Summer Thoroughbred Festival Begins July 2

From The Orange County Breeze
Published 06/25/2015
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The second Summer Thoroughbred Festival at Los Alamitos will begin Thursday, July 2.

The eight-day season will continue through Sunday, July 12 with racing conducted on a Thursday-Sunday basis. Post time will be 2:15 p.m.

Four stakes – including a pair of Grade II races – – worth more than $700,000 will be offered before the meet concludes.

The $350,000-guaranteed Los Alamitos Derby – which was won easily a year ago by Shared Belief – is the most lucrative race of the Festival. The 1 1/8 mile event for 3-year-olds will be run Saturday, July 4.

Among the leading candidates for the Derby, which is a Grade II, is Kentuckian, a talented son of Tiznow who won the Grade III Lazaro Barrera Stakes by 6 ¼ lengths May 10 in his most recent start at Santa Anita.

A winner twice in three races, Kentuckian is trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, who also conditions Shared Belief.

The other Grade II on the schedule is the $200,000-guaranteed Great Lady M. Stakes, which will be run Saturday, July 11.

Named in honor of the multiple-stakes winning mare trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, the Great Lady M. is for fillies and mares (3-year-olds & upward) at 6 ½ furlongs. Owned and bred by Tom and Debi Stull’s Tommy Town Thoroughbreds and trained by Hollendorfer, Doinghardtimeagain won the 2014 Great Lady M.

The meet kicks off July 2 with the $75,000-added Bertrando Stakes for older California breds at one mile. The feature attraction on closing day (July 12) is the inaugural running of the $75,000-added Summer Juvenile Championship for 2-year-olds at 5 ½ furlongs.

Track gates – including the Clubhouse and Vessels Club – will open at 9:30 a.m. General parking is free with grandstand admission $3 – $2 for seniors 62 and older.

The wagering menu includes the Pick Six, a pair of Pick 4’s – races 2-5 and the final four races, which has a guaranteed pool of $200,000 – as well as the extremely popular Players’ Pick 5 – a 50-cent minimum wager with a reduced 14% takeout rate offered on races 1-5.

Entries for opening day of the Summer Thoroughbred Festival will be drawn Monday, June 29.