Warren's Showtime euthanized following workout injury

ARCADIA, Calif. – Warren’s Showtime, the durable 5-year-old mare who won seven stakes races for trainer Craig Lewis and owner-breeders Ben and Sally Warren, broke a front leg during a workout Saturday at Santa Anita and was euthanized.

Warren’s Showtime was working by herself on the Santa Anita main track minutes after the 6:30 a.m. renovation break. At the top of the lane, she switched leads, took a bad step, and pulled up. No other horses were involved, though several had workouts interrupted as they steered around Warren’s Showtime.

The severity of the injury precluded any chance Warren’s Showtime could be saved. Lewis was watching the workout from grandstand seats adjacent to the eighth pole. “We were marveling at how beautiful she moved, and how easy she was going,” Lewis said, his voice cracking. “She switched leads, took a bad step, and broke her leg.”

A California-bred from the first crop by Clubhouse Ride, Warren’s Showtime was produced by Warren-owned Grade 1 winner Warren’s Veneda. During her 26-start career that began as a 2-year-old in 2019, Warren’s Showtime became one of the most consistent mares in Southern California. She finished out of the money only three times.

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“Just a magnificent-looking filly, she epitomized what a racehorse is,” Lewis said later Saturday, still shaken. “She never had a pimple on her, soundest horse I’ve ever trained, fun to be around and always tried her best.”

It showed in her 8 wins, 5 seconds and 10 thirds. Warren’s Showtime went 2 of 5 as a juvenile in 2019, 4 for 10 the following year, and 2 for 9 in 2021. She won two Grade 3 races – the Wilshire and Autumn Miss at Santa Anita - and five minor stakes including the China Doll and Surfer Girl against open company. Her California-bred stakes wins included the California Cup Oaks, Melair Stakes, and California Distaff. She earned $843,431.

Warren’s Showtime’s two starts in 2022 included a runner-up finish last out in the Grade 3 Megahertz. She won sprinting and routing, on dirt and turf, and would have been among the contenders March 5 in either the Grade 1 Beholder Mile or Grade 2 Buena Vista.

Lewis called the Warrens after the incident on Saturday, and later received a text from Sally Warren that said, in part, “We will march forward . . . in honor of ’Showtime.”

The Warrens also campaigned the dam of Warren’s Showtime. Warren’s Veneda won eight races and $932,112 from 29 starts, including a runaway victory in the Grade 1 Santa Margarita at Santa Anita in 2015. Warren’s Showtime was the first runner produced by Warren’s Veneda, who remains an active broodmare.