Santa Anita Park

6th-SA, $60K, Msw, 3-5yo, 6f, 6:33 p.m. ET. Set for his unveiling is $2-million 2023 Keeneland September grad JUDE (Uncle Mo), who was purchased by Zedan Racing and sent to trainer Bob Baffert. Out of winner at 2 Helena Bay (GB) (Johannesburg), the first-time starter is a half-brother to GI TVG Pacific Classic Stakes hero & sire Collected (City Zip) and a current 2-year-old colt in-training by Gun Runner--himself a $700,000 Keeneland September buy for M.V. Magnier and White Birch Farm. TJCIS PPS 8th-BAQ, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6fT, 4:53...

Courtesy Santa Anita The news late Saturday of the passing of Jeff Siegel, the legendary handicapper and longtime member of the Santa Anita Park family, hit with an unexpected weight. Not that his passing at age 74 was unexpected, as he had been fighting aggressive cancer since earlier this year. But the finality of the news brought with it the realization that Jeff was gone and the hole that he left behind is unlikely to be replaced. "Jeff Siegel was, and will always be the epitome of Santa Anita Park,"...

Chanel Minnifield is not typically one for tempered expectations. She moved to Los Angeles from Kentucky with actorly aspirations, and last year appeared in the Oscar-nominated movie, "Rustin." Minnifield started riding when she was a child and now, as a professional showjumper, has her sights set on competing at the 2028 Olympic Games. She has a book coming out; produces a podcast. But when earlier this year Minnifield applied to the California Retirement Management Account's (CARMA) Messineo Makeover Scholarship, she hoped it would help pay for a trip to the...

Multiple graded stakes winner Newgrange (Violence) has retired from racing and will stand at Sequel New York in 2026, the farm announced Friday via press release. A graded stakes winner in 2022, 2023, and 2024, the eye-catching horse won back-to-back GII San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita Park. He retires sound with five graded races to his tally--including wins in the GII San Antonio and the GIII Southwest and Sham Stakes--and just north of $1-million in earnings. He was purchased for $125,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale...

Tickets will go on sale Friday, Aug. 15, at 11 a.m. PT for Santa Anita Park's upcoming Autumn Meet, according to a release from 1/ST on Wednesday. Passes will be available through Ticketmaster as the track opens its 16-day stand on Friday, Sept. 26, with free parking and general admission plus an all-day Happy Hour every Friday. Opening weekend will be showcased by Breeders' Cup Challenge Weekend which includes four "Win and You're In" stakes. Three of the track's promotions--Oktoberfest, Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival and the Japan Family Weekend--anchor...

At first glance, Jay Hovdey's latest literary output, "The Oak Tree Story: A History of Racing's Most Generous Benefactor," might seem an exercise in nostalgia only, recounting as it does the origins, lifespan and ignominious death of an organization that last put on a show nearly fifteen years ago. The Oak Tree Racing Association came about as an industry-led non-profit to operate a race-meet during the then barren autumnal months when there was no major racing in Southern California, only to grow into a philanthropic powerhouse and gamechanger for the...

7th-Saratoga, $110,000, Alw, 8-3, (NW1$X), 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.83, ft, 3 1/4 lengths. MIDLAND MONEY (c, 3, Shancelot--Magnolias in Bloom, by Flatter) was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his six-length debut victory at Santa Anita last June, but had not been seen since. The 6-5 favorite went out quickly to the early lead and took the field through an opening quarter in :22.08 and a half in :44.91. He turned for home two lengths in front and was geared down while sailing home 3 1/4 lengths in front of Aggelos...

Jockey Flavien Prat had himself a year in 2024 on the way to his first Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey. How good was he? He set records for Stakes wins (82) and Graded Stakes wins (56). He won the Breeders' Cup Classic. He won 16 Grade I races. The list could go on, but he has turned the page. He will make no predictions for 2025. The 32-year-old French native just wants to keep on riding. He sat down with Tim Wilkin to talk about life as a top jockey...

In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Nitti in the San Juan Capistrano Stakes.  Make Believe Brings Up A Santa Anita Double Make Believe's Nitti captured the GIII San Juan Capistrano Stakes at Santa Anita for trainer Leonard Powell on June 15 (video). It was a first black-type win for the 4-year-old gelding who races for Innergy Racing Corp, Zephyr Racing and Sonny Pais. Bred by John Walsh, Jerry O'Brien and the...

The Camino Real Turf Course at Santa Anita Park is currently undergoing its annual renovation after regular use during the Classic and Hollywood Meets, according to a press release from the track on Thursday. Superintendent Jesse Martinez and his team stripped the existing course in its entirety and new sod is on the way, which is composed of Bandera Bermuda hybrid grass. The entire project, which usually takes from three to four weeks, is scheduled to be completed by next Friday, July 4. During Santa Anita's Classic and Hollywood Meets,...

The folks who fought to preserve racing at the Northern California's remote half-miler in Ferndale deserve tremendous respect and credit for soldiering on to the bitter end. Make no mistake, the cessation of racing at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds in the coastal region of NorCal definitely rates as "bitter." There is no sugarcoating this one like a sticky tuft of cotton candy from the midway of Humboldt County's charmingly rural fairgrounds, whose ties to the sport date to 1896. Advocates for racing at Ferndale (pop. 1,398), a Victorian village with...

2nd-Santa Anita, $58,800, Msw, 6-13, 2yo, 5f, :57.35, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. DESERT GATE (c, 2, Omaha Beach--Theogony {SW-Can, SW & MGSP-USA, $404,544}, by Curlin), who was facing three others for this debut, tracked pacesetter Acknowledgemeplz (Bucchero) up the backstretch. Moving rather effortlessly to the outside, the colt collared his rival around the far turn as the pair separated themselves from the other two entries. Desert Gate suddenly hit the accelerator entering the lane and powered away nicely to graduate by 2 1/4 lengths. The winner's dam is responsible for...