Los Alamitos, which has been running two-week meets the past two Decembers, gets an added four days this year when it begins a three-week meet Friday with an eight-race program that attracted a staggering 85 horses.
The 11-day season, dubbed the Los Angeles County Fair Winter thoroughbred meet, includes three graded-stakes races and concludes Dec. 20, offering racing Friday through Sunday the opening weekend and Thursday-Sunday action the final two weeks.
First post will be 1 p.m. weekdays and 12:30 p.m. weekends.
The first two days of entries belie the fact there is a horse shortage in California. In addition to the 10.6 horses per race on the opening-day card, Saturday’s nine-race program includes 93 horses, or 10.3 per race. Eighty-four horses were entered Thursday for Sunday’s nine-race card (9.3).
Los Alamitos vice president Jack Liebau attributes the boom at the entry box to the fact that Golden Gate Fields has been closed since Nov. 12 because of a COVID-19 outbreak, prompting Northern California horsemen to search for a spot to run their horses. Golden Gate management announced Thursday it will remain closed until Dec. 26.
“It’s better to be lucky than smart,” Liebau said during a Thursday phone interview. “I’m (surprised) at the numbers to some extent, but I thought we would do well because of the Golden Gate (situation).
“I don’t know exactly how many horses we’ve got from Golden Gate, but off-hand I’d guess about 40 or 50.”
Liebau can’t remember a meet where the field sizes were so large, at any point in a meeting.
“Oh yeah, this is the best it’s been as far as I remember,” he said. “No question.”
The biggest race of the meet, the $300,000 Grade I Starlet, highlights the opening of the meet Saturday. It attracted only five 2-year-old fillies for 1 1/16 miles, but it’s a quality field.
Bob Baffert’s Princess Noor, who defeated her California competition by a combined 17 1/4 lengths while rolling to three victories at Del Mar and Santa Anita, will try to make up for a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland on Nov. 6 as the likely post-time favorite.
Baffert also has Kalypso, a 2 1/4-length winner of the Anoakia Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 18, and Varda, a distant second behind Princess Noor in the Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 26, entered to run.
Trainer Richard Mandella will send out the unbeaten Astute, a $425,000 yearling purchase, who is coming off a 7 1/2-length victory in the Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 14. She’ll be trying two turns for the first time.
Liebau says not to discount the fifth entrant, Nasreddine, a 1 1/4-length maiden winner at Del Mar on Nov. 7 who’ll be ridden by the underrated Tiago Pereira.
“I don’t think (trainer) Michael McCarthy is putting up supplemental money because he wants to come over and have lunch,” he said.
Post time for the Starlet is 2:30 p.m.
Los Alamitos has historically been given eight weeks of racing per year since Hollywood Park closed in 2013, but this year it was granted only five. By law, three of those weeks must be given to the Fair.
“We got screwed, and that’s for print,” Liebau said.
But there’s no question a three-week meeting this month allows for more momentum, unlike a two-week meet where it’s over before many fans even realize they’re racing.
“With the three weeks, some horses will run twice,” Liebau said. “The fact that some may not have an opportunity to run at Santa Anita is one reason, and there is a break there (six days before Santa Anita begins). So if you’re ready to run, run.”
Liebau sees racing in December as a positive for Los Alamitos.
“A lot of people are not enamored by the December dates, but we always ran them at Hollywood Park,” he said. “One of the advantages is there is not a lot of competition from the rest of the country. Your signal is well received compared to what else is available. There isn’t much available.”
This year, Los Alamitos will be available for the next three weeks compared to the usual two. That figures to be a plus for the Orange County track.
Follow Art Wilson on Twitter at @Sham73
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