ARCADIA, Calif. – Everything starts from scratch this week at Santa Anita, even while local stars are leaving town. Friday is opening day of the two-month Hollywood meet, and equine celebrities are shipping out. Locally based Grade 1 winners Journalism, British Isles, and Splendora will chase higher purses on richer circuits. It happens every spring. Long before the 2013 closure of Hollywood Park, spring stakes in California faced stiff competition. The Triple Crown always lures top 3-year-olds, Journalism runs for $1.25 million Saturday at Oaklawn Park, British Isles runs for $350,000 Saturday at Keeneland, and Splendora is nominated to $1 million races May 1 and 2 at Churchill Downs. The main events this spring at Santa Anita are Grade 1, $300,000 turf races on May 25 – the Gamely for fillies and mares, and the Shoemaker Mile open to males. The Grade 2, $200,000 Hollywood Gold Cup also is May 25. The remaining Grade 2, $200,000 stakes are the Charles Whittingham on turf May 2, and Santa Margarita for dirt fillies and mares May 30. Twenty-two other stakes offer purses up to $125,000, including a pair of Grade 3, $100,000 races this week. The American Stakes, a turf mile Saturday, drew Grade 1-winning comebacker King of Gosford, who is prepping for the Shoemaker Mile. Sunday, five fillies and mares, including a $10,000 claiming winner, race on dirt in the Santa Maria Stakes, a prep for the Santa Margarita. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. For overnight races, the spring focus is handicapping and wagering. It begins Friday with a nine-race card topped by split divisions (races 7 and 9) of a California-bred allowance turf sprint. Sir Percival starts over in race 7 as he shortens up from a highly rated allowance route win. Sir Percival’s chief rival is fast-pace maiden sprint winner Scene by Me. In race 9, program favorite Tom Seaver starts for the first time in a year. Already a winner at the class level, Tom Seaver is entered for the optional $20,000 claim tag. His main rival is a live longshot. Frank Bullitt, listed 10-1, was compromised by tough trips in both recent starts. The spring meet wagering menu mirrors the winter meet, and the 15 percent takeout rate in the all-turf $3 pick three and $5 late double have made both bets increasingly popular. With a low takeout and high minimums, competition from computer assisted wagering groups is limited. Friday’s all-turf pick three (races 5, 7, and 9) begins with a non-favorite potential single. Long Mayshe Reign is the controlling speed in the six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares. Mark Glatt trains Long Mayshe Reign, listed 3-1 and dropping to $25,000 claiming in her second start after an extended layoff. Ricky Gonzalez rides Long Mayshe Reign. Shangrilama, the 2-1 program favorite, seeks her third straight while making her first start since being claimed from Glatt by George Papaprodromou. If the race unfolds without incident, Long Mayshe Reign can wire the field. In race 7, the Friday feature, Paddy Gallagher-trained Sir Percival and Glatt-trained Scene by Me are the principals. Sir Percival is making his first start winning a California-bred turf mile in a fast 1:34.35. Gallagher entered the gelding against open company March 15, but scratched after drawing post 9. “We had him in going a mile, and he was drawn on the outside, and it looked like a tough race,” Gallagher said. “I would like to keep him stretched out, but I had a choice of that [open] race or running six and a half against Cal-breds. We took a gamble and waited on this one.” Tyler Baze rides Sir Percival, who has won sprinting and routing. He wired a maiden turf sprint three starts back at Santa Anita. “He’s an enthusiastic little horse,” Gallagher said. “He’s settled more since we stretched him out, so I wouldn’t be surprised if [he is outrun early].” The horse to catch is Scene by Me, who was a first-time gelding when he wired maidens in his comeback. Emisael Jaramillo, the leading jockey during the winter meet, rides Scene by Me, the 2-1 program favorite. Sir Percival is listed at an appealing 9-2. Race 9 is the split of the California-bred turf sprint, and Tom Seaver is listed at 6-5 for his first start in a year. Tom Seaver is 3 for 4 in turf sprints, all at Santa Anita, and will run as a first-time gelding in his first start for trainer Steve Miyadi. The trainer’s record with turf-sprint favorites is outstanding. According to DRF Formulator, Miyadi won with 15 of his last 25 turf-sprint favorites. A longshot beckons in race 9. Frank Bullitt had bad trips his last two starts. Runner-up with trouble Feb. 14, he met a similar fate March 14. Frank Bullitt hopped at the break, raced four wide through the turn, and flattened out. Debbie Winick trains Frank Bullitt, whose double-digit program odds make him one of the more intriguing longshots on the opening day card. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.