The Pamplemousse, which means "the grapefruit" in French, is a fast colt. Ridden by veteran jockey Alex Solis, The Pamplemousse won the 1-1/8 mile $200,000 Grade III Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park yesterday. His time 1:47.86 was the fastest in the Sham's 9-year history.
Pioneer of the Nile (the horse) won the Santa Anita Derby this year and will go on to run the Kentucky Derby. Bob Baffert is the trainer and Garrett Gomez is the jockey.
Zenyatta, a filly and the kind of sensational race horse that comes along only once in a generation, scored perhaps the greatest victory in the history of the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park. With jockey Mike Smith (in photo), Zenyatta wins the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic by one length. Other winners are listed.
Johnny Longden, the Hall of Fame jockey who rode Count Fleet to the Triple Crown in 1943 and was the first rider to win 6000 races, died on Feb. 14. Services will be held on February 24 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Arcadia.
Baldwin Park man John Bucalo has lifelong love affair with race horses. His career highlights included training one of Seabiscuit's offspring for the 1949 motion picture "The Story of Seabiscuit."
Two articles talk about trainers Bob Baffert and John Gosden, who trained horses Midshipman and Raven's Pass, respectively. Midshipman is owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. Raven's Pass, ridden by jockey Frankie Dettori, won the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic. Midshipman, ridden by Garrett Gomez, won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Lou Carno has been an Arcadia resident for 53 years and is a longtime horse trainer. One of his early jobs was working as a groom for race horse Seabiscuit's owner, C.S. Howard. Carno served in the U.S. Marine Corps, earned his CA Trainers License in 1952. He trained for celebrity horse owners such as Betty Grable, Desi Arnaz, and Burt Bacharach, and others. He is 83 now and semi-retired.
Two articles describe the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park this year. One is about Victor Espinoza riding a horse called Casino Drive on the track's new Pro-Ride Synthetic surface. The other article is about a 4-year-old filly named Zenyatta, ridden by jockey Mike Smith, that won the first all-female card in Breeders' Cup history.
Citing lap dancing and other violations, the City has revoked the business permit of Golden Eyes Gentlemen's Club. Under the Arcadia Municipal Code, that decision is final.
Helen Meredith is the founder of Pegasus Ranch in Tehachapi, CA, a place where 60 retired thoroughbreds live. She is struggling financially and estimates that the United Pegasus Foundation is $80,000 in debt. Some of the famous race horses there are Cardmania, winner of the 1993 Breeders' Cup Spring at Santa Anita Park, Music Merci (another Breeders' Cup veteran), Time to Pass, Sand Lizard, and Kingdom Found.
Eddie Delahoussaye retired after a riding mishap on August 30, 2002. He fractured his neck and suffered a bad concussion. As he stood before adoring fans to receive an honor at Santa Anita Park race track, he wished he was still riding. He is a longtime resident of Arcadia.
The city's efforts to save homes beneath the fire-ravaged hillsides from a flood of mud and debris have been praised, but mud and debris are still flowing onto Highland Vista, Monte Place, Vista and Santa Anita Avenues.