein lies another problem racing hasn’t fixed. “I guess there’s a difference between contraction and a sport dying,” said Robert Hartman, chair of the prestigious Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona and host of the annual global symposium. “Let’s say that healthy contraction could be good for an industry. You see what’s going on in California. Some determined that one racing circuit could make racing healthy and bolster that circuit. The fear is two unhealthy racing circuits may lead to them both dying. “That type of contraction could be beneficial to the industry. It’s not just racing, it happens in food products or automobile manufacturing or other industries [where contraction] makes that industry healthier.” Martin Garcia rides Citizen Bull to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile horse race in Del Mar on Nov. 1. (Gregory Bull / Associated Press) Craig Dado, who was a Del Mar marketing executive for two decades and is currently the president of Sports Injury Central, draws an analogy to professional sports. “We’ve always argued [there is too much racing] from a marketing perspective,” Dado said. “You’ve got 18 NFL games a year per team. You’ve got 162 baseball games. If you run four days a week, 52 weeks a year, my goodness, that might be too much. “Maybe the market is telling you there is too much. Maybe we need breaks. Every idea like that comes with a whole set of negatives as to why it doesn’t work. So, there’s no easy answer in California, but I’m praying that they figure it out, because I am a horse owner and I still love going to the gate, going to the tracks, so I hope it works out.” The racing landscape in California changed in 2013 when Hollywood Park closed and eventually became SoFi Stadium. The sport believed it needed year-round racing. Santa Anita increased its signature meet to about six months, not including its fall meeting. Del Mar added a monthlong fall meeting to its summer meet. And Los Alamitos, a quarter-horse track, was the real hero, reconfiguring its track to a mile and adding about six weeks of daytime thoroughbred racing to fill the gaps. “There’s no question that the less you run, the more demand there is for your product,” Dado said. “It’s old-school Economics 101, supply and demand. The more you run, the less demand there’s going to be. However, when you add in all those additional dates, even though you’re not as big per day, it still may make a better business platform. Especially when your state is basically saying, ‘If you don’t do it, we’re not going to make it.’ Then they forced Del Mar’s hands. “Did we want to add the fall dates? There was a lot of consternation over that, but one of the reasons we really agreed to do it is because we thought we’d get the Breeders’ Cup by doing it. That was the feather in the cap of that discussion.” Flavien Prat celebrates after riding Sierra Leone to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic horse race in Del Mar on Nov. 2. (Gregory Bull / Associated Press) This year Del Mar will host the Breeders’ Cup for the third time and second year in a row. “Let’s say Del Mar adds three more weeks [if Santa Anita were to stop racing],” Dado said. “Would Del Mar want to do it? Probably not because it’s going to make those days that they already have less special. But if the industry is saying they need to do it, then Del Mar’s going to have to step up.” Joe Morris, the former head of West Coast racing for TSG and currently the senior vice-president of racing for Caesars Entertainment, points to a particular problem. “The formula to building handle and having a successful meet is you need the stock,” Morris said. “I don’t think they can fix the problem. Thirty years ago, there were 20 to 25 major farms in California. Now there are just a handful. So, where are you going to get the product? The cost of living is such that it is hard to go out there if you are a trainer and put your help up and things like that.” When Santa Anita’s owners closed Golden Gate, one of their plans was to start rebuilding all the barns at Santa Anita. Nineteen months after the announcement, there has been no appreciable construction on the barns. “I don’t see them ever getting the product,” Morris said. “Can Del Mar get enough to ship in? I don’t know. If you don’t have product, you don’t have racing. So now you’re racing short fields and less races and the gamblers know that’s not what they need. They want more races and full fields.” In 1990, there were 44,143 horses foaled in North America, which includes Canada and Puerto Rico. In 2023, it was down to an estimated 18,500. The foal crop has declined the last eight years. Marshall Gramm, 51, is a numbers guy. He’s a professor of economics at Rhodes College in Memphis who has published several papers about gambling and horse racing. He teaches a class in the economics of wagering. Gramm is a regular participant in the National Horseplayers Championship. It’s an odd spot for someone who was not exposed to racing as a child. But Gramm, who is also a horse owner, is addicted to the data and the handicapping game. “Kentucky and Arkansas look pretty safe, and we have this new commitment to Maryland and New York, so I think that there’s probably more optimism now about what the future could bring overall in the landscape than what it was a couple of years ago,” Gramm said. “What happens in Florida, what happens in Texas, what happens with HISA, what happens in California, those are different questions. Everyone I’ve talked to believes that California will be gone in a couple of years. I’m not as pessimistic, but maybe it’s because I’m naive.” Gramm ran horses at Golden Gate and acknowledges his trainer is struggling with the closure. He also believes the success of some trainers, while creating stars for the sport, also may be hurting the industry. Bob Baffert has cultivated the story of a horse racing dynasty built from humble roots He now faces scrutiny about short cuts he’s alleged to have taken “The reality with closing Golden Gate is none of those horses could really race in Southern California,” Gramm said “I don’t know what they can do to attract horses They have some trainers and owners who are really committed to racing there But the downside is the product isn’t as strong because as we have consolidation you get races being dominated by two or three trainers “Every turf race is dominated by [Phil] D’Amato and every dirt race is [Bob] Baffert. If you have a baby there and they’re all running against three Bafferts Gramm fears the solution to racing’s problems also may be its eventual downfall “I’m not in love with alternative gaming supporting our industry,” Gramm said “I’m not in love with the fact that to make our industry go we have to have some sort of manufactured monopoly and other gambling “It turns the racetrack and racetrack operators into people who end up seeking government aid They care less about their customers in building a good product than they do about the government the casino matters more and then they don’t even care about racing.” Sports Bob Baffert’s silver hair was glistening under a warm Orange County sun in the Los Alamitos winner’s circle. Gramm also notes subsidies only help trainers and owners and not the average horse player. “The slots players are Band-Aids because they’re not going to be horse players,” Gramm said. “And the days of the numbers players coming and playing the horses or dogs doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe if it can tip the scales in the right direction and help turn those subsidies into helping horse players and making a better product, then I still think it’s a tough long-run proposition unless you get people playing the product.” Gramm understands predicting the future is a fool’s game. “Five years is short, but what will the sport look like in 20 years, 25 years?” he said. “Are we just racing in Kentucky and Arkansas? Are we just racing in red states? I don’t know, and that’s what worries me with everything that we want to try to do. I don’t know if minds can be changed with the prevailing direction that we’re going. So much about everything can change, I mean, are people going to be eating meat in 30 years?” It’s difficult to find someone honestly bullish about the sport. Even those most positive about the future have some trepidation. “I can’t imagine a racing world without California,” said Lisa Lazarus, chief executive of HISA, an organization that is facing legal challenges to its constitutionality that also could put it out of business in five years or less. Two U.S. appeals courts ruled differently on the constitutionality of HISA, leaving its future in a state of flux. The U.S. Supreme Court did not include the issue on its docket for the current session. “Everybody believes California is critical to the ecosystem,” Lazarus said. “There are some very smart people out there, so I have full confidence that they’re going to find a way to bring in supplemental income.” Lazarus is not the first to offer a suggestion based on cooperation among the tracks and states, who typically are interested only in benefiting their own interests. Occasionally they get together, such as recently when the New York Racing Assn. and Churchill Downs Inc. combined to sue HISA over the costs it charges states. NYRA recently settled; CDI did not. “Everyone knows that things can’t stay the way they are, just fighting for survival,” Lazarus said. “I don’t think it’s currently possible under Kentucky law now, but I think it’s so important to the ecosystem that you could potentially see some other jurisdictions sort of stepping in to supplement California. “This is all theoretical because right now the KTDF [Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund] is restricted to Kentucky. But if there was flexibility to send purse money elsewhere, then they could consider it because they have so much purse money in there.” Donna Barton Brothers, a former jockey and currently an NBC analyst who is always the first person to interview the winning jockey of the Kentucky Derby from her horse, sees both sides to the argument for Kentucky bailing out California purses. “On the flip side, is Keeneland going to be able to have a $1.46-billion economic impact if you don’t have people in California interested in buying horses from the Keeneland sales?” Unheralded Mystik Dan races to victory on the rail to edge Sierra Leone and Forever Young in the 150th run for the roses at Churchill Downs. Brothers’ hypothetical about the California legislature does bear a second look. For the most part, politicians in California have done little to support the racing industry, instead focusing more on horse safety than horse racing. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein both were outspoken during the 2019 crisis of horse deaths at Santa Anita. “How are we going to get Sacramento to like horse racing?” trainer Bob Baffert asked rhetorically while speaking on a panel in Tucson with fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher. “It’s such a big state and that question is something I wish I had the answer to. Unless we can find some other way to increase the purses, like Churchill Downs, Oaklawn, New York, [we’ve got difficulties]. What California has to offer is the weather, it’s a great place to get horses ready and it comes down to how can we get California to like horse racing?” So, here everyone in California horse racing sits. A series of identifiable problems with some potential solutions but seemingly not enough action to solve those problems. Racing executives in the state say they are working on it but decline to speak publicly about it, leaving the horsemen shaking their heads in frustration. “We need as an industry for California to succeed,” said Pletcher, the trainer who spoke on a panel alongside Baffert. “It’s great what’s going on in Kentucky with the purses but it’s having a negative effect on the other states because the purse structure is so high in some places yet in California they don’t have those advantages with a declining horse population.” Louis Cella and his family are behind one of racing’s most successful stories. The owners of Arkansas’ Oaklawn Park were the first to put historical horse racing machines at their track. The facility does a great local business and holds prominent races. But even Cella sees the opportunity for success in California as limited. “You look at California and unless they come with a solution to increase purses, I don’t think they survive in five years,” Cella said. “I don’t see how that happens or at least on the level they are currently running at. I think they have a tremendous headwind in front of them.” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert again takes center stage at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar, with the Churchill Downs beef in the past and fans flocking around him. Racing leaders in California, under the guise of the Horse Power Coalition, funded a survey about the impact of horses on the state economy. The survey was sent out shortly after it was announced that Golden Gate was closing. It was timed to be a complement to the national American Horse Council Economic Impact Study. A news conference was scheduled in the paddock of Santa Anita to boast about the alleged $11.6-billion economic impact, as determined by the self-funded study. The news conference was hastily canceled when no media showed up to cover the announcement. Is that event emblematic of the state of and interest in horse racing in California, or just bad marketing? Journalism rallied to win the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday and stamped himself as the favorite for next month’s Kentucky Derby Journalism was the 5-1 favorite in the final Kentucky Derby Future Wager Journalism and jockey Umberto Rispoli rallied from last on the backstretch to win the $500,000, Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby by three-quarters of a length and clinch 75 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs “Had me worried for a jump or two there,” trainer Michael McCarthy said Journalism covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.56 and paid $4 to win on a $2 wager as the even-money favorite Baeza finished second and was followed by Westwood Citizen Bull and Barnes are both trained by Bob Baffert set fractions of 47.14 for the half-mile and 1:11.42 for three-quarters before fading Baeza was the first to catch Citizen Bull before Journalism cruised past “Had a little trouble there around the far turn,” McCarthy said “Took him a little while to get to his gears Definitely took something away from this today.” Added Rispoli: "It’s rare for a horse to get held up at the three-eighths pole and to get back in the race in that way But he has such an amazing style and is just an amazing horse." A son of Curlin out of the Uncle Mo mare Mopotism Journalism improved to 4-0-1 in five career starts and will take a four-race winning streak into the Kentucky Derby He entered off a victory in the Grade 2 San Felipe on March 1 at Santa Anita Journalism will be the second Kentucky Derby starter for McCarthy who finished ninth with Endlessly last year Tuesday's Blue Grass at Keeneland will be the final major prep race before the Kentucky Derby Bob Baffert trainee Rodriguez went straight to lead the from the rail and never looked back in winning Saturday’s $750,000, Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, clinching a spot in the Kentucky Derby Rodriguez and jockey Mike Smith won by 3 1/2 lengths and covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.15 and paid $9.30 to win on a $2 wager "I think they realized he just wants to be left alone," Smith said of going to the lead Rodriguez earned 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby It was the third Wood Memorial victory for Baffert and first since Bob and John won in 2006 Baffert will be making his first appearance in the Kentucky Derby since 2021 after serving a 3 1/2-year suspension from the track "I've always been very high on him," Baffert said of Rodriguez "He's just had some rough trips here in California I knew the added distance would be a big factor for him I thought he'd love stretching out and going a mile and an eighth." Grande finished second and earned 50 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby Trainer Todd Pletcher indicated Grande likely will head to the Kentucky Derby who’s had a least one starter in the Kentucky Derby every year since 2004 We’ve always felt like he’s a horse that will handle added distance Still lightly raced and a lot of experience today that he hadn’t had in his first two starts.” set early fractions of 23.31 seconds for the quarter-mile 47.44 for the half-mile and 1:11.25 for three-quarters Grande and third-place Passion Rules made late runs as Captain Cook faded to fourth A son of 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic Rodriguez improved to 2-2-1 in five career starts He entered off a third-place finish in the Grade 2 San Felipe on March 1 at Santa Anita Park Admire Daytona won Saturday’s UAE Derby by a nose and will head to Louisville for the first Saturday in May Admire Daytona held off Heart of Honor by the slimmest of margins to capture the $1 million, Group 2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse Admire Daytona moved to the top of the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby standings, and trainer Yukihiro Kato confirmed the horse will run in the Kentucky Derby but it is such a difficult race to win,” jockey Christophe Lemaire said “It is one of the most iconic races in the world Admire Daytona was sent to the front out of the gate and held off late challenges from Heart of Honor and Don In The Mood Admire Daytona covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:59.14 I thought I’d won but it was very tight so you never get too happy “The Japanese horses come here with quite a bit of experience at home they arrive near their best this early in the season — not too much racing but also with plenty of experience who entered off a victory in the Grade 3 Gotham for trainer Brad Cox “Disappointed to be honest,” jockey Florent Geroux said I thought I was going to be in a good spot I tucked behind the two leaders and got down to the rail never grabbed the bit and just kept going backwards who improved to 2-2-0 in six career starts is one of two horses from Japan scheduled to run in the Kentucky Derby earned a spot via the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby Last May, NBC Sports announced a partnership with Churchill Downs to present the Kentucky Derby on NBC and Peacock through 2032 The extension includes multiplatform rights to the Kentucky Derby Kentucky Oaks and Derby and Oaks Day programming You can stream the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Fubo and Peacock the post time for the 151st Kentucky Derby will be about 6:57 p.m Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; follow on X @KentuckyDerbyCJ More horse racing: Which horses are in or on bubble for May 3 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs? Home » Archive » Top News » Opening-Day Attendance congratulates Antonio Fresu after the race newly renamed for the Hall of Famer on Thursday | Benoit An announced on-track crowd of 41,562 welcomed the return of live racing to Santa Anita Thursday afternoon the largest non-weekend or holiday crowd on opening day since 1990 and biggest opening-day crowd in eight years Total all-sources handle of more than $21.4 million was the third-highest in track history for an opening-day program and marked a 17.4% increase over 2023 It was the fourth time in the last seven years that handle exceeded $20 million “Our Racing Office offered an exceptional program and the horseplayers and fans strongly responded to kick off our 90th year,” said Nate Newby “We are thankful to everyone who worked hard to make it a success especially those who joined us to not only witness terrific racing but enjoy the events on track The Southern California weather could not have been more cooperative and this was a terrific way to start the celebration at The Great Race Place.” The afternoon featured not only three Grade I races for 3-year-olds and a record-breaking performance from jockey Flavien Prat but also included the inaugural running of the GII Laffit Pincay with the hall of famer on hand to make the trophy presentation Copy Article Link