A gathering of athletes. Arcadia's Santa Anita Park hosts champions as team members of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball team and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah's trainer Bob Baffert compare treasures from being the best in their sport. Photos and captions only.
Trainer Bob Baffert had a brush with death last year, but is healthy now and will participate in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic. Race horse Paynter (shown in photo with Baffert) will run the $5 million classic at Santa Anita Park.
Triple Crown winning race horse American Pharoah not done yet. Santa Anita Park-based trainer Bob Baffert guided the horse to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes to become a Triple Crown winner. The horse needs to rest up for now.
Santa Anita Park. No horse injuries but fewer fans in stands. On Santa Anita Derby Day, the track attendance was 30,713, the third smallest in the past 75 runnings of the Santa Anita Derby, about 5,000 below the recent average. Spate of equine deaths might have taken toll on attendance. Jockey Mike Smith (pictured) celebrates after riding Roadster to victory in the Santa Anita Derby. Animal welfare protesters were present, and attendance was down, but no racing injuries were reported.
Admiration is Justify-able. Horse racing's newest and still undefeated Triple Crown Winner returns to home turf Santa Anita Park for a victory lap. The Triple Crown means winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.
Crown in sight. Jockey Mike Smith and horse trainer Bob Baffert like their horse Justify's chances in the Belmont Stakes on June 9. (Photo of Smith and Baffert).
Five things to watch for at Santa Anita Park's Autumn Meet: 1. Riding excellence by jockey Rafael Bejarano, 2. Magic touch of Bob Baffert, 3. Beholder, the first female to win Pacific Classic at Del Mar, 4. Triple Crown Winner American Pharoah will be seen training, 5. Derby hopeful Nyquist.
Bob Baffert, a Hall of Fame horse trainer, had a heart attack in Dubai, where he was preparing a horse named Game on Dude in the $10 million Dubai World Cup. Baffert's assistant Jim Barnes, said from Santa Anita Park, that Baffert was doing well after having three stents inserted into two arteries.
Race horse Bolo in position to race for Santa Anita Derby. Jockey Mike Smith will be aboard Bolo, one of six horses entered in today's 78th edition of the Santa Anita Derby.
Successful opener. Jockey sets stakes record on first day of Santa Anita Park meet. Jockey John Velazquez won both the Chandelier Stakes and the American Pharoah Stakes, riding Bast and Eight Rings, respectively. Both horses are trained by Bob Baffert.
Santa Anita Park has live-racing for the first time on the same day as Kentucky Derby. The track will be rooting for Santa Anita Derby winner California Chrome, a California-bred race horse.
Race horse Exaggerator is going to the Kentucky Derby after a victory at Santa Anita Derby Day. Race horse California Chrome is back on track now, 2 years after wins at Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and he might be better than before.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's horse Gabby's Golden Gal (owned by Arnold Zetcher) won the Santa Monica Handicap at Santa Anita Park. The jockey was Martin Garcia.
Santa Anita Derby has top field. Fan favorite race horse named Dortmund is among the natioin's top three-year-olds seeking a shot at the Triple Crown. The Santa Anita Derby is the final and most important Kentucky Derby prep race on the West Coast.