Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and Doug O'Neill shared training honors and jockey Stewart Elliott won his first Southern California riding title at the Los Angeles County Fair meet at Los Alamitos, which concluded Sunday. Baffert and O'Neill finished the season with five victories apiece. It was the fifth Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos in which O'Neill has either been the sole or co-leader while Baffert has led or shared the crown three times. Elliott, 51, finished with 12 wins, two more than runner-up Santiago Gonzalez.
The Los Angeles County Fair meet ended with a decline in average daily mutuel handle. Through Sunday, the average all sources handle was an estimated $3,918,306 compared to $4,110,983 in 2015. Last year's LACF season was 10 days, two fewer than 2016 as Santa Anita raced on the corresponding weekend 12 months ago.
“It's all about the product you put out on the race track, and for this meet, it was hard,” said Brad McKinzie, vice president and general manager of the Los Alamitos Racing Association. “This was the toughest Fall meet we've had in terms of entries.”
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