Juvenile races on tap at Los Alamitos

The first juvenile races of the year in Southern California are scheduled for the three-week Los Alamitos spring meeting, which begins on Thursday.

Three $45,000 maiden special weight races for 2-year-olds are listed in the condition book for the 12-day meeting.

Friday’s program may include a race at 4 1/2 furlongs. The distance is extended to five furlongs for a race for California-breds on April 22. The April 29 program includes a race at 4 1/2 furlongs.

The meeting runs through May 1 before racing resumes for Santa Anita’s spring-summer meeting on May 5. The first 2-year-old stakes of the year in Southern California are on the final weekend of the Santa Anita spring-summer meeting – the Santa Anita Juvenile and the Landaluce Stakes for fillies. The races are worth $125,000 and will be run at 5 1/2 furlongs.

The highlight of the Los Alamitos season is the $200,000 Great Lady M. Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs. The Grade 2 Great Lady M. may include Thirteen Arrows. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said on Friday that Thirteen Arrows was expected to be withdrawn from the $300,000 Madison Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday in favor of the Great Lady M.

Owned by Rick Porter, Thirteen Arrows has been trained by Larry Jones since the summer of 2014. She won two races in late 2015 – the Zia Distaff Stakes in New Mexico and the Pan Zareta Stakes at Fair Grounds.

The potential field for the Great Lady M. Stakes is led by Fantastic Style, the winner of the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes at Santa Anita on March 20. Trained by Bob Baffert for Kaleem Shah, Fantastic Style won the 2015 Great Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos.