Racing resumes at The Great Race Place

Arcadia, Calif.  

Santa Anita opens a five-week autumn meeting starting Friday that will point to the Breeders' Cup in November.

The legendary track will conclude the meet on Oct. 29, with Breeders' Cup weekend starting Nov. 3 at Del Mar.

Saturday is expected to be one of the major highlights of the meet, featuring five Grade I races that will provide automatic berths to the Breeders' Cup races.

The Awesome Again Stakes, prep for the BC Classic, has a field of 8 runners on the schedule that include stars like Midnight Storm, Dortmund, Cupid and Mubtaahij. Cupid has been installed as the 2-1 favorite.

The FrontRunner Stakes also features a competitive field on Saturday's card with the likes of Bolt d'Oro, Zatter and Solomini. This race points toward the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Bolt d'Oro, fresh off a dominating victory in the Del Mar Futurity, is the morning-line 2-1 favorite.

After Saturday, the autumn meet will feature one more Grade I event - The Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Oct. 7

Racing will mainly be conducted on a Thursday through Sunday schedule with post times starting at 1 p.m. during the week and 12:30 p.m. on the weekend.

Track representatives said they expect to have sufficient entries throughout the meet after four Thursday cards were canceled due to insufficient entries during the spring-summer meet. 

Horse racing takes center stage At Del Mar

Del Mar, Calif.

Horse racing has returned to Del Mar for the 2017 summer season and all connections involved are hoping for success and a safe trip around the seaside oval.

In 2016, 17 horses suffered a fatal injury that prompted an investigation along with changes to the racing surface.

All of the 90 horses who ran in the 10 race Opening Day card returned to the barn safely.

Leading rider Mike Smith called the new surface "slow," but also said it's very kind and believes the track "will get tighter after a few days of racing." 

Trainer Phil D’Amato was last year’s top trainer and started Day 1 by taking the Oceanside Stakes with Bowies Hero and jockey Tiago Pereira.

Jockeys Rafael Bejarano and Flavien Prat tied for the top spot in the 2016 standings and stole the show Opening Day.

Bejarano took four mounts to the Winner's Circle, including Shackleford Banks in the last race, and Pratt cashed in on three rides within the first four races.

The on-track attendance for the meet opener was down a bit this year to just over 34,000, lowest since 2001, but Comic-Con was taking over downtown and track officials said they weren't too worried about it. 

The 2017 Del Mar summer meet continues until Sept. 4. 

Always Dreaming makes dream run in derby

Louisville, Kentucky

Trainer Todd Pletcher is not one for visiting the Winner's Circle the first Saturday in May but got a chance to return with his champion colt Always Dreaming.

The three-year-old proved best over a wet track with his solid tactical speed and jockey John Velazquez letting him roll up front and in the clear.

Velazquez sat behind State of Honor at the start, before taking the lead for good and kicking clear around the turn.

Always Dreaming took the 2017 Kentucky Derby by a clear 2 3/4 lengths over closer Lookin at Lee and even running Battle of Midway.

The derby champ returned $11.40 to win and completed the 1 1/4 mile race in a final time of 2:03. 

Lookin at Lee ran to his closing style with a solid up-the-rail run to complete the exacta and is one to use in the exotics moving forward.

Always Dreaming is a reality now and has the pedigree with the talent that makes him one of the top three-year-olds in the country. 

Arrogate thrills in Dubai World Cup Victory

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Arrogate continued his work towards being the best horse in racing history with a last to first win Saturday in the $10 million Dubai World Cup.

The star colt broke slowly and was then squeezed by other horses back into last place in just a few jumps from the starting gate.

However, jockey Mike Smith again proved why is a Hall of Fame rider as he regrouped his mount, went on the outside, and was soon enough picking off horses down the backstretch.

Arrogate finally caught the pace setting Gun Runner with about 200 meters to go, and Smith urged the big colt home to an incredible clear 2 1/4 length victory after a disastrous trip.

Smith was quoted as saying he had so much confidence in his horse, that he rode Arrogate to victory just like he would with legendary filly Zenyatta.

The $6 million purse propelled the 4-year-old colt to become the highest earning horse in North American history at more than $17 million.

U.S. horses swept the top three spots in the World Cup, with Gun Runner second and Neolithic third. There is no on-track wagering at Meydan. 

Trainer Bob Baffert has not said what race he is pointing his star colt to next, but the Pacific Classic and the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar are both reportedly on the radar. 

Mastery brillant, injured in San Felipe

Arcadia, CA

Trainer Bob Baffert looked to have yet another star blossoming in his barn Saturday afternoon after Mastery dominated the Grade II San Felipe Stakes.

The 3-year-old colt ran the field off their feet and cruised to a 6 3/4 length victory under jockey Mike Smith.

Mastery made quick work of the seven runners, striking the front easily from the bell and never looked back through impressive fractions of :46 and 1:10 for the 1 1/16 mile race.

Smith appeared to have the graded stakes winner geared down across the finish line, but then pulled him up on the gallop-out. 

Mastery had to be vanned off the track by an ambulance after the gallop and was later diagnosed with a fracture in his left front leg.

Baffert said the colt is expected to survive the injury, but sadly does end Kentucky Derby hopes for the winner.

lliad was no match in second place, but did give an impressive effort while making his two-turn debut.

While Term of Art rounded out the trifecta and Gormley turned in a disappointing effort finishing a very distant fourth.

Maserty was the race favorite and returned $3.60 to win and finished the race in a nice final time of 1:42.

After the race Baffert continued to say he was "shocked" by the injury, but did say he will have updates on the status of his young colt.