ARCADIA, Calif. – Juan Hernandez, the dominant rider in Southern California the last few years, will be seeking his first win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on Saturday.
In three previous attempts, Hernandez’s mounts have finished fifth or sixth. The most disappointing of those was Forbidden Kingdom, who was last of six in 2022 as the even-money favorite.
On Saturday, Hernandez rides Barnes in the $500,000 race at 1 1/8 miles, a crucial prep for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Only five entered the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on Saturday, the smallest Santa Anita Derby field since Brother Derek wired a five-runner field in 2006. That was before the Kentucky Derby points scheme was introduced. This year, Derby points guidelines erode the relevance of the Santa Anita Derby.
ELMONT, N.Y. – On the walls of his office and in areas throughout his Belmont Park barn are photographs of some of the biggest victories in the career of trainer Rick Dutrow. There are Big Brown’s tour-de-force triumphs in the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness. There are winner’s circle photos of Kip Deville winning the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Mile and Benny the Bull the 2008 Dubai Golden Shaheen.
WHO’S HOT
Tappan Street and Sandman won Grade 1 races March 29; their Derby Watch odds subsequently dropped. Tappan Street won the Florida Derby in just his third career start; Sandman took advantage of a blistering pace to win the Arkansas Derby. Tappan Street drops to 10-1, co-third choice. Sandman was lowered to 12-1 by Daily Racing Form linemaker David Aragona.
The final Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool will be held this weekend, but bettors should know right away to get their wagers in early, as the pool will close prior to the running of the three big stakes races on Saturday that will go a long way toward determining the favorites and the starting field for the May 3 Kentucky Derby.
A filly by Into Mischief and offspring from the first crops of By My Standards, No Parole, Tacitus and Yaupon are among the offerings at the Texas 2-year-olds in training sale April 2 at Lone Star Park.
The breeze show is Monday. It begins at 8 a.m. Central.
The catalog for the Wednesday sale features 100 young racing prospects. The auction will begin at 10 a.m. in the sales pavilion that has been renamed for the retiring Mary Ruyle in honor of her 36 years with the auction’s co-sponsor, the Texas Thoroughbred Association.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Tamara, a Grade 1 winner in 2023, recently underwent surgery to have a bone chip removed from a sesamoid, trainer Richard Mandella said on Sunday.
Tamara sustained the injury when she kicked a fence leaving the Santa Anita infield training track in late January. Initially, surgery was not scheduled, but the operation took place in late March.
“It was simple,” Mandella said. “Everything went well.
“She’ll be out for a couple of months and we’ll bring her back in.”
ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Doug O’Neill reaches worldwide on Saturday, with three runners on the Dubai World Cup program in the United Arab Emirates and starters at Santa Anita on the Santa Anita Derby program.
“It’s super cool,” O’Neill reflected on Sunday.
In Dubai, O’Neill will start Katonah and Mixto in the $12 million Dubai World Cup at 1 1/4 miles, and Raging Torrent in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile.
At Santa Anita, the list of runners will include the cleverly named No Bad Beats in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks, a $200,000 race at 1 1/16 miles.
In trying to separate his bevy of 3-year-olds with hopes of getting to the Kentucky Derby, trainer Bob Baffert will send Rodriguez to Aqueduct in New York for Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial, this circuit’s fourth and final Kentucky Derby points-scoring race.
Rodriguez, third in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 1, will likely need a top-three finish in the Wood to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. The Wood awards qualifying points to the top five finishers in the field of 12 on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis. Rodriguez has 21.25 Derby points.
The Cal-Expo fair in Sacramento, Calif., will not hold a brief race meeting this summer, officials said last Friday.
The decision was widely expected and formalized after officials met.
Cal-Expo is the fourth Northern California fair to cancel live racing this year, preceded by county fairs in Fresno, Pleasanton, and Santa Rosa.
