Baeza, the winner of the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby in September, has resumed galloping at Santa Anita for a comeback in the coming months.
Third in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes last spring, Baeza has not raced since he finished sixth of nine in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1. Owned by CRK Stables and Grandview Equine, Baeza has shown eager behavior at times in his recent training, according to trainer John Shirreffs.
Antonio Fresu, one of the top riders in California, will be sidelined for as long as six weeks after sustaining an injury to the small toe on his left foot in an incident at Santa Anita on Sunday.
On Thursday, Fresu said that the toe was broken and severely cut when Anmer Hall struck the inside rail on the hillside turf course. The incident occurred when Fresu was forced to check his mount after one of the horses he was following drifted to the inside.
Fresu quickly pulled up Anmer Hall after the incident. Fresu was hospitalized on Sunday afternoon.
Sunland Park in New Mexico, which is under new ownership, opens a 55-date meet Friday. The season runs through April 5.
The Sunland Derby will share a card with the $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks on Feb. 15. There are a number of other stakes on the card, which will be worth a meet-high $1.1 million.
Sunland features races for both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses.
Corrina Corrina, who is the all-time leading earner among New Mexico-bred Thoroughbreds, is scheduled to run Sunday in the $80,000 New Mexico State Racing Commission Stakes.
Express Kid, who picked up 10 points toward the Kentucky Derby with his win in the $300,000 Springboard Mile last month at Remington Park, will likely advance to another points race, according to trainer Wade Rarick.
Express Kid is now based at Turf Paradise after his win at Remington, and a race that Rarick is targeting for the horse is the $500,000 Sunland Park Derby on Feb. 15. It also distributes points for the Kentucky Derby.
Rarick wants to give Express Kid another shot at a points race to see if he might duplicate his upset win in the Springboard.
Sam Houston Race Park opens a 41-date meet Friday night with its Houston Racing Festival card right around the corner. The Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic and the $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup will again anchor the meet’s richest day when the races are renewed Jan. 24.
Sam Houston races through April 4. The track will race on a Friday-through-Sunday schedule, with a 6:30 p.m. Central post on Fridays and a 1 p.m. post on Saturdays and Sundays.
Santa Anita has canceled racing on Wednesday and Thursday because of the expectation of significant rain, the track announced early Wednesday.
Racing is scheduled to resume on Friday for a three-day weekend through Sunday. The track plans to conduct a makeup day of racing on Thursday, Jan. 8, according to a text message issued by the racing office on Wednesday.
Negotiations on a new live-racing agreement between Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., and its horsemen remained ongoing Tuesday afternoon, according to officials involved in the process, one day prior to the expiration of the current contract.
The talks were expected to continue Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, according to the officials, who requested anonymity to characterize talks that remain unresolved.
Tamara, the winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante in 2023 whose career was repeatedly delayed by injuries or illnesses, has been retired, trainer Richard Mandella said Tuesday.
Tamara was being prepared for a start in Sunday’s Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes at Santa Anita. An injury was detected after Tamara worked five furlongs in a fast 57.80 seconds on the infield training track at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Mandella said post-workout X-rays were “clean, but she is off a little in her right front.
“They’re planning to retire her, and I’m all for that,” he said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – There was little to celebrate in the career of the filly Ambaya until the stretch run of Sunday’s Grade 1 American Oaks.
Ignored at 12-1 in a field of 11, Ambaya closed from fifth to win by a half-length. Not bad for a filly still eligible for a first-condition allowance race.
While Ambaya was the seventh choice, she was held in high regard by trainer Jonathan Thomas and owner and breeder George Strawbridge Jr.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Antonio Fresu will be sidelined for an undetermined period after suffering a broken toe on his left foot in an incident in Sunday’s seventh race at Santa Anita, according to his agent, Ron Anderson.
Fresu was scheduled to discuss treatment options with doctors on Monday, Anderson said. There is a possibility the injury could require surgery.
