Found Money stays home for Golden State Juvenile

There was no place on the Breeders’ Cup travel team for Found Money, the 2-year-old stakes winner trained by Doug O’Neill.

With the stable represented by juveniles such as Land Over Sea and Nyquist at Keeneland on Saturday, Found Money was left behind in Southern California for Friday’s $200,000 Golden State Juvenile for California-breds at Del Mar.

Found Money, who won the Santa Anita Juvenile in June, has already faced his primary rival – the undefeated colt Smokey Image. They finished one-two in the I’m Smokin Stakes for California-breds at six furlongs at Del Mar on Sept. 4, with Smokey Image leading throughout to win by a convincing 4 1/2 lengths as the 3-5 favorite.

Smokey Image, trained by Greg James at Golden Gate Fields, will be favored in the Golden State Juvenile at seven furlongs. Owned by Robert and Betty Irvin, Smokey Image has won four races, including the Everett Nevin Stakes at Pleasanton in July and the Cavonnier Juvenile at Santa Rosa in August.

Smokey Image has raced near the front in most of his starts. In the Golden State Juvenile, he could face pressure on the front from Found Money and Record Highs, a maiden-race winner at Santa Anita on Oct. 4.

Found Money, who races for Paul and Zillah Reddam, won his first two starts but lost his graded stakes debut when fifth behind Nyquist in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 8. Nyquist runs in Saturday’s BC Juvenile.

The Golden State Juvenile drew a field of 10. Aside from Record Highs and Smokey Image, three other runners won their last starts – Family Code in an optional claimer at Santa Anita on Oct. 10, Mana Strike in a maiden race at Golden Gate Fields on Oct. 3, and Scatastic in a maiden race at Los Alamitos on Sept. 24.

Del Mar passes safety test

Del Mar has received reaccreditation from the National Thoroughbred Racing Safety Association’s Safety and Integrity Alliance for being in compliance with a wide array of horse safety and welfare issues.

The Safety and Integrity Alliance focuses on matters such as how a track provides a safe racing environment, care for retired racehorses, uniform medication policies and testing, the reporting and prevention of injuries, and security of wagering systems.

The Safety and Integrity Alliance conducted interviews with track officials as part of the certification process.

Del Mar was first accredited in 2009, the year the Safety and Integrity Alliance was launched. The accreditation is effective for two years. The Safety and Integrity Alliance has certified 23 tracks in North America, including three other leading venues in California – Golden Gate Fields, Los Alamitos, and Santa Anita.