Three stakes – including a pair of graded events – worth $450,000 highlight the Summer Thoroughbred Festival at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif.
The seven-day meet is scheduled to begin Friday, June 25, and continue through Monday, July 5. Racing will be conducted Friday-Sunday (June 25-27) the first week and Friday-Monday (July 2-5) the second. Post time will be 1 p.m. PT.
The richest event on the calendar is the Grade 2, $200,000 Great Lady M. Stakes for fillies & mares at 6 ½ furlongs. Captured by 7-1 shot Sneaking Out in 2020, the Great Lady M. will be offered Monday, July 5.
Besides Sneaking Out, the five other winners of the Great Lady M. at Los Alamitos are Doinghardtimeagain (2014), Fantastic Style (2015), Eclipse Award winner Finest City (2016), Skye Diamonds (2017) and Marley's Freedom (2018-2019).
The other graded race is the Grade 3, $150,000 Los Alamitos Derby, which was won a year ago by the Bob Baffert-trained Uncle Chuck. Baffert has won the nine-furlong contest for 3-year-olds, which will be run Saturday, July 3, five times since daytime thoroughbred racing returned to Los Alamitos in 2014, including the last four renewals.
Before Uncle Chuck, the Derby was won by Shared Belief (2014), Gimme Da Lute (2015), Accelerate (2016), eventual 3-year-old champion West Coast (2017), Once On Whiskey (2018) and Game Winner (2019).
The other stakes on the schedule is the $100,000 Bertrando for 3-year-olds & up bred or sired in California. The one-mile race – which returns to its original name (2014-2019) honoring the multiple graded stakes winner and champion older male of 1993 after being contested as the Soi Phet in 2020 – will be run Saturday, June 26.
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