Los Alamitos

8th-Santa Anita, $78,316, Alw, 4-28, 4yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:16.16, ft, head. EDA (f, 4, Munnings--Show Me, by Lemon Drop Kid) came into this contest riding a three race win streak, though it was one which began in 2021--capped by victory in the GI Starlet S.--and continued via her lone 2022 start where she held on to win the GIII Santa Ysabel S. by a half-length before going on the sidelines. Gone for almost fourteen months, she came back here against an allowance group and the betting public made their...

A trio of stakes, headed by the $200,000 GII Great Lady M S., highlight the upcoming Los Angeles County Fair meet at Los Alamitos. The nine-day season is scheduled to begin Friday, June 23 and continue through Sunday, July 9. Racing will be conducted Friday-Sunday opening week (June 23-25), Saturday-Tuesday (July 1-4) the middle week and Saturday-Sunday (July 8-9) the final weekend. Post time will be 1 p.m. Highlighting the stakes schedule with $425,000 in guaranteed purses, the six-furlong Great Lady M. S. will be offered Tuesday, July 4. The...

The main takeaway from last year's California purse and handle numbers is one of stasis, with no significant movement in any one direction compared to 2021. A roughly 2.5% increase in the number of California races run in 2022 over 2021 is framed against a half-percentage point decrease in purses and an even smaller fraction of a percentage decrease in all-source handle. "It was like holding serve in 2022," said Bill Nader, newly minted president and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), which once again put...

As the field crossed the wire in Saturday's GII Los Alamitos Futurity, Sol Kumin experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat all at once. Kumin is the co-owner of second-place finisher Carmel Road (Quality Road) and third-place finisher Fort Bragg (Tapit). They ran well but couldn't outrun Practical Move (Practical Joke). Along with Chad Brown, Kumin bred, but does not own, the race winner. "It was cool because I always loved the winner's dam, Ack Naughty (Afleet Alex)," he said. "Would I have loved to see one...

In each of his four previous trips to the post, Practical Move (Practical Joke) had finished behind Bob Baffert-trained runners, but the bay colt--conditioned by former Baffert assistant Tim Yakteen--exacted his revenge in a big spot Saturday afternoon, outfinishing pacesetting Carmel Road (Quality Road) to upset the GII Los Alamitos Futurity as the 10-1 second-longest price on the board. Fort Bragg (Tapit), who was demoted from an apparent victory over Practical Move two starts back, completed the trifecta, while hot favorite 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Lion (Justify) was a spent...

The Kentucky Derby points are back on the table in December. Well, for trainers Leandro Mora and Tim Yakteen that is, as it is once again time for the GII Los Alamitos Futurity. In prior contests, it would have been 10-4-2 or 1 to the top four finishers, but since we only have a five-horse field, and with Bob Baffert currently forced to abrogate his Derby egg hunt despite yet another re-christening of his legal stab at Churchill Downs, it is just Mora and Yakteen that are eligible. Out of...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Los Alamitos Date: 12/11/2022 Licensee: Francisco Orduna-Rojas, jockey Penalty:...

First-crop leading earner Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) continues to stride forward. Atop TDN's board, the sire had a half-dozen chances on Friday to extend his lead over chasers Good Magic (Curlin) and Justify (Scat Daddy). Named for a Spanish golfing legend, 2-year-old colt Olazabal ratcheted up the pressure with a tee-to-green victory in the fifth race at Turfway Park. Looking to move up in the standings, Justify found the rough when his filly Prove My Love did not make the cut in the race prior as an also-eligible. Across the...

The six-day winter Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos will begin Friday, Dec. 9. Racing will be conducted Friday-Sunday both weeks with a 12:30 p.m. post time. The meet will be highlighted by the GI Starlet S. Dec. 10, offering 10 points towards the GI Kentucky Oaks, and GII Los Alamitos Futurity S. Dec. 17, with 10 points towards the GI Kentucky Derby. Completing the stakes program are a pair of one-mile races for 2-year-olds bred or sired in California, the $100,000 Soviet Problem S. for fillies Dec. 11 and the...

Faiza (Girvin), named a 'TDN Rising Star' off an impressive debut score Nov. 12 at Del Mar, will be supplemented for $10,000 to the $300,000 GI Starlet Saturday at Los Alamitos. The Starlet, which is for fillies at 1 1/16 miles, is the first of four stakes events for 2-year-olds to be run during Los Al's six-day Winter Thoroughbred meet that opens Friday. Owned by Michael Lund Petersen, who won the 2015 GI Los Alamitos Futurity with Mor Spirit (Eskendereya), and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Faiza cruised...

Thoroughbred owner Jerry Jamgotchian, who has a decades-long history as both a plaintiff and defendant in lawsuits involving horse racing entities, went after the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) in federal court on Monday, claiming that his constitutional and civil rights were violated when the stewards at Los Alamitos Race Course denied entry to one of his horses this past summer over its purportedly controversial name. Although the Oct. 17 United States District Court (Central District, Southern Division) civil complaint puts forth a legal argument based on whether the horse...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Los Alamitos Date: 09/22/2022 Licensee: Francisco Orduna-Rojas, jockey Penalty: One-day...