LOS ALAMITOS LEADERS
(Final for Sept. 13-22 meet)
Jockeys / Wins
Edwin Maldonado / 6
Tiago Pereira / 6
Edgar Payeras / 6
Diego Herrera / 5
Armando Aguilar / 4
Trainers / Wins
Sergio Morfin / 4
Dean Pederson / 3
Bob Baffert / 3
(7 tied) / 2
WEEKEND STAKES
SANTA ANITA
Saturday
• $1 million, Grade I California Crown Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, 1⅛ miles
• $750,000, Grade II California Crown John Henry Turf Championship, 3 and up, 1¼ miles (turf)
• $750,000, Grade II California Crown Eddie D. Stakes, 3 and up, about 6½ furlongs (turf)
• $200,000, Grade II City of Hope Mile, 3 and up, 1 mile (turf)
• $100,000 Unzip Me Stakes, 3-year-old fillies, about 6½ furlongs (turf)
Sunday
• $200,000, Grade II Zenyatta Stakes, fillies and mares, 3 and up, 1-1/16 miles
• $200,000, Grade II Santa Anita Sprint Championship, 3 and up, 6 furlongs
DOWN THE STRETCH
• After the retirement of Adare Manor this week, a new fight for leadership of the California distaff division begins when six fillies and mares contest the Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita on Sunday. Flying Connection (Joe Talamo riding) and Desert Dawn (Umberto Rispoli) ran second to Adare Manor, and 3-year-old Nothing Like You (Juan Hernandez) is the Santa Anita Oaks winner facing elders for the first time.
• Adare Manor, the top female in California in 2023-24 and No. 3 among all horses in North America in this week’s NTRA rankings, is being retired before getting a shot at the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar on Nov. 2. The 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo and Brooklynsway will be sold for breeding at auction on Nov. 4 in Kentucky. Adare Manor, ridden mostly by Juan Hernandez for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Michael Lund Petersen, had eight graded stakes victories among 10 wins in 18 starts and earnings of $2,096,600. Her final race was a repeat win in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar; she was denied a chance to beat males in the Pacific Classic after she tied up following a workout and was scratched.
• Santa Anita’s Sept. 27-Oct. 27 meet marks the track’s return to a $2 minimum (from $1) in pick 6 betting, to create more carryovers. That’s one of several changes in the wagering menu.
• Edwin Maldonado, the all-time leader in wins (145) at Los Alamitos’ afternoon thoroughbred meets, recorded his fourth riding title at the Orange County track by tying Tiago Pereira and Edgar Payeras at the top of the jockey standings with six wins in the two-week season that ended Sunday. Sergio Morfin earned his first training title with four race wins, one more than Baffert and Dean Pederson.
• The deaths of 4-year-old thoroughbred colt Ransom Call from a training injury at Santa Anita on Sunday and 2-year-old quarter-horse colt Bullet Train V from illness at Los Alamitos on Tuesday brought to 35 the total number of racehorse deaths from all causes at Santa Anita, Los Alamitos and Del Mar since Jan. 1. That approximately matches the average number of fatalities at the three Southern California tracks during the same period in recent years, based on data recorded on the California Horse Racing Board website since 2020.
• Followers of the Southern California News Group papers’ handicappers will see a change in the Santa Anita consensus box (available to subscribers online or through the free Ponies Express newsletter). Mark Ratzky, a longtime racing journalist and handicapper whose picks have appeared in the Daily Racing Form and Los Angeles Times, is joining the consensus alongside Bob Mieszerski, Eddie Wilson and Kevin Modesti. Ratzky describes his handicapping as focusing on “pace first, class second and connections third.” He replaces Terry Turrell, a newspaper handicapper for more than 40 years. Turrell is retiring from the papers but is quick to say, “I will never retire from horse racing. I love the game, people and gambling.”
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• Two out-of-state races Saturday could have implications for the $7 million, Grade I Breeders’ Cup Classic, the main event of the Nov. 1-2 Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. The $400,000, Grade II Woodward Stakes at Aqueduct drew a five-horse field that includes Skippylongstocking (Manny Franco), Tapit Trice (Dylan Davis) and Crupi (Irad Ortiz Jr.). The $500,000, Grade II Lukas Classic had eight entered, led by Hit Show (Florent Geroux), Rattle N Roll (Brian Hernandez Jr.) and Disarm (Tyler Gaffalione)
• Frankie Dettori is named to ride three horses Sunday at Aqueduct, two weeks after the international star separated a shoulder when a horse threw him before a race at that New York track.
— Kevin Modesti