Santa Anita Derby's Importance in Focus at CHRB Meeting

Speaking Aug. 21 in Del Mar, Calif., during a California Horse Racing Board meeting, state racing representatives acknowledged the importance of maintaining the stature of the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and California's other major races for 3-year-olds. Their response came following concerns expressed by CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales related to a rule added to the Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points system in 2024-25 by Churchill Downs Inc. that diminished awarded points when five or fewer horses compete in "championship series" Derby preps. Those are the mid- and upper-tier points races run primarily in the final couple of months before the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in early May. The move is intended to penalize horses qualifying for the Derby due to not facing sufficient quantity of competition. Noting California's tendency to have short stakes fields in the 3-year-old division, Gonzales expressed worries that it would "be unfortunate if horses started to leave (ship to another track) just to build up Kentucky Derby points." Churchill Downs uses qualifying points to promote the Derby and as a preference system when the Derby is oversubscribed beyond its 20-horse maximum field size. CDI has a similar system in place for the Kentucky Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies, which is capped at 14 starters. This year, Santa Anita Derby runner-up Baeza was not among the original 20 horses to gain entry into the Kentucky Derby due to earning only 37.5 points, down from the customary 50 points, when second to Journalism in the five-horse Santa Anita Derby. Journalism also had his points diminished as a result of short fields, but qualified comfortably after recording multiple graded stakes victories. Baeza's tally left him behind horses such as longshots Flying Mohawk, who earned 50 points for running second in a deeper but lower-grade stakes race when competing on Tapeta in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at the CDI-owned Turfway Park, and Neoequos, who had earned points in multiple prep races at Gulfstream Park, a 1/ST Racing-owned track in South Florida. Baeza ultimately entered the $5 million Kentucky Derby as an also-eligible and gained a starting spot when Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) winner Rodriguez was scratched from the body of the Derby field in the lead-up. Rodriguez made his initial four starts in California for Bob Baffert before being sent east to win the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack this spring. The John Shirreffs-trained Baeza finished third in the Derby and also third in the Belmont Stakes (G1) for owners C R K Stable and Grandview Equine. He was second to Sovereignty in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) most recently. Jason Egan, director of racing and racing secretary at Santa Anita, agreed with Gonzales that "it's very important to us that we keep the standard Santa Anita Derby with the prestige level that it has generated and cultivated over the lifespan of the race." He said the biggest challenge to a deeper field is that Baffert trains many of the best dirt 3-year-olds in California, leaving a concentration of 3-year-old male talent in his barn and not as distributed among numerous stables. As a six-time Derby winner and having trained two Triple Crown winners in American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018), the Hall of Fame trainer is in demand with owners and reloads each year with well-bred, attractive equine prospects, many of which he plays a role in selecting. Speaking of the horses that will become 3-year-olds of 2026, Egan noted, "If you've watched this Del Mar meeting, Bob Baffert has held all the cards in every 2-year-old maiden race. "We need other people to start winning maiden races. So the solution for us, fundamentally, is to be able to get people to buy horses that are competitive and can beat Bob in some of these races, to generate a higher population of winners that we can graduate onward in the stakes program in spring to try to produce a bigger field size into the Santa Anita Derby to make sure we're getting full points." Nate Newby, general manager at Santa Anita, said officials would "push up from our side" to CDI after noting, "I think there was quite a bit of criticism, or at least questions on whether that was fair or not." CDI officials did not respond to a request for comment and whether modifications of the rules would follow for the 2025-26 Road to the Kentucky Derby series. CDI asked for a complete recording of the CHRB meeting, which BloodHorse provided. Following a question from Gonzales, Newby added the officials would consider elevating the purse of the Santa Anita Derby, which was worth $500,000 this year—below levels of many other final preps in other states. Unlike most racing jurisdictions, California does not have gaming to supplement purses. However, Southern California purses have risen this year amid a redirect of Northern California simulcast revenues because racing is no longer taking place in that part of the state. Newby recalled that the Santa Anita Derby has also been contested with a short field when it carried a purse as high as $1 million. Bill Nader, president and CEO of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, emphasized that the Santa Anita Derby field had high quality among at least four of its five competitors this year. He mentioned the Michael McCarthy-trained Journalism and Baeza, as well as reigning 2-year-old champion male Citizen Bull and graded stakes winner Barnes—two horses trained by Baffert. The final competitor, Westwood, raced for the same connections of Baeza and held on to be a distant third in the 1 1/8-mile race after serving as Baeza's pacemaker. Nader said Churchill has "the right to do what they want to do. It's their race. But the policy doesn't really look at quality. It looks at quantity, but from the quality side, for the $500,000, (the Santa Anita Derby) dollar for dollar punched way above its weight." In other statements or board action during the Thursday meeting: Santa Anita officials announced a Pick 6 wager among two 1/ST Racing-owned tracks called the Sunset 6 that will link the last three races from Gulfstream Park with the final three from Santa Anita. The wager, to be introduced during its autumn meet, will have a $1 base denomination and a low 15% takeout. The CHRB approved a regulation that places a maximum age for Thoroughbreds recording workouts to be age 10, mirroring the maximum racing age the CHRB set earlier this year. The board also approved a modification for CHRB Rule 1699, which will allow stewards more discretion when assessing penalties under certain circumstances of interference and careless riding. CHRB equine medical director Dr. Jeff Blea announced the Southern California Equine Foundation has installed the latest positron emission tomography technology at its imaging center at Santa Anita. The newest technology allows for improved detection of injury or disease in bone and soft tissue while significantly decreasing scan times.