Horseracing

There was a little bit of science fiction on display at Santa Anita on Sunday, as Lava Man made a return to the races 17 months after his supposed retirement following stem-cell treatment on his ankles. The 8-year-old gelding took the lead under jockey Tyler Baze from the start in the $150,000 San Gabriel Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on the turf. He led the field of seven into the stretch but faded to last at the finish, with Proudinsky winning by a neck over 6-5 favorite Loup Breton. Acclamation was third.

HBO's "Luck" didn't have much of it. The low-rated drama, which is set at a racetrack and stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, was abruptly canceled Wednesday after the injury and subsequent euthanasia of a horse used in the production led to widespread criticism. The show was already facing intense criticism from animal-rights activists, who were investigating two previous horse deaths connected to the series last year. The cancellation comes just days after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent HBO a letter charging that "Luck's" producers ignored advice from animal-safety experts and created conditions that posed "unacceptable" risks to equine performers.

After canceling racing at Santa Anita on Monday because of pouring rain and poor track conditions, track President Ron Charles came forth with an even more startling announcement: The Pro-Ride synthetic surface will be removed at the conclusion of the winter meeting and a return to a dirt surface is "very seriously being considered," he said. "The time has come to definitely make a change," Charles said. Santa Anita was required to remove its dirt surface and install a synthetic surface under a state-wide mandate approved by the California Horse Racing Board in 2006.

Kentucky has historically -- and famously -- been racehorse country. It hasn't traditionally been casino country. That may soon change, now that a proposed constitutional amendment to allow casinos in the state appears headed to a full vote of the state Senate. What remains unclear is whether the casino amendment will end up hurting or helping the horse-racing business, the state's signature industry and one deeply tied to Kentucky's mythic sense of self. The bill, which has the backing of Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, could be voted on by the Senate as early as Thursday -- although there are some calls to delay the vote.

One word sums up perfectly this weekend's Turf Festival of horse racing at Hollywood Park. Bittersweet. The sweet part is easy. Zenyatta will be in public again. The retired 5-year-old, a lady who became the ultimate champ with her stirring victory in the recent Breeders' Cup Classic, will parade after the seventh race Sunday. Exercise rider Steve Willard will bring her up the main straightaway and guide her back across the finish line one more time. As in all of her 14 races in a career that marked her as one of the best ever, no other horse will be in front of her. She will make one more familiar stop in the winner's circle, and regular jockey Mike Smith will climb aboard.

Horse racing fans are on the verge of having what might be the top item on their wish list fulfilled -- a race between the nation's top two female horses, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. Charles Cella, owner of Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., said Thursday the owners of the two horses had agreed to run in the $5-million Apple Blossom Invitational on April 9. "This is truly a race for the ages," Cella told the Associated Press. He moved back the Apple Blossom six days after Jess Jackson, owner of Rachel Alexandra, said his horse would not run in the race because the date was too early.

Two days ago, horse racing was jazzed about the nice party and big announcement it had planned. Lots of attention was coming to a sport that always needs it. But by Monday night, when Rachel Alexandra was announced as horse of the year over Zenyatta at the Eclipse Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, the sport was abuzz on several different fronts. The only surprising element of Rachel Alexandra's victory, in a vote of media members, was the 130-99 margin. She had won the Preakness, the first filly in 85 years to do so, just two weeks after blowing away the field in the Kentucky Oaks by 20 lengths.

With warm weather expected Saturday, Santa Anita officials can breathe a sigh of relief when three graded stakes that were canceled last week because of rain and poor track conditions finally take place, along with the 2010 debut of Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic champion Life Is Sweet in the Grade II, $250,000 Santa Maria Handicap. It's a 10-race program Saturday, featuring the Grade I, $250,000 Las Virgenes Stakes and 3-year-old filly Blind Luck in the fourth race; the Grade II, $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes and Kentucky Derby hopeful American Lion in the sixth race; Life Is Sweet taking on eight challengers in the eighth race; and the Grade II, $200,000 Strub Stakes with favored Misremembered in the ninth race.

The best horse based in California not named Zenyatta might be The Usual Q.T., a 4-year-old gelding who has won six consecutive races on the turf, including the Grade I Hollywood Derby in November. The Usual Q.T. gets an opportunity to enhance his reputation running in today's $500,000 Sunshine Millions Classic at 1 1/8 miles on Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface, the featured event of a six-race bi-coastal competition between California- and Florida-breds. Also being run at Santa Anita is the $300,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf at 1 1/8 miles and the $200,000 Filly & Mare Sprint at six furlongs.

Rallying from last place, the odds-on favorite Blind Luck was able to stick her nose in front at the finish to win Saturday's Grade I, $250,000 Las Virgenes Stakes over hard-luck loser Evening Jewel on a cloudless, picturesque day at Santa Anita. "One centimeter is good for me," trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said of his 3-year-old filly, who was runner-up for the 2009 Eclipse Award for juvenile fillies. It was an impressive victory in a field of five as Blind Luck fell behind by ninth lengths.

Dustin Hoffman is as surprised as anyone to see himself — after five decades on the stage and big screen — showing up on television. When he mentioned his interest in the show "Luck," the David Milch-Michael Mann horse-racing series on HBO, his friends and colleagues were not optimistic. "People said, 'Oh, no, you're into television!'" he recalls, sitting in a hotel suite with the show's creators during a recent press tour. "'It causes divorce, it maims people physically; you knock out so many pages a day….'" Part of what drew him to a television part was the chance to act in a program that — unlike a film — could take every role seriously.

Grand Del Mar resort in San Diego is marking the opening of the Del Mar horse-racing season with a package that includes tickets, racing forms and even two mint juleps. The deal is pricey -- it starts at $475 a night -- but it saves a bit if you're up for a splurge and love the ponies. -- The deal: The Del Mar racetrack , which dates to 1937, opened last week for its 2011 season. The Day at the Races package includes two Stretch Run reserved seats at the racetrack (worth $10)

For weeks, witnesses have characterized Bell's former city administrator Robert Rizzo as the architect of the city's alleged corruption ? ordering up falsified payroll information, buying the loyalty of employees so he could pull in an inflated salary without protest, leveraging his authority with council members and dipping into the city treasury with free reign. Although eight former and current Bell officials were ordered to stand trial for misappropriation of city money, it was Rizzo who took the brunt of the blame throughout three consecutive preliminary hearings.

A Los Angeles County prosecutor Tuesday accused Bell's former city administrator, Robert Rizzo, of steering city contracts to a partner in a horse-racing business. Deputy Dist. Atty. Max Huntsman pointed out multiple city agreements with Dennis Tarango's engineering firm from 2005 to 2009, the years the two co-owned Golden Aggie Ranch Inc. Tarango was the city's planning director at the time. Among the documents were requests by Tarango for pay raises and Rizzo-approved environmental reports that Tarango's firm was hired to conduct.

A Los Angeles County prosecutor on Tuesday accused Bell's former city administrator, Robert Rizzo, of steering city contracts to a partner in a horse-racing business. Deputy Dist. Atty. Max Huntsman pointed out multiple city agreements with Dennis Tarango's engineering firm during 2005-2009, the years the two co-owned Golden Aggie Ranch Inc. Tarango served as the city's planning director at the time. Among the documents were requests by Tarango for pay raises and copies of Rizzo-approved environmental reports that Tarango's firm had been hired to conduct.

Legislation to revive the lagging horse-racing industry has taken a controversial turn with a last-minute proposal to make California the first state in the nation to let race fans bet that a horse will lose. With the Legislature's 2009-10 session ending Tuesday, lawmakers are set to consider a bill written by Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles) that would also attempt to attract the annual Breeders' Cup championship to the Golden State by setting aside $2 million a year to promote the race.

The day will be full of tradition and nostalgia when Santa Anita opens its prestigious winter meeting today. And not only because it will be a 75th anniversary opening. The racetrack of Seabiscuit and Silky Sullivan, of Johnny Longden and Bill Shoemaker, will open with two Grade I races, including the traditional $300,000 Malibu Stakes, and also include a couple of nice nods to the past. Zenyatta, still on her victory tour and within three weeks of finding out if she did, indeed, win out in the Eclipse horse-of-the-year voting over the marvelous filly, Rachel Alexandra, will parade down the main stretch much like she did recently at Hollywood Park.

Santa Anita canceled racing for today because of continuing rain and poor track conditions, and track officials are not optimistic about resuming racing until Saturday, at the earliest. "It's just torrential downpours, and the track can't handle the amount of rain expected," Santa Anita President Ron Charles said. "The track is draining, just not as fast as we had hoped." Santa Anita has announced it will remove its Pro-Ride synthetic surface at the conclusion of the winter meeting that ends April 18. A return to a dirt surface is being seriously considered.

Rallying from last place, the odds-on favorite Blind Luck was able to stick her nose in front at the finish to win Saturday's Grade I, $250,000 Las Virgenes Stakes over hard-luck loser Evening Jewel on a cloudless, picturesque day at Santa Anita. "One centimeter is good for me," trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said of his 3-year-old filly, who was runner-up for the 2009 Eclipse Award for juvenile fillies. It was an impressive victory in a field of five as Blind Luck fell behind by ninth lengths.

With warm weather expected Saturday, Santa Anita officials can breathe a sigh of relief when three graded stakes that were canceled last week because of rain and poor track conditions finally take place, along with the 2010 debut of Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic champion Life Is Sweet in the Grade II, $250,000 Santa Maria Handicap. It's a 10-race program Saturday, featuring the Grade I, $250,000 Las Virgenes Stakes and 3-year-old filly Blind Luck in the fourth race; the Grade II, $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes and Kentucky Derby hopeful American Lion in the sixth race; Life Is Sweet taking on eight challengers in the eighth race; and the Grade II, $200,000 Strub Stakes with favored Misremembered in the ninth race.