Tag: California Horse Racing

Spielberg -- the horse -- finished second in this summer's Del Mar Futurity. Expect the $1 million Bob Baffert trainee to ride the Road to the winner's circle in Sunday's Bob Hope Stakes. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Spielberg’s Next Close-Up Comes at Del Mar’s Bob Hope Stakes

Spielberg going On the Road to Del Mar in the Bob Hope Stakes. It sounds like a Hollywood mashup, instead of the next hurdle on the heralded 2-year-old’s racing itinerary. The Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes is Sunday’s featured race at Del Mar’s Bing Crosby Meet. The $100,000 race sends […]

The payouts for Santa Anita's eighth race Friday. This produced a single winning Rainbow 6 ticket worth more than $450,000. (Image: Santa Anita Park's Twitter)

Single Bettor Hits Santa Anita Park’s Rainbow 6 for $450,706

A horse named New Heat brought new riches to one lucky ticket holder who held the lone winning ticket for $450,706.96 in Friday’s Santa Anita Park 20 cent Rainbow 6 Jackpot. New Heat went off at 14/1 in the maiden special weight eighth race. The 3-year-old, Cal-bred daughter of Unusual […]

Spielberg was a breeder's box-office smash, selling for $1 million a year ago at Keeneland. He strives for his first victory in Saturday's American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita Park. (Image: Keeneland)

Favored Spielberg Shoots for Winning Close-Up in American Pharoah

Could this be Spielberg’s long-awaited Oscar moment? Is Saturday’s Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita Park the race where Spielberg finds box-office – or winner’s circle – gold? The $1 million juvenile comes into his third race as the 3/1 morning line favorite in this eclectic, but well-bred, […]

Not only did Bing Crosby popularize Del Mar in song, he took tickets on the track's July 1937 opening day. The San Diego-area seaside track named its stakes-heavy fall season after the iconic entertainer and horse fan. (Image: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club)

Del Mar Puts Plenty of Stakes in Fall Bing Crosby Season

Del Mar’s fall season goes by the official name of the Bing Crosby Season. That’s an appropriate name honoring not only the San Diego-area’s track founder, but the amount of bling offered during its abbreviated meet. The seaside track features 16 stakes with $2,250,000 of purses during its 15-day meet, […]

Flavien Prat's closing-day victory aboard juvenile Dr. Schivel in the Del Mar Futurity gave the rider the Del Mar jockey title. The San Diego-area track boosted its handle 8% despite no fans and fewer race dates. (Image: Benoit Photography)

Del Mar Defies the Odds with Increased Handle, Decreased Racing Days

Del Mar’s 2020 summer meet ran with 25% fewer racing days than there were in 2019, and without spectators. Even so, the seaside San Diego-area track increased its betting handle 8% from last year. Race-starved Californians combined with action-hungry bettors outside the state to boost the track’s handle to $466.68 […]

With the San Gabriels framing the track, horses go through their morning paces at Santa Anita Park. The Southern California track's fall season opens Sept. 19 -- one week earlier than usual. (Image: Jenna Schoenfeld/NY Times)

Santa Anita Park Falls into Autumn Meet with 24 Stakes Races

Santa Anita Park’s fall season begins a week earlier than usual, but features 24 stakes – 15 graded – over its 18-day autumn campaign. The Southern California track opens Sept. 19 and runs through Oct. 25. Usually, Santa Anita’s opening weekend loads up with graded stakes races. But with the […]

Don't be surprised if you see a replay of Honor A.P.'s Santa Anita Derby victory romp in Saturday's Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. He is the 8/5 favorite in the Kentucky Derby prep. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Honor A.P. Returns, Cezanne Makes Stakes Debut at Shared Belief

Honor A.P. is safely in the Kentucky Derby. So safe, he’s one of the favorites. Thousand Words is not-so-safely on the Derby bubble. And Cezanne is nowhere near the Churchill Downs gate, nor the bubble. That’s the scenario all three would-be Derby contenders face entering Saturday’s Shared Belief Stakes at […]

Maximum Security survived an inquiry to win last year's Haskell Invitational. He returns to the gate for the first time in five months at Saturday's Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. (Image: Equi-Photo)

Maximum Security’s Return Casts Big Shadow Over San Diego Handicap

As hard as it is to fathom, given his dominance over major races, there are races Bob Baffert can’t solve. So in true Baffert form, for one of those races — the San Diego Handicap — Baffert is calling in maximum reinforcements. He’s bringing in Maximum Security, who makes his […]

After taking last weekend off due to a coronavirus outbreak among its jockeys, Del Mar's starting gate opens again beginning Friday. (Image: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club)

Making Up for Lost Time, Del Mar Adds Extra Day of Racing This Weekend

After taking last weekend off due to the coronavirus, Del Mar resumes racing this weekend with an extra day tacked on. The California Horse Racing Board approved the track’s request for Monday racing, giving the San Diego area track four days of racing this weekend. Normally in this summer of […]

After six weeks on COVID-19 enforced hiatus, Golden Gate Fields opens its gate to horses again May 14. (Image: Billy Poon Photos)

Golden Gate Fields Gets Approval to Reopen Next Week

The beleaguered California racing industry received a booster shot Wednesday when Golden Gate Fields announced it will resume live racing on May 14. The announcement came after the Northern California track received provisional approval from Alameda County Health officials. The west Berkeley track closed for live racing on April 2 […]