Horse Racing

Maggi Moss is accustomed to the wide-open spaces of Iowa, not the traffic congestion she experienced while driving from Beverly Hills to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Friday afternoon -- the day before a three-day holiday weekend. "I can't believe this traffic," the horse owner said on her cellphone as she drove on the 10 Freeway with her friend and former college roommate, Debbie Long of Lexington, Ky. "It took us forever just to get out of Beverly Hills."

Preakness and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Curlin was named horse of the year Monday night at the 37th Eclipse Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel in front of a black-tie crowd and a national TVG audience. Southern California jockey Garrett Gomez earned jockey of the year and Joe Talamo won the award for apprentice jockey. Maggi Moss, the Iowa lawyer profiled in Monday's Times, finished third in the balloting for owner of the year.

The combination of heavy rain and a defective synthetic track has put racing at Santa Anita in jeopardy through the weekend, which includes one of the marquee events of the Arcadia racetrack's winter meet. Scheduled for Saturday are four of the eight races that make up the Sunshine Millions. The other four are scheduled to be run Saturday at Florida's Gulfstream Park. The eight races offer a total of $3.6 million in purses. Entries are limited to horses bred in California and Florida.

A cloud of uncertainty has been hanging over today's marquee Sunshine Millions event essentially since the 71st Santa Anita winter/spring meet opened the day after Christmas. And that cloud is among the dark ones hovering over the horse racing industry in general and Santa Anita in particular.

It has been a strange Santa Anita meet so far, almost as strange as Shaquille O'Neal winning a horse race as a jockey, as he did in a Super Bowl commercial. Another racing day was lost Sunday when a heavier-than-expected overnight rain resulted in the day's nine-race card being canceled. The count is now eight racing days lost since the meet opened Dec. 26. "What else can go wrong?" Santa Anita President Ron Charles said.

For the moment, the Great Race Place isn't great. Santa Anita is having the winter of its discontent. Traditionally, the thoroughbred horse race meeting that begins the day after Christmas, at the track at the foot of the scenic snow-topped San Gabriel Mountains, has the most expensive horses in the country and the best jockeys to ride them in an annual showcase for the sport. A sport, it must be pointed out, that badly needs one. This year, tradition has taken a back seat to chaos.

It was a good day at the track for a lot of people -- and a few horses -- on a beautiful Sunday at Santa Anita. Georgie Boy, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, provided 67-year-old trainer Kathy Walsh and 75-year-old owner and breeder George Schwary with a Grade II stakes victory in the $150,000 San Vicente.

Who says horse racing doesn't appeal to people of all ages? The first race at Santa Anita on Sunday was named after Bella Szabo, who was there celebrating her fourth birthday. The seventh race was named in honor of veteran sports broadcaster Gil Stratton, 85. Bella, the granddaughter of Arcadia horseman Gary Dimkich, was serenaded by track bugler Jay Cohen, who played the theme from "Star Wars" and "Happy Birthday."

The Daytona 500 had a surprise winner in Ryan Newman, and closer to home the Daytona Handicap at Santa Anita on Sunday also produced an upset. Cheroot, a 28-1 longshot, prevailed in a blanket finish, triggering a three-day pick six carry-over of $1,269,223 for today's holiday racing program. The total Presidents Day pool could approach record numbers for the 10-race card that begins at 12:30 p.m. The Santa Anita record pool for a three-day carry-over is $1,413,136, set March 2, 2004.

A cool and wet wintry Saturday at Santa Anita belonged to Spring House, winner of the Grade II, $150,000 San Luis Obispo Handicap. Spring House, owned by R.D. Hubbard and trained by Julio Canani, went off as the 8-5 favorite in the 1 1/2 -mile turf race for 4-year-olds and up. The 6-year-old kicked clear after urging by jockey Garrett Gomez to beat Church Service by 2 1/4 lengths. Finishing third was On the Acorn. Spring House paid $5.40, $3.60 and $2.