Regardless of the outcome of the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Tuesday, the presence of Daddysruby in the $302,000 race for 3-year-old fillies was a milestone for Montana-based owner and breeder Steve Reger.

“That was the first time I’ve been” in a Grade 1, Reger said.

The race produced the most thrilling stretch run of the opening day of the track’s winter-spring meeting with Daddysruby leading throughout the seven-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies to win by the slimmest of noses over Big Pond.

A barn at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Youngstown, Ohio, has been placed under quarantine after a horse tested positive for equine herpesvirus, according to state horsemen’s officials.

Ward ‘n Jerry, a graded stakes winner in 2020 who gained a following in California because of his longevity, was retired on Tuesday at the age of 10.

Ward ‘n Jerry was scheduled to start in a $10,000 claimer at Golden Gate Fields in the day’s eighth race, but was withdrawn at the insistence of owners and breeders Larry and Marianne Williams.

“We got to worrying that he would get claimed and end up somewhere we wouldn’t like it,” Dan Kiser, racing manager for the Williamses, said on Wednesday. “We decided not to take the chance.”

Ontrack attendance and all-sources handle declined on Tuesday’s opening day of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting compared to the corresponding day last year.

The track drew an announced crowd of 37,143 compared to 41,446 for a Monday opening day on Dec. 26, 2022. Ontrack handle on Tuesday was $2,568,874 compared to more than $3.16 million last year.

All-sources handle, which includes simulcast and account wagering options, was $18,302,550 on Tuesday compared to more than $26.3 million last year.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Anisette won her second Grade 1 of 2023 in Tuesday’s $300,000 American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita, leading to thoughts from trainer Leonard Powell of what she can accomplish against older fillies and mares in 2024.

Powell said on Wednesday that Anisette is likely to have a wintertime vacation, with the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf on May 27 as a springtime goal.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Prestigious and lucrative races at Santa Anita or afar, and possibly very afar, are in wintertime plans for Easter and Newgrange, who won Grade 2 stakes for trainer Phil D’Amato at Santa Anita on Tuesday’s opening day of the winter-spring meeting.

Easter won his third consecutive stakes in the $200,500 San Gabriel Stakes at 1/8 miles on turf as the 7-10 favorite, closing from last of six through the final half-mile.