Santa Anita: Belvoir will race full-time in California

Vann Belvoir, a former leading trainer at Emerald Downs in Washington state, plans to relocate his entire stable to Southern California this year, he said earlier this week.

Belvoir, 38, has had a division in Southern California since last summer, but also had divisions at Emerald Downs and Golden Gate Fields.

Those divisions will not operate this year.

He described the full-time move to Southern California as “an opportunity that everyone wants to have. This is the big leagues. You want to be here.”

Through Sunday, Belvoir was tied for 10th in the trainer’s standings at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting with seven winners from 26 starters. He said a large percentage of his clients from Washington have remained active with the stable since it moved to Southern California.

Belvoir has been active in claiming horses in recent months and has 26 horses in his stable.

“We have more to come in and some to go out,” he said.

Friday, Belvoir has one runner on the eight-race program – Mack’s Gold Bullet in a $25,000 claimer on the hillside turf course.