Honor A. P. cruises in Santa Anita Derby

Arcadia, Calif. Honor A. P. won the $400,000 Santa Anita Derby by 23/4 lengths on Saturday to move into the Kentucky Derby picture. Ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, Honor A. P. ran 11/8 miles in 1:48.97 and paid $6.40, $2.60 and $2.20.

The West Coast’s major prep for the Kentucky Derby was run without spectators or media at Santa Anita because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Authentic returned $2.20 and $2.10, while Rushie was another

11/4 lengths back in third and paid $3.40 to show.

Honor A. P. earned 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, which has been rescheduled to Sept. 5 because of COVID-19. That moved him into second, two points behind leader Tiz the Law, on the Derby leaderboard which determines the 20-horse field for the race.

Belmont: 2019 Travers winner Code of Honor rallied from off-the-pace to win his season debut in the Grade III, $100,000 Westchester Stakes, a 11⁄16-mile test for older horses at Belmont Park. A 4-yearold son of Noble Mission who is trained by Hall of Famer Shug Mcgaughey, Code of Honor won four-of eight starts last season including the Travers at Saratoga and a dynamic effort in the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup when elevated to victory over Vino Rosso. Code of Honor, the 6-5 favorite, was patiently handled by Hall of Famer John Velazquez in fifth position through the early running while racing outside and clear of trouble. Joel Rosario sent Endorsed, the 3-1 second choice, to the front with a bold inside move down the back straight and into the turn. Endorsed maintained his lead through the turn but Code of Honor, under confident handling by Velazquez, angled outside of horses and into the clear for the stretch run. Endorsed dug in gamely, but Code of Honor would not be denied a half-length win in a final time of 1:42.39. Code of Honor banked $55,000 in victory while improving his record to 6-2-1 from 11 starts. He paid $4.50 for the win.

Note: Undefeated Charlatan will miss the rescheduled Kentucky Derby this fall after being sidelined by a minor ankle issue. Trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday that the colt has a filling, or swelling, in a front ankle. As a result, Charlatan will not be ready to race in time for the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, but Baffert said the Preakness on Oct. 3 is a possibility. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the rescheduling of the Triple Crown series. It begins with the Belmont on June 20. Charlatan is 3-0 in his career. He won a division of the Arkansas Derby on May 2 and is currently the subject of a potential medication violation. Published reports say the colt tested positive for the Class 2 medication lidocaine after the race in Arkansas. Baffert is awaiting results of a split sample test. If Charlatan is disqualified from his victory, he would lose the 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby that went to the winner.