The last Hollywood Turf Festival is here and will feature some of the top grass runners based here and on the East Coast this holiday weekend.
Sunday will play host to the pair of big ones, including the $250,000 Hollywood Derby (G1). Secretariat S. (G1) winner Admiral Kitten was a big second in the Jamaica S. (G1) last time and will be very tough with another top showing for conditioner Mike Maker. The son of Kitten’s Joy has now been first or second in six straight and should have no trouble negotiating this 10-furlong trip.
Jamaica third Jack Milton, Del Mar Derby (G2) star Gabriel Charles, Twilight Derby (G2) victor Rookie Sensation, American Derby (G3) winner Infinite Magic, John Gosden’s Euro import Seek Again and La Jolla H. (G2) upsetter Dice Flavor, lead the list of players in this very deep field.
Also on Sunday is the $250,000 Matriarch S. (G1), for fillies and mares on the lawn. Grade 1 winners Tiz Flirtatious, Better Lucky, Dayatthespa and Discreet Marq top the list of likely runners in this fine renewal.
A field of eight has been entered to contest the Friday feature, the $250,000 Citation H. (G2). Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) third Silentio looks like the one to beat off of his last for conditioner Gary Mandella. The son of Silent Name has been very consistent and is proven on this oval. His main foes will come in the form of the Christophe Clement-trained Summer Front, Del Mar Mile (G2) and City of Hope S. (G2) second He Be Fire and Ice, multiple Group 1 hero Winning Prize, 2012 Del Mar Derby (G2) winner My Best Brother and Grade 2 record setter Bright Thought, who should be a lot tighter for his second run off the long layoff.
Saturday’s co-features are the $100,000 Generous S. (G3) and the $100,000 Miesque S. (G3), both for juveniles on the lawn.
Hollywood Park Wagering Highlights
Hollywood Park will again offer a $150,000 guaranteed Pick Six pool every Saturday during the final Autumn meet. The 27-day season begins Thursday, Nov. 7 and continues through Sunday, Dec. 22.
Every day during the 2013 Autumn Meet, there is a guaranteed Pick Four pool on the final four races of the card. Weekdays, the pool is a minimum of $150,000, and on Saturdays and Sundays a minimum of $250,000. The Pick 4 is a 50 cent minimum bet.
The wagering menu will continue to offer the Player’s Pick 5, now a staple on the Southern California circuit after being introduced at the 2011 Spring/Summer meet. The 50 cent minimum wager with a reduced 14% takeout will be offered daily on Races 1-5.
A wager linking the final race of the day at Hollywood Park and the opener at Los Alamitos returns Sunday, Nov. 10. Called the “405 Double’’, the $2 minimum bet will require a player to pick the winner of Hollywood Park’s last race and the first at Los Alamitos. The wager will be offered every Sunday throughout Hollywood Park’s 27-day season. The first race each Sunday at Los Alamitos will feature thoroughbreds going 4 ½ furlongs.
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Hollywood Park Meet Highlights
The 33rd CashCall Futurity — for two-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles over Cushion Track — will be part of a stakes tripleheader Dec. 14. The $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup, a Grade 2 at 1 1/2 miles and the $100,000 Native Diver, a Grade 3 for older horses at 1 1/8 miles over Cushion Track, will also be offered.
“We are very grateful for Mr. Reddam and CashCall’s sponsorship through the years and believe the Futurity will again be an important step on the road to the Triple Crown,” said Martin Panza, Hollywood Park’s vice president-racing and racing secretary. “We’re looking forward to an exciting final season.”
The Futurity isn’t the only Grade 1 for two-year-olds. The $500,000 Hollywood Starlet for fillies will be run for the 33rd time December 7, a card that will also include the Grade 2, $150,000 Bayakoa for older fillies and mares. Both the Starlet and Bayakoa will be run at 1 1/16 miles over Cushion Track.
Sharing the spotlight with the CashCall Futurity and Hollywood Starlet is the Turf Festival, which will be staged for the 20th time in 21 years over Thanksgiving weekend.
The three-day Festival consists of five graded races, including two Grade 1 events — the $250,000 Matriarch for fillies and mares at one mile and the $250,000 Hollywood Derby for three-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles. Both will be run December 1.
The $250,000 Citation, a Grade 2 at 1 1/16 miles, kicks off the Festival November 29. The November 30 program will feature a pair of Grade 3s for two-year-olds at one mile — the $100,000 Miesque, for fillies, and the $100,000 Generous.
Returning to the calendar for the first time since 2008 is the $100,000 Hollywood Turf Express. The six-furlong race for older horses will be run December 8.
Two other stakes are also back. The $100,000 Playa Del Rey, a six-furlong event for older fillies and mares which was last run in 2010, returns December 15, while the $100,000 Moccasin Stakes for two-year-old fillies returns November 9 after a one-year absence. The Moccasin is run at seven furlongs.
Additionally, the calendar includes the $200,000 Soviet Problem for two-year-old fillies bred or sired in California and $200,000 King Glorious for California-bred or -sired two-year-olds. Both races are seven furlongs.
The two events, which were run for the first time in 2012, are part of the Golden State Series, a year-long program for horses bred or sired in the state. The Soviet Problem is scheduled for December 21 while the King Glorious is the closing day feature.
Hollywood Park 2013 Autumn Meet
Dates: November 7 – December 22
Hollywood Park horse racing schedule: Racing will be conducted four days a week (Thursday-Sunday) throughout the season with three exceptions. In commemoration of Veterans Day, special holiday racing will be offered Monday, Nov. 11 and there will be no racing Thursday, Nov. 14 and Thursday, Dec. 19.
Hollywood Park Post Times: 12:30 p.m. PT daily except for an 11 a.m. start Thursday, Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving).