Born and raised in rural Michigan, jockey Jareth Loveberry has found a home – at least a winter one – in cosmopolitan New Orleans.

Glengarry has been a regular on the Oaklawn Park work tab since November 2023, but for various circumstances has never raced over the Hot Springs, Ark., track. That will change Friday as the three-time sprint stakes winner is entered in the fifth race, a six-furlong allowance/optional-claiming race for 3-year-olds.

A cast of nine has signed on, including Henro, winner of the Iowa Derby; Molly’s Town, who has won two stakes; and Booth, who defeated some of these last out in a Dec. 1 allowance at Churchill Downs.

ARCADIA, Calif. – A three-time stakes winner typically requires no introduction, but trainer Phil D’Amato is right about King of Gosford and his runner-up finish last month in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar.

“I thought that was definitely the coming-out party for him,” D’Amato said. “He showed he can be one of the top dogs in the 3-year-old [turf] division.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – It’s cool that one of the greatest jockeys of all time finally has a Santa Anita stakes race named in his honor.

What’s less cool is the rebranded Grade 2 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes, previously known as the San Antonio, drew a modest field relative to the jockey’s achievements. Before he retired in 2003, Pincay won a record 9,530 races and still ranks second all time to Russell Baze’s 12,842.

ARCADIA, Calif. – For one day, at least, Santa Anita is the Great Race Place again. The winter meet begins Thursday with an outstanding card that includes six graded stakes, full fields, and a respite from the challenges that face California racing.

“The day after Christmas, that’s kind of ingrained in us,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “It’s our big kickoff to bigger and better things. When I was little, that was the big thing, to go opening day at Santa Anita.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – Johannes got within a length of winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 2 at Del Mar, the only blemish on otherwise perfect campaign this year.

Even in defeat, Johannes showed world-class form. On the strength of his outstanding year, Johannes will be strongly favored to win Thursday’s Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf on the opening day of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The most basic of equipment changes may have improved the career of the already accomplished filly She Feels Pretty, who starts in Thursday’s Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita.

In the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in October, She Feels Pretty was fitted with blinkers for the first time in an effort to improve the filly’s attention and end a two-race losing streak.

It worked.

She Feels Pretty romped to a six-length win in the nation’s most prestigious race for 3-year-old fillies on turf.

ARCADIA, Calif. – They don’t make the La Brea Stakes like they used to. This year, they made it better.

A seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies, the Grade 1 La Brea came up as the deepest of six stakes Thursday at Santa Anita, and the most compelling La Brea in years. The $300,000 sprint, race 10, includes stars of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. None are tosses. All 11 entrants have a chance.

Bill Nader came aboard as executive director of the Thoroughbred Owners of California late in 2022 after 15 years as an executive at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, perhaps the most successful racing operation in the world when judging on a handful of enviable metrics, such as purses, field sizes, and, most importantly, stability.

The differences between the two circuits could not be more different.