#Juan Hernandez

The official state song "Maryland, My Maryland" will not be performed before the Preakness next month because the lyrics are perceived by some to be racist. A spokesperson for Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness, said Friday the tradition of playing the song before the race will be scrapped on Oct. 3, when the Triple Crown series comes to…

Three-year-old dirt fillies get one last chance to compete at the top level against their own age and sex in the $300000 La Brea Stakes (G1), which runs Monday, December 26 at Santa Anita! The race drew a field of eight, four of whom are already graded winners and four who seek those honors for the first time in their career. The field is led by…

This is trainer Bob Baffert's really fun time of the year, running his stable full of talented 3-year-olds and learning which ones are ready for the big time and which are maybe a cut below. Cave Rock, Arabian Knight and Faustin might be at the head of the class right now, but Baffert unveiled three others Sunday at Santa Anita that he hopes could…

The 2023 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series comes to Gulfstream Park on Saturday, Jan. 28 (4:30-6 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock). Some of the biggest names in the sport are potentially going after the $4.5 million at stake. Cyberknife is most likely the biggest name that is probably to be in the field of the headline dirt race. He finished second in…

Speed Boat Beach winning the Cecil B. DeMille Dec. 4, 2022 at Del Mar. (Benoit Photo) Stable Notes By Victor Ryan ARCADIA, CALIF.- Speed Boat Beach, a two-time stakes winner on turf, was scratched from today's Grade III Sham Stakes going a mile on dirt by trainer Bob Baffert. Speed Boat Beach was the 5-2 co-second choice on the morning line Baffert…

Kentucky Derby second-place finisher Mandaloun (pink cap) wins Sunday's Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park. Photo courtesy of Monmouth Park June 14 (UPI) -- Maybe it's a little early to crown Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality as best 3-year-old in the nation, especially after Mandaloun's impressive victory in Sunday's Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth…

Lovely Ride wins Saturday's Pippin Stakes at Oaklawn Park Coady Photography, courtesy of Oaklawn Park Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Trainer Bob Baffert saddled the first three finishers in Sunday's $100000 Grade III Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, a "Road to the Kentucky Derby" race, while the other weekend qualifier went to a colt who might find the Derby distance…

Kentucky Derby 147 champ Medina Spirit will run from the No. 3 spot in the gate at Pimlico in the 146th Preakness Stakes on May 15 with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert agreeing to a special set of conditions after the colt failed his post-Derby drug test. He opens as the 9-5 favorite. The 2021 Preakness Stakes will air on Saturday, May 15 from 2…

ARCADIA, Calif. - It's proving time for 3-year-olds in the barn of trainer Bob Baffert. The next four months will weed out the best of the bunch as the calendar moves closer to May and the start of the Triple Crown series. "See what you have, see what they like to do," Baffert said. "You learn from the races and hope they stay healthy. That's the…

Trainer Peter Miller was worried he might not have Thirsty John fit enough for Saturday's Cal Cup Derby at Santa Anita off an eight-month layoff, but his plan worked out just fine on a racing day devoted to Cal-breds. Miller had Thirsty John fit enough to go gate to wire and hold off stablemate Giver Not a Taker by a half length in the $200000 race…

Topping a Bob Baffert trifecta, REINCARNATE (Good Magic), the co-longest shot on the board at 16-1, held off Newgate (Into Mischief) and favored National Treasure (Quality Road) to steal the GIII Sham S. Fresh off his maiden-breaking score in just his second start on the dirt following a pair of turf efforts in the fall, Reincarnate, a $775000…

Santa Anita Barn Notes: Friday's Card Gets 8.5 Starters Per Race From the Santa Anita Media Team: FRIDAY'S ALL-DIRT CARD ATTRACTS 8.5 STARTERS PER RACE With more rain in the forecast for Arcadia this week, the decision was made to run Friday's eight-race program exclusively on dirt. After entries were taken and the program finalized yesterday,…

Southern California's first points-paying Kentucky Derby prep of 2023 features only two runners eligible to collect those points. National Treasure is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Grade 3, $100000 Sham Stakes. Post time from Santa Anita is 6:30 p.m. EST, with FanDuel TV showing the one-mile trip for 3-year-olds. Bob Baffert trains National…

Carmelita's Man. (Benoit Photo) Stable Notes By Victor Ryan / ARCADIA, Calif.-The 10th and final race on Saturday's California Cup program is the $200000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic for older state-breds going 1 ⅛ miles on turf. While a field of nine was entered, led by 2-1 morning-line favorite Carmelita's Man, only eight will go postward as The…

G3 Sham Stakes Preview: Spun Intended Could Spell Trouble From the Santa Anita Media Team: In what appears to be a David vs. Goliath scenario at Santa Anita, trainer Mark Glatt's Spun Intended will take on no less than four Bob Baffert Derby hopefuls among a field of six sophomores in Sunday's Grade III, $100000 Sham Stakes at one mile. Named for…

Fresh off a visually impressive win in an ungraded stakes Nov. 19, C R K Stable's Justique heads a field of six sophomore fillies going seven furlongs in Sunday's Grade III, $100000 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita. Originally scheduled to be run on New Year's Day, the Santa Ynez was re-drawn Thursday due to this past Sunday's races being…

In what appears to be a David vs. Goliath scenario at Santa Anita, trainer Mark Glatt's Spun Intended will take on no less than four Bob Baffert Derby hopefuls among a field of six sophomores in Sunday's Grade III, $100000 Sham Stakes at one mile. Named for the winner of the 1973 Santa Anita Derby and subsequent runner-up to Secretariat in that…

The Fair Grounds hasn't had the easiest time of it thus far this season, what with its turf course having been shut down for repairs, but the New Orleans oval got back on track the day after Christmas with a 13-race extravaganza chock full of stakes races. James Graham and Brendan Walsh took their fair share of the spoils. Graham brought in the…

The nation's newest wager premieres this Saturday and Sunday when the Coast-to-Coast Pick Five ties together races from Gulfstream and Santa Anita. The $1 pick five bet will be offered each weekend in January, February, March and April and has a low 15% takeout. Races selected for the weekly wagers will be announced each Wednesday (for Saturday)…

Titleholder wins Sunday's Takarazuka Kinen, now targeting the Arc d'Triomphe. Photo courtesy of Japan Racing Association June 27 (UPI) -- Tawny Port's victory in Saturday's Ohio Derby serves notice the scramble among U.S. 3-year-olds is far from over while Westover's dominance of the Irish Derby indicates he's not out of the frame, either, despite…

New Year will reaffirm old axiom as younger Franco will outlast Ioka. This hasn't been the most satisfying 12 months over the course of modern boxing history. When a fight that didn't happen - the apparently impossible Terence Crawford-Errol Spence to-do - becomes the sport's biggest news of the last quarter of the year, you know things can only…

Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Trainer Bob Baffert celebrated Christmas a day late with five winners on Santa Anita's Opening Day program Monday, likely boosting one of those horses to an Eclipse Award and perhaps setting up another for a repeat raid on the rich races in the Middle East. It was a star-studded day in front of a big crowd at Santa Anita, as Juan…

Rhea Moon (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) was produced by the hot-riding Juan Hernandez approaching the final furlong and fought her way past pace-pressing stablemate School Dance (Animal Kingdom) in the final couple of jumps to win Monday's GI American Oaks at Santa Anita. A 6-1 gamble exiting a 1 1/4-length success in the GIII Autumn Miss S.…

Monday, December 26, 2022 at 6:14 pm |Back to: Top News Fun to Dream (inside) holds off Awake at Midnyte | Benoit Jill Baffert and Connie Pageler's Fun to Dream, beaten just once now in six trips to the post, scored her first graded victory with a determined win in the GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita Monday. Fun to Dream shadowed the pacesetters three…

Ramon Vazquez / 7 Edwin Maldonado / 5 TRAINERS / WINS Philip D'Amato / 8 Doug O'Neill / 7 Bob Baffert / 6 Peter Miller / 5 George Papaprodromou / 4 Friday • $175000 Real Good Deal Stakes, 3-year-olds bred in CA, 7 furlongs Saturday • $400000 Grade I Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles • $150000 California…

On the final Saturday of its Bing Crosby Season, Del Mar will offer a stakes tripleheader topped by the Grade 1, $400000 Hollywood Derby, a turf battle deluxe that has drawn an overflow field to the seaside track north of San Diego, Calif. Also on tap for the big afternoon will be the Grade 2, $250000 Seabiscuit Handicap for 3-year-olds and up on…

Sumter, LaJolla Handicap (Benoit Photo) Santa Anita Stable Notes By Victor Ryan ARCADIA, Calif.-Mandella also looks to have a big shot in the Grade II, $200000 Santa Anita Mathis Mile for 3-year-olds on grass. Sumter, twice a stakes winner this year at Santa Anita going the same trip, finished his major preparations Friday with a three-furlong…

While much of the country is suffering through extreme cold and winter storms, officials at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., are preparing for their traditional day-after-Christmas opening on Monday, Dec. 26. Temperatures are expected in the upper 70s and there is no rain in the forecast for Monday, though a storm is expected to roll into…

Prince Abama was the victor in the Hollywood Turf Cup Nov. 26 at Del Mar. (Benoit Photos) ARCADIA, Calif-Trainer Phil D'Amato, who has become a dominant force on turf while relying heavily on Irish-bred imports, will send out likely post time favorite Prince Abama, a 4-year-old Irish-bred gelding in Monday's Grade II San Gabriel stakes at Santa…

Welcome to the 12 tips of Santa Anita. We're counting down to the meet at the Great Race Place with stats, facts and figures related to one of the nation's premiere meetings. 12. Jockeys Of the top 15 riders by starts at the winter-spring meeting this year, only Juan Hernandez, Flavien Prat and John Velazquez won more than 20 percent of their…

Last Saturday's Florida Derby, Arkansas Derby and Jeff Ruby produced as many as seven starters for the Kentucky Derby on May 7. A similar allotment may be known by the end of racing Saturday after the Santa Anita Derby, Blue Grass and Wood Memorial. The Santa Anita Derby in California features the brilliantly fast Forbidden Kingdom and Messier in…

Horse racing fans get the holiday gift they really want - albeit a day late - when the SoCal winter racing season celebrates its traditional post-Christmas opening day on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park. That date marks the start of a new season in racing at the Arcadia, Calif., track and kicks off one of the country's premier annual winter/spring race…

Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as we think the best racing at Santa Anita this weekend will be on simulcast. I know this is an odd topic for the newsletter, but when you think about it, not really. The world learned Friday morning of the death Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II. He was 99. If…

Six double quick fillies and mares are set to do some high stepping Sunday at Del Mar in the 51st edition of the Rancho Bernardo Handicap. The distaff spin includes the defending champ in the 6 1/2-panel headliner; a multiple-stakes winner out of the Bob Baffert barn; a rocket ship in from New Mexico who ran the fastest six furlongs of the current…

Winning connections celebrate after the inaugural running of the Royal Saint Lucia Turf Club's $150000 Pitons Cup on Friday. Photo courtesy of Royal Saint Lucia Turf Club Dec. 16 (UPI) -- On a horse racing weekend when "new" was the watchword from Japan all the way to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, Instilled Regard and War Story provided a hint of…

Adare Manor was thought to be the West Coast's top Kentucky Oaks hopeful heading into Saturday's $400000 Grade II Santa Anita Oaks, but the connections for the overlooked Desert Dawn had other ideas. Ridden by Umberto Rispoli and trained by Philip D'Amato, Desert Dawn defeated Adare Manor, the 3-5 favorite, by a neck as the longest shot in the…

In addition to a full menu of world-class racing highlighted by six graded stakes, Santa Anita's Classic Meet opening day, Monday, Dec. 26, will offer fans a number of promotions, including the track's traditional wall calendar, a magnificent Flightline print giveaway and signing with jockey Flavien Prat and trainer John Sadler, a $1-million Single…

There's a reason we're the #1 trusted source for premium racing picks & info. The gray filly Fun to Dream might have been licking her figurative chops down at trainer Bob Baffert's barn when they told her about her upcoming tilt this Sunday. They said we've got you a nice seven-panel sprint against California-bred fillies; kind of like the Fleet…

There's a reason we're the #1 trusted source for premium racing picks & info. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will have three opportunities to win the $300000-guaranteed Starlet - the final Grade I of 2022 for 2-year-old fillies - for a sixth consecutive year Saturday at Los Alamitos. The race at 1 1/16 miles is being offered locally for the ninth…

PIZZA BIANCA RETURNS TO THE SCENE OF HER GREATEST TRIUMPH Pizza Bianca was a little known 2-year-old filly when she first arrived at Del Mar at the beginning of November last year. She left a celebrity with a Breeders' Cup victory to her credit. She's 3 now and back at the seaside oval to compete in the G1 Matriarch Sunday, contested at a mile on…

Regal Glory winds up her career with a victory in Sunday's Grade I Matriarch at Del Mar. Benoit photo, courtesy of Del Mar Turf Club Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Mind Control and Regal Glory wound up their careers with Grade I victories a continent apart in weekend racing, while the another name popped up on the "Road to the Roses" Kentucky Derby 2023…

Notes & Quotes From G1 Hollywood Derby: Speaking Scout (Speaking Scout wins the G1 Hollywood Derby / Benoit Photo & Courtesy of the Del Mar Turf Club) From the Del Mar Media Team: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Speaking Scout fired a big shot in the lane and came away a Grade I stakes winner for the first time when he clicked by three-quarters of a…

Graded Stakes on the turf at Del Mar is where I would dream to have a horse run; if you know, I could afford a thoroughbred racehorse. The (G3) Jimmy Durante Stakes will be taking place this Saturday from Del Mar Racecourse and is carded as Race 7, going to post at 6:30 pm (ET). This graded stakes affair will be on the turf course, with the prize…

A trio of stakes races, headed by the 82nd edition of the Grade 1, $400000 Hollywood Derby, will highlight a special racing card Saturday at Del Mar on the penultimate day of the sport for the 2022 Bing Crosby Season. Also on the nine-race program will be the 32nd running of the Grade 3, $100000 Jimmy Durante Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and the…

Horsemen show a lot of support for Del Mar; Tizamagician to do the trick in Cougar II; Osunitas, Wickerr enhance weekend program DEL MAR, Calif.- Flavien Prat, the riding champion four of the last five years, has mounts booked for all 10 races as Del Mar opens its 82 summer season today. Soon after the last one he'll catch a plane for New Jersey…

Flightline wins his third straight race in style in Sunday's Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita. Benoit photo, courtesy of Santa Anita Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Epicenter entered the Kentucky Derby picture with a handy win Sunday at Fair Grounds while a sparkling Opening Day program at Santa Anita featured a dazzling performance by budding superstar…

Two Emmys wins Saturday's Grade I Mr. D. Stakes at Arlington Park, the final gasp of what once was the Arlington Million. Photo by Coach Photography, courtesy of Arlington Park Aug. 16 (UPI) -- There was something for everyone in Saturday's presumed final run of "Million Day" at Arlington Park with a victory for top international raiders and…

Malathaat, shown winning the 2021 Kentucky Oaks, faces old rival Clairiere in Saturday's Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs July 22 (UPI) -- The battle for year-end honors is hotter than the weather, as weekend horse racing has Clairiere versus Malathaat at Saratoga, top 3-year-olds in the Haskell at Monmouth and a rematch…