santa anita | Horse Racing Free Tips

Special Holiday Card On Tap At Santa Anita On Monday, Jan. 18

Live racing resumes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., with a four-day race week on Friday, as there will be special holiday racing on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 18. Monday's main event will be the Grade 3, $100,000 Megahertz Stakes for older fillies and mares at one mile on turf.

Saturday, Jan. 16, is California Cup Day at Santa Anita, with the entire card, including five stakes, dedicated to horses bred or sired in California.

On Sunday, older fillies and mares will go a marathon mile and one half on turf in the Grade 3, $100,000 Astra Stakes.

For additional information, please visit santaanita.com.

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Chilean-Bred Sanenus Makes Early Move A Winning One In La Canada

Ridden for the first time by Umberto Rispoli, Chilean-bred Sanenus made what appeared to be a premature move, but instead, the race was over early, as she took command around the far turn en route to an impressive six-length win in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Trained by Michael McCarthy for owner/breeder Matriarca, Sanenus got 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:45.44.

Third, just a half length off of dueling leaders Fighting Mad and Hard Not to Love down the backstretch, Rispoli decided to press the issue heading to the half-mile pole and was large and in charge mid-way around the far turn.

“I've been on her several times in the morning,” said Rispoli. “I knew she was a very good filly. Today, I asked her a bit at the half-mile pole and she responded well. At the top of the stretch, she was looking around and I was just hoping she was going to stay focused. She finished well and I think she has more there.”

A Group 1 winner at age three in her native Chile, Sanenus was most recently third in the G3 Chilukki Stakes at Churchill Downs Nov. 21 and was off at 7-1 today in a field of seven older fillies and mares, returning $17.00, $8.20 and $4.60.

The La Canada marked the first stateside win in her fourth try for McCarthy and with the winner's share of $120,000, Sanenus now has earnings of $219,700. A 5-year-old mare by Scat Daddy out of the Tale of the Cat mare Belgian Chocolate, Saenus now has five wins from 12 career starts.

“Umberto did a great job, he had to niggle a little bit at her to kind of keep her in the game around the first turn,” said McCarthy. I thought she was in a great position up the backside and she went up to engage those fillies leaving the half-mile pole. At the quarter, she had her ears up and I love the way she opened up. The La Canada has a great history and a lot of really nice mares have won this race over the years and this is a nice race to have on her resume.”

Ridden by Mike Smith, Miss Stormy D rallied to be second by a nose over Hard Not to Love and paid $12.00 and $5.80 while off at 14-1.

Hard Not to Love, who was the second choice at 3-1, was done early and finished third, 6 ½ lengths clear of Never Be Enough. Ridden by Ricky Gonzalez, Hard Not to Love paid $3.00 to show.

Fighting Mad, the 4-5 favorite with Abel Cedillo, was also a pace casualty and had no answer for the winner five-sixteenths from home, finishing fifth.

Fractions on the race were 23.30, 46.37, 1:11.28 and 1:38.20.

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99-1 Shot Triggers $31,184 Trifecta Payoff On $.50 Bet At Santa Anita

Just a Command, a 99-1 longshot making his second career start, keyed an all-time record 50 cent Trifecta payoff of $31,184.10 in Saturday's sixth race at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Ridden by Tiago Pereira and trained by Eric Kruljac, Just a Command finished a neck in front of 17-1 longshot Funkenstein, who was a half length better than Ben's a Goalie, who was off at 7-2.

Ninth, beaten 20 ¼ lengths in his 5 ½ furlong debut at Los Alamitos Dec. 17, Just a Command was nearly shipped out of state in search of softer competition.

“I was ready to send this horse to Turf Paradise,” said native Arizonan Kruljac. “It just goes to show, you never really know.”

The winning Trifecta numbers were 8-11-12, and the payoff technically eclipsed Santa Anita's previous Trifecta record of $52,892.50, established on a one dollar ticket on Sept. 26, 2001.

Owned and bred in California by Four Quarters Corp, Just a Command paid $201.00 to win on a two dollar ticket. A 3-year-old California-bred colt by Forest Command that was entered for a maiden claiming tag of $50,000, picked up $21,000 for the win.

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Santa Anita’s Sunshine Bonus Incentive Helps Convince Vaccarezza To Test West Coast Waters

Carlo Vaccarezza is a new name among trainers in Southern California but he's not a racing novice. He is far from it.

The 68-year-old native of Italy who immigrated to the United States in the 1960s sent out longshot King Theo to a ninth-place finish in Friday's seventh race at one mile on turf, a course over which Vaccarezza has had success in the past, although not as a trainer.

He was the breeder and his wife, Priscilla, the owner of Florida-bred gelding Little Mike who posted a 17-1 upset in the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita in 2012, when trained by Dale Romans.

Vaccarezza currently has six head at Santa Anita and another six due in this Wednesday from Keeneland, two of them related to Little Mike, a 4-year-old filly (Little Jewel) and a 3-year-old colt (Militarist), both sired by Liam's Map. Vaccarezza, who will have a string of horses at Santa Anita for the first time, has been training since 2014 but he is not a one-trick pony.

“I've been in the restaurant business all my life,” he said. “I own restaurants in New York City and I'm building one in Lexington, Kentucky. I have a couple in South Florida, and I'm involved in an olive oil company in La Mirada, California, but my passion was always horse racing.”

All his restaurants are named Frank and Dino's, after Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

“They are high-end Italian restaurants and we play the Rat Pack music and rock and roll,” Carlos said. “I used to cook for Frank.”

How high-end are they? Spaghetti primavera is 26 bucks and a dish called Fagottini Sinatra goes for $30.50, but it's worth visiting Frank and Dino's website to ogle the mouth-watering fare on the expansive menu.

But back to racing.

“In 2007 I got lucky and bred a mare (Hay Jude) that actually was a giveaway, to Spanish Steps and the rest is history,” Carlo said. “The foal was Little Mike (named for Carlo's 18-year-old son; Carlo's 21-year-old son Nicholas, who earned his spurs as a foreman and assistant to Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, now assists with his Dad's business).”

Both sons miraculously survived the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history on Feb. 14, 2018, when a gunman killed 17 people and injured 17 others at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, 15 miles from Vaccarezza's Frank and Dino's restaurant in Boca, where on Feb. 25, Carlo raised $182,254 in a fundraiser to benefit the school.

Little Mike, who had a 14-2-1 record from 30 starts with earnings of $3,543,392, was Hay Jude's second foal. Spanish Steps was an unraced son of Unbridled who had a modest stud fee of $5,000.

California always held a special place in Vaccarezza's heart.

“(Del Mar Racing Secretary) David Jerkens had invited me to race there and I just couldn't make it, but when Chris (Merz) took over (as Director of Racing and Racing Secretary) at Santa Anita, things sort of fell into place.

“I was a board member of the HPBA (Horsemen's Protective and Benevolent Association) in South Florida, so I know The Stronach Group really well. Craig Fravel (CEO of The Stronach Group) called me and got me involved with Chris and I couldn't wait to try Santa Anita.”

A key factor is Santa Anita's Sunshine Bonus Incentive Program, which offers a guaranteed $3,000 bonus for any eligible starter in its initial Santa Anita race (stakes excluded) whose previous start was made outside California.

Also, there is an additional 35 percent bonus applied to a horse's purse earnings (first through fifth) in its initial Santa Anita race (stakes excluded) whose previous start was made outside California.

“It's an extra incentive,” Carlo said of the program, “a beautiful gift.”

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