ARCADIA, Calif. – Remember when National Treasure and Skinner ranked among the top 3-year-olds in California? Remember when Defunded and Stilleto Boy were the state’s best older horses and Slow Down Andy was just starting back? Those were good times. Then everything fell apart. National Tresure misfired in both starts after he wired the Preakness Stakes in May. Skinner, third in the Santa Anita Derby, has not won since a maiden race in February. Defunded tailed off in summer, again, and Stilleto Boy was eased in the Pacific Classic. They all are entered in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, and only the improving Slow Down Andy offers unqualified optimism. Nine are entered in the Awesome Again, the winner earning a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic next month over the same track. The $300,000 Awesome Again is one of four graded stakes on the card. Dr. Schivel runs in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, race 6, prepping for the BC Sprint. Two Grade 2 turf races include the City of Hope Mile, race 10. The winner would be a BC Mile outsider. Race 9 is the Eddie D, a 6 1/2-furlong hillside turf race with no similarity to the BC Turf Sprint that will be run at five furlongs on the flat. In the Awesome Again, the absence of Arabian Knight and Geaux Rocket Ride – both training into the BC Classic – may tilt favoritism to Slow Down Andy, third to Arabian Knight and Geaux Rocket Ride in the Pacific Classic. Slow Down Andy has not won since summer 2022, but he has finished in the money in four of five graded races since, including three Grade 1s. :: Get ready for Santa Anita racing with DRF PPs, Clocker Reports, Picks, and more. Shop Now.  “He brings it every time, he just doesn’t put in a bad race,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “He worked great the other day, came out of it in great shape, so we’re ready to rock and roll.” Slow Down Andy’s target – the BC Classic or Dirt Mile in which he ran third last year – is to be determined. “This race will definitely lead us one way or the other,” O’Neill said. “Ultimately it will be up to Paul and Zillah Reddam.” Mario Gutierrez rides pace-presser Slow Down Andy. Awesome Again favorites are 7 for 12 since Santa Anita returned to dirt. The 3-year-olds National Treasure and Skinner may or may not be good enough. National Treasure’s career highlight is a slow-pace wire-to-wire Preakness victory. He subsequently finished sixth and fifth in the Belmont and Travers. Trained by Bob Baffert, National Treasure adds blinkers and will be ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez. Skinner’s campaign has been a series of misfortunes since his third in the Santa Anita Derby. He scratched from the Kentucky Derby with a reported fever, scratched from a stakes in June at Santa Anita when he did not jog satisfactorily. He finished a respectable second in a stakes at Los Alamitos, then had more bad luck finishing fifth in the Pacific Classic. “We made a mistake shoeing him the week of the race,” trainer John Shirreffs said. “His feet were a little tender, so he didn’t want to change leads. He stayed on his left lead the whole trip.” Skinner rallied on the far turn, then flattened out in the stretch. His impressive solo workout Monday at Santa Anita indicates he is coming up to a top effort. Bettors who chased Skinner all year might consider backing him again at generous odds. Shirreffs has not lost faith. “I’m still a big fan, but I’m a little bit prejudiced,” Shirreffs said. Mike Smith rides Skinner. Defunded is an enigmatic dual Grade 1 winner, including the 2022 Awesome Again, which followed two subpar races at Del Mar. It’s the same pattern this year, unplaced twice at Del Mar. Defunded returns Saturday to a track on which he is 5 for 9. Edwin Maldonado, who rode Defunded when he returned to form last fall, regains the mount from Juan Hernandez. Stilleto Boy broke awkwardly in the Pacific Classic, which may have knocked the wind out of him. “I think that’s what happened,” trainer Ed Moger Jr. said. “He was good right after the race, and he’s been good ever since.” :: Bet the races with a $250 First Deposit Match + $10 Free Bet and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. Winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, Stilleto Boy certainly is good enough. Moger said the gelding bounced back in top shape. “We weren’t really going to think about the Awesome Again, [but] he was doing so freaking good. That’s why we decided to go.” Kent Desormeaux rides Stilleto Boy, whose pressing style should lead to a comfortable trip, even from the outside post. Trainer Todd Fincher entered two. Bye Bye Bobby is an intended starter, Senor Buscador is not confirmed. Others in the field are Celestial Moon and Piroli. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.