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Brad Free's Santa Anita Horses to Watch for the week of Jan. 2-4
Here are the horses from last week's Santa Anita race week that DRF handicapper Brad Free has his eyes on.
Brad FreeJan 05, 2026
Here are the horses from last week's Santa Anita race week that DRF handicapper Brad Free has his eyes on.
For the upcoming season, The Meadowlands will institute an Early Closer Participation (ECP) payment on foals of 2024 which will be required to be made to The Meadowlands to gain eligibility for nomination to all Meadowlands 2-year-old Early Closers in 2026.
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Business-wise, U.S. Thoroughbred racing had another middling year in 2025, with total handle falling slightly compared to the year earlier, combined with a continued erosion in the number of races held.
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Apprentice jockey Jeriel Catala climbed the ladder the old-fashioned way at Parx Racing. Working hard as an exercise rider, the 21-year-old Puerto Rican earned the trust of several local horsemen while struggling to make weight to become an apprentice. He had the reputation before he had the mounts.
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Paladin, 2 for 2 to start his career and a two-length winner of the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct last month, will launch his 3-year-old campaign in the $500,000 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 14, trainer Chad Brown said Monday.
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The Cherie DeVaux barn won with their two final runners of the most recent Fair Grounds racing week, and on the first card of this week, Thursday, DeVaux sends out the talented Louisiana-bred layoff filly named Prayforthewicked in the co-featured fourth race. But you could forgive DeVaux and her team looking forward a bit further, since they are likely to be double-barreled in both the Silverbulletday and the Lecomte on the multi-stakes Fair Grounds program of Jan. 17.
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Wet weather has caused more cancellations than racing days in the opening weeks of the current Santa Anita winter-spring meeting. That is about to change. The forecast in Southern California in the next week is for fine weather, just in time for a four-day week of racing beginning on Thursday.
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With 11 wins from 42 starters, Carlos David finds himself tied for fourth in the trainer standings through the first five weeks of the Gulfstream Park Championship meet. He hopes to transfer some of that success across the state this week to Tampa Bay Downs.
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A pair of allowances with claiming options highlight Thursday's Gulfstream card, topped by a five-furlong dash on the turf.
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Grande and River Thames, two stakes-placed 3-year-olds in 2025 trained by Todd Pletcher, are working their way back toward the races.