Rafael Bejarano

The oft-troubled sport of thoroughbred horse racing may have a solution for its well-documented woes right in its midst. All it needs to do is clone Bob Baffert. Baffert, the white-haired trainer with the fast one-liners and faster horses, ruled the day in Saturday's Hollywood Gold Cup at Betfair Hollywood Park. In a result as stunning as the Yankees overspending on a player, Baffert's Game On Dude won by a length and a half over Baffert's Richard's Kid. You could have emerged from a cave in Siberia and picked this result.

Less than 24 hours after the announcement that top jockey Joel Rosario was leaving the Southern California circuit to head to the East Coast, the scramble has begun to take over his business. "All the agents and jockeys said they'd pitch in and help him get to the airport," jockey agent Scott McClellan said. And he wasn't joking. Rosario has won 11 riding titles in Southern California, including the recent Santa Anita meeting. His agent, Ron Ebanks, announced on Sunday that Rosario would be leaving to ride in New York on June 27. His departure creates opportunities for a strong jockey colony in Southern California.

Joel Rosario, one of the top jockeys in Southern California thoroughbred horse racing since 2009, is moving to New York, his agent, Ron Ebanks, said Sunday. Rosario will begin riding in New York on June 27. Rosario and Rafael Bejarano have dominated the jockey standings at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar. Ebanks said he and Rosario, 27, have been contemplating a move to the East Coast for a year. A broken collarbone suffered by jockey John Velazquez caused the decision to be expedited.

LOUISVILLE, Ky--Trainer Todd Pletcher has a good shot to win the Kentucky Derby with his undefeated colt Gemologist but he would rather talk about other horses. "I think Union Rags is still the horse to beat," said Pletcher. "He had a legitimate excuse last time. He was very impressive in the Fountain of Youth and he's run well over this track. " Union Rags' one race at Churchill Downs was a second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Meanwhile, Pletcher's horse has won twice over the Churchill Downs surface.

The Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting began Thursday with a dramatic finish in the featured $72,350 Harry Henson Stakes for 3-year-olds going six furlongs. American Act, under jockey Rafael Bejarano, rallied from last in a field of six and, after badly drifting to the outside entering the stretch, came on to win by a nose over Senor Rain in a race switched to the cushion track from the turf because of rain. "He never showed signs of doing anything like that before," trainer Jack Carava said.

Generally, post-race celebrations in the Winner's Circle at Santa Anita are fairly sedate, with maybe a dozen or so people posing for a photo with the victorious horse. But that certainly wasn't the case after I'll Have Another edged 9-10 favorite Creative Cause by a nose in Saturday's Santa Anita Derby before a crowd of 33,166 to establish himself as the West Coast's top representative in the Kentucky Derby on May 5. There were hundreds of rowdy people crammed together in the Winner's Circle.

Horse racing's world championships take place next weekend in Kentucky, and trainer Donald Warren and owner Buddy Johnston wish their top handicap horse, Acclamation, could be running, but a foot issue has sent Acclamation to the sideline, so Saturday's $175,000 California Cup Classic at Santa Anita let them have some fun with their "B" team. Norvsky, a late-developing 5-year-old gelding who has been making steady improvement since being treated for ulcers, rallied for a neck victory over Lucky Primo under hot jockey Rafael Bejarano.

If Hollywood Park had year-round racing, Acclamation might never lose. The 5-year-old son of Unusual Heat has won six races in 25 starts, and five have come running over the Inglewood track's turf course, including Saturday's triumph in the $250,000 Grade I Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap. Acclamation joins John Henry as the only multiple winners of the Whittingham Handicap. Ridden by Joe Talamo, Acclamation won by 31/2 lengths over Celtic New Year in a wire-to-wire performance in the 11/4-mile race.

Neil Drysdale spent four years working for Hall of Fame trainer Charles Whittingham, who was known for producing lots of outstanding turf horses. Now Drysdale is on a hot streak with marathon grass runners, and he unveils his latest promising import in Saturday's Grade II $150,000 Jim Murray Memorial Handicap at 1 1/2 miles on the turf at Hollywood Park. There's an early 11 a.m. first post, and the Jim Murray will be run as the eighth race on an 11-race card. Scintillo, a 5-year-old English-bred son of Fantastic Light, makes his American debut under jockey Rafael Bejarano in a race named after the Pulitzer Prize-winning sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

It was the experience of horse and jockey, combined with racing luck, that enabled 7-year-old Bold Chieftain and 51-year-old Russell Baze to come away victorious Saturday in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Classic at Santa Anita. Baze, the all-time leader in races won in North America, faced a traffic jam in the stretch but found an opening and sent Bold Chieftain through it for a neck victory over Palladio in the 1 1/8 -mile race. Unusual Smoke was third. "We were in tight," Baze said.