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Charlatan
Charlatan, one in a battalion of bluebloods based in Bob Baffert s barn, faces off against Nashville in the Grade 1 Runhappy Malibu Stakes on opening day, Saturday, Dec. 26, the marquee event as historic Santa Anita ushers in its 84th season of world-class racing.
This year s Malibu is arguably one of the most anticipated in the event s 70 runnings, pitting two immensely talented sons of 2004 Eclipse Award champion male sprinter Speightstown against one another.
The Malibu has been won in the past by a Who s Who of Thoroughbreds, among them Runhappy (2015), Ferdinand (1986), Precisionist (1984), Spectacular Bid (1980), Ancient Title (1974), Damascus (1968), Buckpasser (1966) Native Diver (1962), Olden Times (1961), Hillsdale (1958), Round Table (1957) Determine (1955) and Calumet Farm s star filly A Gleam (1953).
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Mucho Gusto, under Irad Ortiz Jr., in the Gulfstream Park winner s circle after the 2020 Pegasus World Cup
A winner of more than $3.1 million this year, Bob Baffert s Mucho Gusto, idle since Feb. 29, heads a field of eight 3-year-olds and up going a mile and one sixteenth in Saturday s Grade 2, $200,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita. One of five graded stakes on an 11-race program, the San Antonio, long a traditional prep to the G1 Santa Anita Handicap, will be contested for the 83rd time on Saturday.
A winner of the G` Pegasus World Cup Invitational two starts back at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25, Mucho Gusto was a respectable fourth behind stablemate Maximum Security in the G1 $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 29 and will be ridden for the first time on Saturday by eastern-based John Velazquez.
All Gulfstream Stakes Races To Be Held Without Lasix In 2021 Sponsored by:
Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
1/ST RACING announced Friday that 2021 stakes races run at the company s premier Florida racetrack Gulfstream Park will be carded Lasix-free effective Jan. 1.
The move to medication-free racing reflects the commitment made in April 2019 by 1/ST, along with other major racing organizations and associations, to eliminate Lasix in all stakes races in 2021 and is consistent with the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (IFHA) standards.
Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach will be the first racetrack in Florida to move to medication-free racing. The medication-free format for stakes races will apply to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) set to take place on Jan. 23, as well as to the beloved Florida Derby (G1) and Fountain of Youth (G2), held annually at Gulfstream Par
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Firenze Fire, trained by trainer Kelly Breen, exercises in preparation for the Breeders Cup Sprint at Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky on November 4, 2020.
Mr. Amore Stable LLC s Firenze Fire, Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables LLC s Mind Control, and Diamond 100 Racing Club LLC and partners Diamond Oops are set for a highly anticipated clash in Saturday s $100,000 Mr. Prospector (G3) at Gulfstream Park.
The trio of multiple graded stakes-winning veterans will headline a deep field of 12 sprinters for the 66th running of seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up on an 11-race card that will also feature a mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool.