Santa Anita
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Santa Anita Oak Tree meeting begins Wednesday
Santa Anita Oak Tree meeting begins Wednesday
Santa Anita Oak Tree meeting begins Wednesday
Among the intriguing story lines are the new synthetic track, a bid by Zenyatta to finish her career with a perfect record and a possible Kentucky Derby hopeful arising from Sunday's Norfolk Stakes.
Get ready for lots of twists and turns during the 31-day Oak Tree meeting that begins today at Santa Anita.
Among the intriguing story lines:
* The two-day $25.5-million Breeders' Cup arrives Nov. 6-7 without an appearance from the 3-year-old filly sensation Rachel Alexandra, whose owner wants nothing to do with synthetic track surfaces. That leaves it up to an expected strong European contingent to try repeat their success from last year on the same track.
* Unbeaten Zenyatta would like to end her racing career with a perfect record. The 5-year-old mare has won all 12 of her races and is scheduled to run in the Oct. 10 Lady's Secret Stakes at 1 1/16 miles in a final Breeders' Cup tune-up.
* Get out the cameras because on the same day Zenyatta runs, Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird will race in the Goodwood Stakes at 1 1/8 miles. That means three Grade I stakes on Oct. 10, including the Yellow Ribbon Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on the turf.
* And Saturday is the California Cup, with $1 million in purse money offered during a 10-race card restricted to horses bred in California, and that means someone related to the prolific sire Unusual Heat probably will win a race or two.
* Sunday could produce the next Kentucky Derby hopeful, with 2-year-olds taking center stage in the Norfolk Stakes and 2-year-old fillies running in the Oak Leaf Stakes.
* Over the next six weeks, fingers will be crossed as the Arcadia track's Pro-Ride synthetic surface is tested, with concerns about changing weather conditions leaving lots of uncertainty as the anti-synthetic crowd waits for the opportunity to jump on the slightest misstep.
* Next month, a leading bidder could emerge to purchase Santa Anita, whose owner, Magna Entertainment Corp., is in bankruptcy proceedings. Of course, if no one can line up the necessary credit to pull off the deal, Magna might end up keeping the track.
* Finally, there figures to be strong competition in the jockey race. Joel Rosario has won the last two riding titles at Hollywood Park and Del Mar, but a healthy Rafael Bejarano is back, and don't think Garrett Gomez, Joe Talamo and Tyler Baze won't be heard from.
If things ever get boring, there's always a revitalized trainer Bob Baffert to offer entertainment. He has the 3-year-old sprinter Zensational primed to race in the Breeders' Cup, plus the 2-year-old colt Lookin At Lucky making progress as a potential Kentucky Derby contender.
Also, Santa Anita will continue to offer free grandstand admission on Fridays except for Breeders' Cup weekend, with $1 hot dogs, $1 soft drinks and $1 beer.
The first day of racing todayfeatures the Grade III $100,000 Morvich Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs down the hillside turf course. Desert Code, the defending Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint champion, will face a strong challenge from the freaky fast 5-year-old gelding California Flag, who won last year's Morvich at odds of 22-1.
Desert Code hasn't raced in 5 1/2 months, but he relishes the Santa Anita hillside course, having won five times in eight starts. "He's a downhill specialist," trainer David Hofmans said.
California Flag won his only start of 2009 in August, taking the Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar. He set a track record last year in winning the Morvich.
"I think he's better than last year," trainer Brian Koriner said.
Santa Anita Oak Tree meeting begins Wednesday
Santa Anita Oak Tree meeting begins Wednesday
Among the intriguing story lines are the new synthetic track, a bid by Zenyatta to finish her career with a perfect record and a possible Kentucky Derby hopeful arising from Sunday's Norfolk Stakes.
Get ready for lots of twists and turns during the 31-day Oak Tree meeting that begins today at Santa Anita.
Among the intriguing story lines:
* The two-day $25.5-million Breeders' Cup arrives Nov. 6-7 without an appearance from the 3-year-old filly sensation Rachel Alexandra, whose owner wants nothing to do with synthetic track surfaces. That leaves it up to an expected strong European contingent to try repeat their success from last year on the same track.
* Unbeaten Zenyatta would like to end her racing career with a perfect record. The 5-year-old mare has won all 12 of her races and is scheduled to run in the Oct. 10 Lady's Secret Stakes at 1 1/16 miles in a final Breeders' Cup tune-up.
* Get out the cameras because on the same day Zenyatta runs, Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird will race in the Goodwood Stakes at 1 1/8 miles. That means three Grade I stakes on Oct. 10, including the Yellow Ribbon Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on the turf.
* And Saturday is the California Cup, with $1 million in purse money offered during a 10-race card restricted to horses bred in California, and that means someone related to the prolific sire Unusual Heat probably will win a race or two.
* Sunday could produce the next Kentucky Derby hopeful, with 2-year-olds taking center stage in the Norfolk Stakes and 2-year-old fillies running in the Oak Leaf Stakes.
* Over the next six weeks, fingers will be crossed as the Arcadia track's Pro-Ride synthetic surface is tested, with concerns about changing weather conditions leaving lots of uncertainty as the anti-synthetic crowd waits for the opportunity to jump on the slightest misstep.
* Next month, a leading bidder could emerge to purchase Santa Anita, whose owner, Magna Entertainment Corp., is in bankruptcy proceedings. Of course, if no one can line up the necessary credit to pull off the deal, Magna might end up keeping the track.
* Finally, there figures to be strong competition in the jockey race. Joel Rosario has won the last two riding titles at Hollywood Park and Del Mar, but a healthy Rafael Bejarano is back, and don't think Garrett Gomez, Joe Talamo and Tyler Baze won't be heard from.
If things ever get boring, there's always a revitalized trainer Bob Baffert to offer entertainment. He has the 3-year-old sprinter Zensational primed to race in the Breeders' Cup, plus the 2-year-old colt Lookin At Lucky making progress as a potential Kentucky Derby contender.
Also, Santa Anita will continue to offer free grandstand admission on Fridays except for Breeders' Cup weekend, with $1 hot dogs, $1 soft drinks and $1 beer.
The first day of racing todayfeatures the Grade III $100,000 Morvich Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs down the hillside turf course. Desert Code, the defending Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint champion, will face a strong challenge from the freaky fast 5-year-old gelding California Flag, who won last year's Morvich at odds of 22-1.
Desert Code hasn't raced in 5 1/2 months, but he relishes the Santa Anita hillside course, having won five times in eight starts. "He's a downhill specialist," trainer David Hofmans said.
California Flag won his only start of 2009 in August, taking the Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar. He set a track record last year in winning the Morvich.
"I think he's better than last year," trainer Brian Koriner said.
Oak Tree meet
Oak Tree meet
Oak Tree meet
When: Today -Nov. 8 at Santa Anita
Dark: Mondays, Tuesdays (except Monday, Oct. 12). No racing on Oct. 14.
Post time: 1 p.m. weekdays; 12:30 p.m. weekends; 2 p.m. on Fridays. Exceptions: Oct. 3, noon; Nov. 6, 11:15 a.m.; Nov. 7, 10 a.m.; Nov. 8, noon.
KEY DATES
Today: Opening day, Morvich Handicap.
Saturday: California Cup.
Sunday: Grade I Norfolk Stakes, Grade I Oak Leaf Stakes.
Oct. 10: Grade I Lady's Secret Stakes, Grade I Goodwood Stakes, Grade I Yellow Ribbon Stakes.
Nov. 6: First day of the Breeders' Cup, with six World Championship races.
Nov. 7: Second day of the Breeders' Cup.
Oak Tree meet
Oak Tree meet
When: Today -Nov. 8 at Santa Anita
Dark: Mondays, Tuesdays (except Monday, Oct. 12). No racing on Oct. 14.
Post time: 1 p.m. weekdays; 12:30 p.m. weekends; 2 p.m. on Fridays. Exceptions: Oct. 3, noon; Nov. 6, 11:15 a.m.; Nov. 7, 10 a.m.; Nov. 8, noon.
KEY DATES
Today: Opening day, Morvich Handicap.
Saturday: California Cup.
Sunday: Grade I Norfolk Stakes, Grade I Oak Leaf Stakes.
Oct. 10: Grade I Lady's Secret Stakes, Grade I Goodwood Stakes, Grade I Yellow Ribbon Stakes.
Nov. 6: First day of the Breeders' Cup, with six World Championship races.
Nov. 7: Second day of the Breeders' Cup.
Fairplex could be a bigger player in Southland horse racing
Fairplex could be a bigger player in Southland horse racing
Fairplex could be a bigger player in Southland horse racing
Track at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona needs upgrading but could offer much more than lame duck Hollywood Park, for instance.
Like sniffles in August, the Fairplex racing season has come and gone quickly.
Monday was the last day of its 18-day, 15-session season. Few paid much attention, even those in racing.
The purses were small and the horses were unheralded. The A-list jockeys took their families on vacation or headed for the golf course. This newspaper ignored it. The perception remained that it is, after all, little more than an appendage to the month-long L.A. County Fair in Pomona.
But on the eve of Wednesday's prestigious Oak Tree opener at Santa Anita, which ends with a second consecutive Breeders' Cup extravaganza in early November, there are murmurs in Southern California horse racing that could make Fairplex the 500-pound gorilla in the room.
The Breeders' Cup, as great as it is for racing and for the climate of the sport here, will always take its show elsewhere. Left behind will be problems of a Southern California industry up to its hip boots in muck.
Foremost is that it is being held hostage by one of its own, Hollywood Park. Once a crown jewel of sport and society, a magnate for equine stars and Hollywood stars, it is now a real estate development in waiting.
No matter what spin might be put on it, Hollywood Park does not continue to operate for the betterment of the game, but for the cash flow that keeps afloat the condominium builders until economic conditions can again provide loans for bulldozers and cement mixers.
This is the same group that romanced the locals around Northern California's Bay Meadows with visions of condos, restaurants and sugar plums and now has left the premises with fenced-off piles of broken cement and dirt.
Promised was economic impact. Delivered was an eyesore. Take heed, Inglewood.
This work in progress could happen soon. Who knows? The federal government could decide any day on the need for bailout money for racetrack demolition specialists.
But until that happens, or the economy starts raining dollars, Hollywood Park will limp from meeting to meeting, requesting and getting its prime dates at the last second, and leaving much of the rest of Southern California racing in limbo.
That's where the murmurs come in, murmurs that wonder why racing officials keep giving Hollywood Park keys to the house when it has long ago declared it wanted a divorce and would be moving out. Why not beat the executioner? Why not thank them for their service, spread around those precious dates to other facilities, and mention something about not letting the door hit them in the rear end on the way out.
This is where Fairplex comes in. And don't misunderstand. Its officials are no more pushing the aforementioned scenario for their own purposes than they are capable of handling such a thing right now.
Fairplex races are over a five-eighths-of-a-mile track, a bullring. Its grandstand seats perhaps 12,000 and was built about the time General Custer was making his last stand. It would need to be made into a mile track, probably need a turf course, need more than $100 million in improvements. It doesn't have that, nor any mandate at the moment that would produce it.
What it does have is space to grow, and a desire to do so. It also has an operating group that includes Chief Executive Jim Henwood and veteran racing consultants Cliff Goodrich and Tom Robbins, all of whom have a feel and vision for the needs of the sport.
Its dirt track gets high marks in a state where the word "synthetics" has become an expletive. And it has barn space, which is vital once the bulldozers roll at Hollywood Park.
Tom Knust is the racing secretary at Fairplex. He has worked in nearly all aspects of the sport. He survived a life-threatening and permanently crippling injury in Vietnam. Perhaps more life threatening, he has handled jockey books for Pat Valenzuela and Corey Nakatani.
He is a horseman with credibility, and so you listen when he says, "I think Fairplex is going to be a major player one day."
Knust says he will soon meet with other Fairplex officials and hopes to hit on three major proposals:
* That Fairplex become the area training center for 2-year-olds, thereby taking pressure off other tracks and getting the young equine stars on the now-perceived safer dirt surface -- "I'd say 90% of the horsemen now think that Fairplex is the best surface in the area," Knust says.
* That Fairplex get a commitment from the various horsemen groups now, rather than waiting as Hollywood Park dithers, for help in expansion of the track and training facility, the latter ideally a year-round thing.
* That Fairplex become the feed co-op center for the area, at a substantial savings for horsemen.
This is all pie in the sky. Right now, Fairplex has been told that state funds for stable costs are in jeopardy. Instead of getting more, Fairplex might get less.
But when the heavy equipment rolls at Hollywood Park -- or maybe even before it does -- and as Santa Anita and Del Mar happily absorb more of the racing dates, look for little old Fairplex to get an invitation to the dance, too.
Fairplex could be a bigger player in Southland horse racing
Fairplex could be a bigger player in Southland horse racing
Track at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona needs upgrading but could offer much more than lame duck Hollywood Park, for instance.
Like sniffles in August, the Fairplex racing season has come and gone quickly.
Monday was the last day of its 18-day, 15-session season. Few paid much attention, even those in racing.
The purses were small and the horses were unheralded. The A-list jockeys took their families on vacation or headed for the golf course. This newspaper ignored it. The perception remained that it is, after all, little more than an appendage to the month-long L.A. County Fair in Pomona.
But on the eve of Wednesday's prestigious Oak Tree opener at Santa Anita, which ends with a second consecutive Breeders' Cup extravaganza in early November, there are murmurs in Southern California horse racing that could make Fairplex the 500-pound gorilla in the room.
The Breeders' Cup, as great as it is for racing and for the climate of the sport here, will always take its show elsewhere. Left behind will be problems of a Southern California industry up to its hip boots in muck.
Foremost is that it is being held hostage by one of its own, Hollywood Park. Once a crown jewel of sport and society, a magnate for equine stars and Hollywood stars, it is now a real estate development in waiting.
No matter what spin might be put on it, Hollywood Park does not continue to operate for the betterment of the game, but for the cash flow that keeps afloat the condominium builders until economic conditions can again provide loans for bulldozers and cement mixers.
This is the same group that romanced the locals around Northern California's Bay Meadows with visions of condos, restaurants and sugar plums and now has left the premises with fenced-off piles of broken cement and dirt.
Promised was economic impact. Delivered was an eyesore. Take heed, Inglewood.
This work in progress could happen soon. Who knows? The federal government could decide any day on the need for bailout money for racetrack demolition specialists.
But until that happens, or the economy starts raining dollars, Hollywood Park will limp from meeting to meeting, requesting and getting its prime dates at the last second, and leaving much of the rest of Southern California racing in limbo.
That's where the murmurs come in, murmurs that wonder why racing officials keep giving Hollywood Park keys to the house when it has long ago declared it wanted a divorce and would be moving out. Why not beat the executioner? Why not thank them for their service, spread around those precious dates to other facilities, and mention something about not letting the door hit them in the rear end on the way out.
This is where Fairplex comes in. And don't misunderstand. Its officials are no more pushing the aforementioned scenario for their own purposes than they are capable of handling such a thing right now.
Fairplex races are over a five-eighths-of-a-mile track, a bullring. Its grandstand seats perhaps 12,000 and was built about the time General Custer was making his last stand. It would need to be made into a mile track, probably need a turf course, need more than $100 million in improvements. It doesn't have that, nor any mandate at the moment that would produce it.
What it does have is space to grow, and a desire to do so. It also has an operating group that includes Chief Executive Jim Henwood and veteran racing consultants Cliff Goodrich and Tom Robbins, all of whom have a feel and vision for the needs of the sport.
Its dirt track gets high marks in a state where the word "synthetics" has become an expletive. And it has barn space, which is vital once the bulldozers roll at Hollywood Park.
Tom Knust is the racing secretary at Fairplex. He has worked in nearly all aspects of the sport. He survived a life-threatening and permanently crippling injury in Vietnam. Perhaps more life threatening, he has handled jockey books for Pat Valenzuela and Corey Nakatani.
He is a horseman with credibility, and so you listen when he says, "I think Fairplex is going to be a major player one day."
Knust says he will soon meet with other Fairplex officials and hopes to hit on three major proposals:
* That Fairplex become the area training center for 2-year-olds, thereby taking pressure off other tracks and getting the young equine stars on the now-perceived safer dirt surface -- "I'd say 90% of the horsemen now think that Fairplex is the best surface in the area," Knust says.
* That Fairplex get a commitment from the various horsemen groups now, rather than waiting as Hollywood Park dithers, for help in expansion of the track and training facility, the latter ideally a year-round thing.
* That Fairplex become the feed co-op center for the area, at a substantial savings for horsemen.
This is all pie in the sky. Right now, Fairplex has been told that state funds for stable costs are in jeopardy. Instead of getting more, Fairplex might get less.
But when the heavy equipment rolls at Hollywood Park -- or maybe even before it does -- and as Santa Anita and Del Mar happily absorb more of the racing dates, look for little old Fairplex to get an invitation to the dance, too.
Interest pleases Breeders' Cup president
Interest pleases Breeders' Cup president
Interest pleases Breeders' Cup president
as Oak Tree prepares to open
Avioli says ticket sales have been brisk for the big event
It was difficult to determine which camp was more pleased with Breeders' Cup XXV last year - the Europeans, who won five of the 14 races, or the folks from other parts of the country who couldn't get enough of a week's worth of Southern California sunshine.
Whatever it was that made so many fans and horsemen fall in love with Santa Anita during last fall's Oak Tree meet, Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli took note.
"I had more people tell me during the two days of the championship, and the week after last year, that they felt that Santa Anita should be the permanent home of the Breeders' Cup because it was such a perfect fit for the championship," Avioli said.
That's not going to happen, of course, with tracks like Churchill Downs, Belmont Park and even Del Mar clamoring for a shot to host future Breeders' Cups, but such talk is music to the ears of local racing officials as Oak Tree kicks off its 41st season today.
The highlights of the 31-day meet include Saturday's California Cup, a series of 10 races restricted to Cal-breds that have purses totaling $1 million; three days of Breeders' Cup prep races the next two weekends; and Breeders' Cup XXVI on Nov. 6-7, scheduled to spotlight such equine standouts as the unbeaten Zenyatta, Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and perhaps European superstar Sea The Stars.
Avioli said Breeders' Cup ticket sales have been brisk, perhaps a byproduct of officials slashing prices this year and no longer requiring fans who are interested in reserved seats to commit to Friday and Saturday.
"We've been very pleased," Avioli said. "They've been moving much faster than we had anticipated. We have just gone over four million dollars' worth of ticket sales for the event, we've sold out just about all of the premium seats, and right now we're left with just a few thousand grandstand seats for the remainder of the event."
Avioli said the goal is to surpass last year's two-day attendance total of more than 80,000 as Santa Anita becomes the first track to host back-to-back Breeders' Cups.
"We believe the combination of those price decreases and what we hope is a stronger local marketing effort than we had last year is going to help put more people in the seats and make more people aware of the event," he said.
The absence of Rachel Alexandra, arguably the most popular horse in the nation, will hurt some, but co-owner Jess Jackson's decision to keep the 3-year-old filly home because he doesn't like Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface figures to be felt more in ESPN's television ratings than at the turnstiles.
Avioli said he is disappointed that one of the all-time top fillies won't be present this year, but he's not ready to throw synthetics under the bus either. He said the track will perform as well as it did last fall.
"I was just out there last week, walked the track with the superintendent, and I don't anticipate any problems with it," Avioli said.
Interest pleases Breeders' Cup president
Interest pleases Breeders' Cup president
as Oak Tree prepares to open
Avioli says ticket sales have been brisk for the big event
It was difficult to determine which camp was more pleased with Breeders' Cup XXV last year - the Europeans, who won five of the 14 races, or the folks from other parts of the country who couldn't get enough of a week's worth of Southern California sunshine.
Whatever it was that made so many fans and horsemen fall in love with Santa Anita during last fall's Oak Tree meet, Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli took note.
"I had more people tell me during the two days of the championship, and the week after last year, that they felt that Santa Anita should be the permanent home of the Breeders' Cup because it was such a perfect fit for the championship," Avioli said.
That's not going to happen, of course, with tracks like Churchill Downs, Belmont Park and even Del Mar clamoring for a shot to host future Breeders' Cups, but such talk is music to the ears of local racing officials as Oak Tree kicks off its 41st season today.
The highlights of the 31-day meet include Saturday's California Cup, a series of 10 races restricted to Cal-breds that have purses totaling $1 million; three days of Breeders' Cup prep races the next two weekends; and Breeders' Cup XXVI on Nov. 6-7, scheduled to spotlight such equine standouts as the unbeaten Zenyatta, Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and perhaps European superstar Sea The Stars.
Avioli said Breeders' Cup ticket sales have been brisk, perhaps a byproduct of officials slashing prices this year and no longer requiring fans who are interested in reserved seats to commit to Friday and Saturday.
"We've been very pleased," Avioli said. "They've been moving much faster than we had anticipated. We have just gone over four million dollars' worth of ticket sales for the event, we've sold out just about all of the premium seats, and right now we're left with just a few thousand grandstand seats for the remainder of the event."
Avioli said the goal is to surpass last year's two-day attendance total of more than 80,000 as Santa Anita becomes the first track to host back-to-back Breeders' Cups.
"We believe the combination of those price decreases and what we hope is a stronger local marketing effort than we had last year is going to help put more people in the seats and make more people aware of the event," he said.
The absence of Rachel Alexandra, arguably the most popular horse in the nation, will hurt some, but co-owner Jess Jackson's decision to keep the 3-year-old filly home because he doesn't like Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface figures to be felt more in ESPN's television ratings than at the turnstiles.
Avioli said he is disappointed that one of the all-time top fillies won't be present this year, but he's not ready to throw synthetics under the bus either. He said the track will perform as well as it did last fall.
"I was just out there last week, walked the track with the superintendent, and I don't anticipate any problems with it," Avioli said.
