Brickyard Ride will make Grade 1 debut in Bing Crosby

Brickyard Ride, the winner of the Thor’s Echo for Californiabred sprinters at Santa Anita on Saturday for his third stakes win of the year, will start in a Grade 1 race for the first time in the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar on July 31.

The Bing Crosby Stakes is run at six furlongs and is the top sprint of the Del Mar summer meeting. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 6.

“We’ll see if he’s good enough for the Breeders’ Cup and that’s a good place to find out,” trainer Craig Lewis said on Wednesday.

Owned and bred by Sonny Pais, Brickyard Ride led throughout the Thor’s Echo at six furlongs, drawing clear to win by 4 3/4 lengths in 1:09.34. A 4-year-old colt, Brickyard Ride earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 104.

Wednesday, Brickyard Ride was back in action at Santa Anita with a morning jog.

“He looked very good,” Lewis said.

Brickyard Ride has won 8 of 16 starts and earned $464,477. Earlier this year, he won the California Cup Sprint for statebreds at six furlongs on Jan. 16 and the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes at seven furlongs on March 6.

Those wins were followed by losses as the odds-on favorite in two more sprints – the Grade 3 Kona Gold Stakes on April 18 and an allowance race on May 7.

“He’s won three stakes at the Santa Anita meeting and I can’t be too unhappy with him,” Lewis said.

Lewis will have one more runner in a stakes before the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting concludes on Sunday. Warren’s Showtime, a five-time stakes winner but winless in five stakes at the current Santa Anita meeting, is a leading contender for Sunday’s Grade 3 Wilshire Stakes, a $100,000 race for fillies and mares at a mile on turf.

Warren’s Showtime has been second or third in her five starts at the current meeting, the most recent of which was a second by three-quarters of a length to Leggs Galore as the 7-10 favorite in the Fran’s Valentine Stakes for statebred fillies and mares at a mile on turf on May 9.

Leggs Galore is a candidate for the Wilshire, trainer Phil D’Amato said on Wednesday.

There are eight stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday and Sunday, including five on turf. The richest races of the weekend are $150,000 stakes for 3-year-old California-breds – the Melair for fillies at 1 1/16 miles on dirt and the Snow Chief Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Walk-up admissions welcome

Santa Anita is amending its admission policy beginning Friday to allow walk-up customers for the first time during the pandemic, track general manager Nate Newby said on Wednesday.

The California state government relaxed most pandemic restrictions for businesses on Tuesday, including greater capacity at sports stadiums. The Los Angeles Dodgers drew an announced crowd of more than 52,000 on Tuesday, compared to the limited capacity of approximately 15,000 in place in recent months.

Newby said track officials hope attendance reaches 15,000 on Saturday, a day with an infield promotion.

“We’re opening some additional areas and we’ll be able to take walk-on admissions,” he said. “We expect a big crowd on Saturday and Sunday.”

Since early April, Santa Anita has operated with reduced capacity that required advance ticket purchases for all fans and no walk-up sales. Some seats in the grandstand and box-seat area were unoccupied because of social distancing regulations. Those spaces will be available this weekend, Newby said.

Newsby said tables and boxseat areas are close to being sold out for the Father’s Day, and closing-day, program on Sunday.

Following Sunday, the track reopens for a five-week autumn meeting from Oct. 1-31 that is expected to have no restrictions.

United works a half-mile

United, the five-time stakes winner and runner-up in the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita, worked a half-mile in 48.20 seconds at Santa Anita on Wednesday in his first major exercise since a last-place finish in the Grade 2 Charlies Whittingham Stakes at odds of 3-10 on May 29.

In the week following that race, United underwent a batteries of tests that revealed no abnormalities.

“We can’t find anything wrong with him,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “We’ve gone over him closely.”

United won his 2021 debut in the Grade 3 San Luis Rey Stakes at 1 1/2 miles at Santa Anita on March 20. In the Whittingham at 1 1/4 miles, United was well-placed on the turn, but faded to finish last of four, beaten 4 3/4 lengths by Award Winner.

A 6-year-old gelding, United has won 8 of 19 starts and earned $1,525,549 for Larry, Nancy, and Jaime Roth’s LNJ Foxwoods Stable.

Mandella said United will be considered for the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes, a $250,000 race at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar on July 24.

“We’re playing it by ear,” Mandella said. “I’ll look at the Eddie Read.”

BENOIT PHOTO Brickyard Ride led throughout while winning the Thor’s Echo by 4 3/4 lengths. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 104.