John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. He started at The Times in 1980 and left in 1995 to be sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Co. sports coordinator in 2002. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. Currently, his major coverage area is horse racing, where he can be found at big races at Santa Anita, the Triple Crown series and Breeders’ Cup. He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. Cherwa also contributes general interest stories from Florida.
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Raging Torrent, a winner in four of seven races this year, won the Malibu Stakes on the first day of racing at Santa Anita. Mystik Dan finished last.
Mystik Dan had to make a 1,900-mile van ride to Santa Anita to run in the Malibu Stakes. He’s the first Derby winner to race at Santa Anita as a 3-year-old since 1997.
The Northern California racing experiment will be coming to an end this week, effectively killing racing in the northern part of the state and having an impact statewide.
Sierra Leone finally becomes a winner, charging ahead of Fierceness to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic on a day marred by the death of a horse in another race.
Bob Baffert horses finish first, second and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, giving the famed trainer strong potential options for the Kentucky Derby.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert again takes center stage at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar, with the Churchill Downs beef in the past and fans flocking around him.
The Breeders’ Cup hasn’t had a horse fatality since 2019, but recent safety improvements in the sport still haven’t brought an end to thoroughbred deaths.
Thorpedo Anna could be the star of the Breeders’ Cup, but City of Troy and Fierceness are among the favorites to win the $7-million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Five more horses have died at a barn at Los Alamitos, bringing the total to 12 deaths as a result of an outbreak of equine infectious anemia.
Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler was robbed of a watch while attending the California Crown with his wife at Santa Anita Park last month, according to his agent.