SANTA ANITA LEADERS
(Through Sunday)
Jockeys / Wins
Juan Hernandez / 36
Flavien Prat / 35
Umberto Rispoli / 22
Hector Berrios / 18
Tiago Pereira / 16
Antonio Fresu / 15
Trainers / Wins
Mark Glatt / 21
Bob Baffert / 19
Jeff Mullins / 15
Doug O’Neill / 14
Michael McCarthy / 12
Bob Hess Jr. / 11
UPCOMING STAKES
SANTA ANITA
Saturday
• $300,000, Grade I Santa Anita Handicap, 4-year-olds and up, 1¼ mles
• $300,000, Grade I Frank E. Kilroe Mile, 4-year-olds and up, 1 mile on turf
• $300,000, Grade II San Felipe Stakes, 3-year-olds, 1 1/16 miles
• $200,000, Grade II Buena Vista Stakes, fillies and mares, 4 and up, 1 mile on turf
Sunday
• $100,000, Grade III Santa Ysabel Stakes, 3-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles
DOWN THE STRETCH
• Saturday’s Frank E. Kilroe Mile, the first Grade I turf race of 2025 in California, matches the early speed of El Potente (Hector Berrios riding), 2-1 on the morning line, and the late kick of Mi Hermano Ramon (Flavien Prat), the 8-5 favorite. The eight-horse lineup includes Formidable Man (Umberto Rispoli), a Grade I winner last fall; Almendares (Antonio Fresu), trained by three-time Kilroe winner Phil D’Amato, and Neat (Jose Ortiz), a Saratoga stakes winner making his California debut.
• California-based trainers Doug O’Neill, John Sadler and John Shirreffs are on the ballot again for the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, as are California stars Blind Luck, Game On Dude, Kona Gold and Rags to Riches. First-time nominees for enshrinement in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., are trainer Kenny McPeek, 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones and champion female sprinter Groupie Doll. Voting results will be announced April 24 and ceremonies are Aug. 1.
• Del Mar released the schedule for its July 18-Sept. 7 season. Opening day moves back to Friday from Saturday. The $1 million Pacific Classic, on Aug. 30, and $300,000 Del Mar Futurity, on closing day, head the same list of six Grade I stakes as last summer. Following Santa Anita’s purse increases, Del Mar announced an overall 8% hike in purses compared to 2024.
• The Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday has Holy Bull Stakes winner Burnham Square (Edgard Zayas), Street Sense Stakes winner Sovereigny (Junior Alvarado) and River Thames (John Velazquez) in a field of eight Kentucky Derby prospects.
• Straight No Chaser is staying in the Middle East to target the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen on April 5 after the 2024 North American champion sprinter’s convincing victory with Velazquez in the $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Saturday. The win was the 6-year-old’s third in a row for Santa Anita-based trainer Dan Blacker, starting with the Santa Anita Sprint Championship and the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar.
• Los Alamitos quarter-horse racing features trials Saturday night for the March 22 Los Alamitos Oaks and Sunday night for the March 23 Primero Del Ano Derby.
• The death of the 3-year-old quarter-horse gelding One Favorite Racy, the result of an injury following an allowance-level win Sunday, was the second fatality in racing or training since Jan. 1 at Los Alamitos and the fourth at Los Al or Santa Anita, according to California Horse Racing Board data. Both figures are lower than for the same period in 2023 and 2024.
— Kevin Modesti