ARCADIA, Calif. – When Clubhouse Ride won Saturday’s $200,500 Californian Stakes at Santa Anita for the second consecutive year, the 6-year-old horse ended an eight-race losing streak dating back a year and put rest to a tumultuous start to his 2014 campaign.

Last winter, trainer Craig Lewis sent Clubhouse Ride to a local farm for a break. While Clubhouse Ride was there, Lewis was alarmed to learn that the 6-year-old was shod in a way that a considerable portion of his foot was removed, the trainer said.

Del Mar will install a dirt surface in 2015 with material similar to what will be in place at Santa Anita this fall, according to Tom Robbins, the track’s director of racing.

The material is known as El Segundo sand, a locally based soil named for the portion of Southern California from which it is sourced. Santa Anita is collecting the same material and preparing for it installation on its main track in July. The material for the Santa Anita track is being stored in a parking lot on track property.

ELMONT, N.Y. – On Saturday, Wicked Strong will chase Belmont Stakes glory. On Sunday, he was chasing Belmont Stakes history.

In his final workout in preparation for the 146th Belmont Stakes, Wicked Strong, the Wood Memorial winner, found himself about 30 yards behind Palace Malice – last year’s Belmont Stakes winner – who was preparing for Saturday’s Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. Exercise rider Kelvin Pahal did a good job keeping Wicked Strong in abeyance, but still, Wicked Strong worked a fast five furlongs in 59.17 seconds.

Belmont Park: Track – Fast; Weather – Sunny; Temp – 63
Aqueduct: Track – Fast; Weather – Sunny; Temp – 63

ELMONT, N.Y. – Anybody looking for a chink in California Chrome’s armor heading into the Belmont Stakes certainly didn’t find one Saturday at Belmont Park, where the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner turned in an outstanding final workout a week in advance of his quest to complete the elusive Triple Crown sweep with a victory in the Belmont Stakes.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – In sharp contrast to the large throng of cheering spectators who assembled at Belmont Park early Saturday morning to watch California Chrome turn in his final work for the Belmont Stakes, trainer Rick Violette and a few disinterested members of the cleaning crew were about the extent of the crowd on hand when Samraat did likewise across town at Aqueduct later that morning.  

General a Rod will join the field for the June 7 Belmont Stakes, his co-owner, Jack Wolf, said Saturday morning following a five-furlong workout in 1:00.20 at the Trackside training center in Louisville, Ky.

General a Rod will join California Chrome and Ride On Curlin as the only horses to compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year. He had compromised trips in both the Kentucky Derby, in which he was 11th, and the Preakness, in which he was fourth.

“I thought he worked very well,” Wolf said by phone.

ELMONT, N.Y. – After watching California Chrome gallop over Belmont Park’s main track for 10 straight mornings, the connections of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner said their horse was ready for a workout.

On Saturday, on a gorgeous spring morning in front a few hundred early-rising fans here for “Breakfast at Belmont,” California Chrome showed just how ready he was with an eye-catching half-mile move in 47.47 seconds over Belmont’s main track, according to Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch.

After a series of near misses against some of the top handicap horses in Northern California, Hudson Landing could well benefit from new surroundings when he makes his next start at Emerald Downs.

Wright said Hudson Landing would compete next at Emerald, though not necessarily June 15 in the one-mile Budweiser Handicap. Wright said he’ll look for a race that can return Hudson Landing to the winner’s circle and help restore his confidence. In the 19 months since he captured the Grade 3 All American on the Tapeta at Golden Gate, Hudson Landing has lost 12 consecutive starts.

Trainer Gary Contessa said he will scratch Uncle Sigh from Saturday’s Mike Lee Stakes to await one of several more-lucrative spots against open company on the schedule in the weeks ahead. Uncle Sigh, idle since finishing 14th after setting the early pace in the Kentucky Derby, would have been the odds-on favorite to defeat six other New York-breds in the seven-furlong Mike Lee.

Jockey Victor Espinoza, who did a superlative job guiding California Chrome to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, will remain in New York and accept mounts throughout the week, according to his agent, Bryan Beach. Espinoza flew Friday to New York and was scheduled to breeze California Chrome four furlongs Saturday morning.

He is named to ride Miz Owell for trainer Mike Maker later that afternoon in the Kingston Stakes, two horses on Sunday’s card, and has taken calls later in the week, including Ever Rider in Friday’s Brooklyn.