Races

ESCONDIDO - The eighth Amgen Tour of California begins at 11:15 a.m. Sunday in Escondido, and for the first time the largest cycling stage race in the United States is traveling from south to north. The 750-mile trip will end May 19 in Santa Rosa. Matt Bettenhausen, vice president and chief security officer for race owner AEG Worldwide, joined cyclists and race officials at a Friday news conference, where he discussed increased security for this year's event in the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.

TEHRAN - The run-up to Iran's June presidential election took a dramatic turn Saturday with last-minute candidacy announcements by two controversial political figures: former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, top aide to outgoing incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the final moments before the five-day registration period expired, Rafsanjani and Mashaei arrived via separate entrances at the Interior Ministry, where all would-be candidates were required to sign up by 6 p.m. Saturday.

Wendy Greuel called on Eric Garcetti on Friday night to stop all negative advertising in the last 11 days of the Los Angeles mayor's race, a challenge that her rival dismissed as "disingenuous" for a candidate whose campaign is effectively "bankrupt. " "OK, my campaign consultants are probably not going to like this, but I say no more negative ads," Greuel told Garcetti in a debate aired live on KABC-TV (Channel 7). Garcetti said he had already endured "eight weeks of pummeling" by Greuel, including an accusation that he was "causing cancer for children" with a lease of oil drilling rights beneath his family's property in Beverly Hills.

Everyone knew the day was coming and now it's a reality. After 75 years of horse racing, Betfair Hollywood Park will end its operations following the final race of its autumn meeting Dec. 22. The words "sad day" were repeated often Thursday afternoon at the Inglewood track, where owners, trainers, jockeys and fans reacted somberly to the news. The official announcement came in a letter from track President Jack Liebau sent to the California Horse Racing Board on Wednesday informing them that Hollywood Park Land Co. would not be requesting any 2014 racing dates.

During the car-crazy 1950s in Southern California, Dean Jeffries was one of the first hot rodders to chop, channel and soup-up automobiles. His distinctive paint jobs and sculpted body work attracted many admirers to his auto shop, including the likes of James Dean, Steve McQueen and A.J. Foyt. A legendary car painter and customizer who made the "Monkeemobile" and the original Green Hornet's "Black Beauty," Jeffries died in his sleep Saturday at his home in Hollywood. He was 80 and had been in declining health.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Contrary to popular perception, this will not be the first Kentucky Derby ride for jockey Kevin Krigger. Maybe his fifth or sixth. Of course, when he got his first saddle as a teenager in the Virgin Islands, he didn't have the likes of racehorse Goldencents under that saddle, as he will Saturday, in the 139th Derby. "I think I got my first saddle when I was 13," Krigger says. "So, when it was time for the Kentucky Derby, I'd put it up on the couch at home, in front of the TV set, and I'd ride the race.

CHARLESTON, S.C. - At a harborside reception overlooking Ft. Sumter, where the Civil War began, Mark Sanford batted away a TV reporter's question about the latest insult to his comeback campaign: an unwanted endorsement from pornographer Larry Flynt. Hours earlier, the former governor had been asked about a billboard message on a South Carolina interstate from a marital infidelity website. Under a blowup of a grinning Sanford, the site advised him to use its online service to find his next "running mate.

One day last year, a 9-year-old named Thomas came home and announced he was running for office. "Are you kidding me?" his father responded. "Don't we have enough elections in this family?" Thomas, the son of Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel, has been around politics his entire life. Over the years, he has gamely tagged along as Greuel has waged four election campaigns, including her current bid for mayor. He's the kid with sandy blond hair and square-framed glasses standing next to Greuel at fundraisers, field office openings and in commercials.

It's beginning to look like there's nothing Wendy Greuel wouldn't do to become the next mayor of Los Angeles. Her boatload of big-money backers seems fond of trash-talking gibes so slimy, they're apt to backfire and turn voters off. I hope Greuel takes a lesson from what happened this week, when she castigated opponent Eric Garcetti for accepting support from their former rival. Greuel blanketed black and Latino neighborhoods with mailers blasting Garcetti for accepting the endorsement of Kevin James, a Republican who finished third in the mayoral primary.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Around Clockers' Corner at Santa Anita, they will tell you never to ignore jockey Mike Smith in a big race, no matter the odds. Those who heeded that advice in the $1-million Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old females were happy Friday. Smith, riding 38-1 shot Princess Of Sylmar, dawdled near the rear of the field most of the race and then found a hole on the homestretch and guided the filly past all the bigger-name horses to victory. The Princess paid $79.60, $29.40 and $14. Smith's horse paid $727 for a $2 exacta, $3,470.80 for a $2 trifecta, and $12,445 for a $2 superfecta.