Todd Pletcher wants to paint a like-father, like-son picture with Corniche. This explains one reason why he chose Friday’s Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes as the sophomore’s season debut. Last year’s Champion 2-Year-Old hasn’t run since going gate-to-wire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall at Del Mar. That victory put […]
Tag: American Pharoah Stakes
Santa Anita Park Creates Front-Loaded Fall Stakes Schedule
Santa Anita Park’s Autumn Meet gets off to its traditional fast start in terms of stakes and Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series races. The Southern California track is offering 11 stakes — seven of those graded — over the first weekend of the 18-day meet. All told, Santa Anita will card 26 […]
Baffert Makes Santa Anita Park His Personal Playground — Again
Two weeks ago, Bob Baffert made what appeared to be a head-scratching decision, keeping star 3-year-olds Medina Spirit and Private Mission home in California. That, instead of running the pair against their age group rivals in Parx Racing’s two marquee races, the Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion. And yet again, […]
Santa Anita Puts Plenty at Stake for its Autumn Meet Opening Weekend
Each year, the Santa Anita Park Autumn Meet packs in three of the deepest meet-opening racing days of any major American track. This year’s 16-day Autumn Meet continues the trend, stacking seven Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series events on the track’s opening weekend. “Our intention is to get the Autumn Meet […]
Favored Spielberg Shoots for Winning Close-Up in American Pharoah
Could this be Spielberg’s long-awaited Oscar moment? Is Saturday’s Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita Park the race where Spielberg finds box-office – or winner’s circle – gold? The $1 million juvenile comes into his third race as the 3/1 morning line favorite in this eclectic, but well-bred, […]
Stakes, Stakes, and More at Stake this Weekend at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park’s postponed opening created a bettor’s bonanza this weekend. The Southern California track will open with 12 stakes races – 11 of those graded stakes events. Officials pushed opening weekend at the iconic track back a week due to air-quality concerns from the nearby Bobcat Fire. One of […]