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What happened at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in late 2019 looked like the end of horse racing in California, maybe in America. It was the twelfth and final race of a two-day series, at Santa Anita Park, the storied track near Los Angeles. Sixty-eight thousand people packed the Art Deco grandstand, the apron, the infield, the high-priced suites. The “handle” the total betting for the day was a healthy hundred and seventeen million dollars, but thoroughbred racing itself was on life support. Since the beginning of the year, thirty-five horses had died at Santa Anita. Public dismay had risen to the point that Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, had told the
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Ricky Gonzalez rides Leggs Galore to a wire-to-wire victory in the Fran s Valentine Stakes for California-breds
In her first two turn assignment, William Sims homebred Leggs Galore went to the lead and never looked back, taking Sunday s $100,000 Fran s Valentine Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., by three quarters of a length over heavily favored Warren s Showtime. Trained by Phil D Amato and ridden by Ricky Gonzalez, Leggs Galore got one mile on turf in 1:34.85.
With a pair of scratches earlier in the day, the Fran s Valentine was reduced to a field of four older California-bred fillies and mares. To the surprise of no one, Leggs Galore bounced out of the gate from her rail post and turned the race into a virtual parade to the far turn, with Kristi s Tiger a length and a half off the lead three furlongs out and Warren s Showtime another half length back.
In whole, we feel confident in the track and we re just being very proactive, Ritvo said. We want to do all the testing that needs to be done. When we believe we re in good shape, we ll start to train over it again.
The Daily Racing Form first reported the cancellation.
The latest fatality occurred during training on Tuesday, when a 4-year-old filly got injured and was euthanized. Obviously, one horse is too many, Ritvo said. The recent rash is just horrible. We need to definitely take a step back and evaluate everything.
Santa Anita received 11½ inches of rain and had unusually cold temperatures in February, but it s unclear whether track conditions played a role in any of the fatalities.
Written by Wilton First Selectwoman, Lynne Vanderslice
Yesterday, the CDC issued
new guidance on outdoor mask wearing for fully vaccinated residents. Fully vaccinated is defined as two weeks after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna or your one dose of J&J. As of the morning the Governor had not changed his executive order on mask wearing, though he did indicate the State would follow this CDC guidance: Y
ou can gather or conduct activities outdoors
without wearing a mask except in certain crowded settings and venues . Additional guidance for fully vaccinated residents is available here.
Wilton Assessor Sarah Scacco was appointed to the additional position of Tax Collector following the retirement of Wilton’s long-time tax collector Phil Damato. During her three years with the Town, Sarah has focused on modernizing the Assessor’s Office. She will continue that focus in her new role as Manager of Assessment and Taxation. Congratulations Sara
High-Priced Cezanne Leaves Big Impression In Kona Gold Sponsored by:
Cezanne and Flavien Prat took advantage of a fast pace to rally to victory in the Kona Gold
Purchased for a whopping $3,650,000 at age two and idle since Aug. 1, Bob Baffert s Cezanne came back to the races in a massive way on Sunday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., as he rallied into a blistering pace and came away with a 9 ¾-length victory over odds-on favorite Brickyard Ride. With leading man Flavien Prat picking up his fourth win on the day and his second stakes score, Cezanne, a 4-year-old colt by Curlin, smoked home in 1:14.71 for 6 ½ furlongs.