SANTA ANITA LEADERS

(Through Thursday)

JOCKEYS / WINS

Flavien Prat / 72

Juan Hernandez / 53

John Velazquez / 31

Tyler Baze / 28

Diego Herrera / 27

TRAINERS / WINS

Philip D’Amato / 31

Doug O’Neill / 31

Bob Baffert / 27

John Sadler / 23

Richard Baltas / 19

WEEKEND STAKES AT SANTA ANITA

Saturday

• $750,000 Grade I Santa Anita Derby, 3-year-olds, 1 1/8 miles

• $400,000 Grade II Santa Anita Oaks, 3-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles

• $200,000 Grade II Monrovia Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 6 1/2 furlongs downhill turf course

• $200,000 Grade II Royal Heroine Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 1 mile (turf)

• $100,000 Grade III Providencia Stakes, 3-year-old fillies, 1 1/8 miles (turf)

• $150,000 Echo Eddie Stakes, 3-year-olds bred in CA, 6 1/2 furlongs

• $150,000 Evening Jewel Stakes, 3-year-old fillies bred in CA, 6 1/2 furlongs

Sunday

• $75,000 John Shear Mile, 4-year-olds and up, 1 mile

• $75,000 Siren Lure Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, 6 1/2 furlongs (turf)

DOWN THE STRETCH

• Smile Happy, the 9-5 morning-line favorite, headlines a full field of 12 in Saturday’s $1 million Grade I Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Smile Happy will be ridden by Corey Lanerie in one of the country’s top remaining major preps for the Kentucky Derby. Zandon, the second choice at 5-2 trained by Chad Brown, will be ridden by Flavien Prat. Other major contenders on paper include Emmanuel (9-2), trained by Todd Pletcher with Luis Saez in the saddle, and Rattle N Roll, another McPeek colt who will be ridden by Brian Hernandez.

• Jockey Jose Lezcano has the riding assignment on Morello for trainer Steve Asmussen in Saturday’s $750,000 Grade II Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. Morello is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the Wood, which hasn’t produced a Kentucky Derby winner since Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. The Wood drew a field of eight, including Mo Donegal, the 5-2 co-second choice with Early Voting. Mo Donegal, trained by Pletcher, will be ridden by Joel Rosario. Jose Ortiz has the riding assignment on Early Voting for Brown. Barese, the 8-1 fourth choice, will have Dylan Davis in the saddle for trainer Michael Maker.

Related Articles

• Philip D’Amato, tied with Doug O’Neill atop the Santa Anita trainer standings with 31 victories, will be a busy man Saturday. He doesn’t have an entry in the day’s big event, the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, but he entered a pair of fillies, Ain’t Easy and Desert Dawn, in the $400,000 Grade II Santa Anita Oaks. D’Amato also will saddle Going Global and Excelerina in the $200,000 Grade II Royal Heroine Stakes; Alice Marble in the $200,000 Grade II Monrovia Stakes; Sixteen Arches in the $100,000 Grade III Providencia Stakes; and Connie Swingle and Carmen Miranda in the $150,000 Evening Jewel Stakes.

— Art Wilson