Gutierrez loses home in wildfires

ARCADIA, Calif. – As much as possible, jockey Mario Gutierrez is seeking normalcy these days.

Earlier this month, Gutierrez lost his Altadena, Calif., home in one of the devastating wildfires that struck Southern California. Among the immeasurable losses were his two trophies commemorating wins in the Kentucky Derby aboard I’ll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016).

“They’re gone,” Gutierrez said between races at Santa Anita on Sunday. “Everything is gone.”

Gutierrez declined to discuss the fire in detail. He said he has found a temporary home for his wife and child.

“The house will take time,” he said. “I found a place where I put my family.”

Gutierrez had a successful weekend at Santa Anita, winning Saturday’s eighth race, a claiming event for maidens, aboard Check’s On the Way ($20.20), and Sunday’s first race for maidens on turf with Hey Lil Lady ($60.60).

“It helps a lot,” he said of the wins. “It’s what I love to do.”

The wins were his first two of the year.

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“I’m healthy,” he said. “We’ll move forward.”

Gutierrez, 38, won a career-low 28 races in 2024. Closely allied with prominent owners Paul and Zillah Reddam, who raced I’ll Have Another and Nyquist, Gutierrez has two mounts on Thursday’s nine-race program. Both are owned by the Reddams and trained by Antonio Garcia.

Kimura may return Thursday

Jockey Kazushi Kimura remains sidelined after sustaining a leg injury in an incident in the starting gate at Santa Anita on Jan. 16. Kimura did not ride Friday through Sunday and was not scheduled to ride Monday’s program.

Kimura is hoping to ride on Thursday, having been named in seven of the nine races. Brian Beach, Kimura’s agent, described the injury as a “high ankle sprain” on Sunday. He said Kimura has been icing the leg in recent days, and is expected to seek medical treatment.

“We’re trying to see somebody,” Beach said. “We thought we were dealing with a high ankle sprain. All the therapy and icing is not allowing him to ride.”

Kimura has won five races at the winter-spring meeting through Sunday, ranking seventh in the standings behind leader Flavien Prat, with 20 wins.

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