SANTA ANITA LEADERS
(Through Thursday)
JOCKEYS / WINS
Flavien Prat / 70
Juan Hernandez / 44
John Velazquez / 29
Three tied / 23
TRAINERS / WINS
Philip D’Amato / 28
Bob Baffert / 25
Doug O’Neill / 23
John Sadler / 21
Mark Glatt / 16
WEEKEND STAKES AT SANTA ANITA
Saturday
• $125,000 Grade III Santa Ana Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 1 1/4 miles (turf)
DOWN THE STRETCH
• Advance wagering on Saturday’s $12 million Dubai World Cup, which features Life Is Good and Hot Rod Charlie, will be offered at Santa Anita on Friday. Life Is Good, coming off impressive victories in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park, figures to be a handful, but trainer Doug O’Neill told Ed Golden of Santa Anita publicity that the Hot Rod Charlie camp is raring to go. “We’re optimistic,” he said of the colt who has a 4-3-3 record from 14 starts. “Our staff has been showing Hot Rod a lot of love every day they’ve been with him in Dubai,” O’Neill said. “He’s ready to go.” TVG will televise the entire card from Dubai, beginning at 4:30 a.m.
• A field of nine was entered for Saturday’s Grade II Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. The race offers 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner, 40 to the runner-up and 20 for third place. The Steve Asmussen-trained Epicenter, winner of the Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds on Feb. 19, is the 7-5 morning-line favorite and will be ridden by Joel Rosario. Epicenter is already safely in the Kentucky Derby field with 64 points. Pioneer of Medina, trained by Todd Pletcher, is the second choice at 5-1 with Tyler Gaffalione aboard. Only two winners of the Louisiana Derby, Grindstone in 1996 and Black Gold in 1924, went on to win the Kentucky Derby. Grindstone died Tuesday at age 29.
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• Two other Kentucky Derby prep races will be run this weekend – the UAE Derby featuring the Bob Baffert-trained Pinehurst on Saturday at Meydan Racecourse and the Sunland Park Derby on Sunday that will include a trio of local horses in Slow Down Andy, the 2-1 favorite trained by O’Neill, the Richard Baltas-trained Straight Up G (5-2 second choice) and Fowler Blue (20-1). The latter is conditioned by Luis Mendez and will be ridden by Edwin Maldonado. Mario Gutierrez has the mount on Slow Down Andy, and Ricky Gonzalez will be aboard Straight Up G.
— Art Wilson