Santa Anita home to amazing racing in 2018

Who says Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth?

Ask a few horse players, and they’ll tell you Santa Anita is the happiest place on the planet. They can’t wait for Dec. 26, the track’s traditional Opening Day, to roll around each year.

Only a few more more days until Santa Anita, known as the Great Race Place, opens its gates for six months of racing that could produce this year’s Kentucky Derby winner or the next great older horse, a la Accelerate.

Just think, last year at this time Justify was still two months shy of making his career debut. Justify’s ascent to a storybook 3-year-old campaign began Feb. 18 at Santa Anita, a journey that became more remarkable with each passing victory, and was only one of a number of notable storylines that occurred at Santa Anita in 2018.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane:

Justify’s historic run

His 9 1/2-length maiden victory opened some eyes, but trainer Bob Baffert knew he had a monster on his hands before that. “It’s not too late, I’ve got a plan,” he said while announcing Justify was officially on the Triple Crown trail.

Justify went on to win the Santa Anita Derby in his third career start, became the sport’s 13th Triple Crown winner and, by virtue of his historic campaign, deserves to be namedHorse of the Year next month.

Accelerate’s rise

The son of Lookin At Lucky, a good horse at age 4, stepped up his game big time in 2018 to the tune of five Grade I victories, four at the classic 1 ¼-mile distance, climaxing his fantastic campaign with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

It all started with victories in the Grade II San Pasqual Stakes and Grade I Santa Anita Handicap, the latter of which began his journey to becoming only the third horse – along with Lava Man (2006) and Game On Dude (2013) – to sweep the Big ‘Cap, Gold Cup at Santa Anita (formerly the Hollywood Gold Cup) and Pacific Classic in the same year. OZONE PARK, N.Y. >> Newly minted graded stakes winner Life in Shambles will look to close out his 2018 campaign on a strong note headlining a field of six in the $ 100,000 Gravesend for 3- year- olds and upward going six furlongs on Sunday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Claimed by trainer Jason Servis for owner Ara Aprahamian on July 7 at Belmont Park, the 7-year- old gelding has made three starts for his new connections including back-to-back wins in his last two starts highlighted by a 3/4-length score in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap on November 22 in which he bested fellow Gravesend entrants Always Sunshine and Runaway Lute.

“He’s really been a great horse to have since he’s been in the barn,” said Henry Argueta, assistant to Servis. “We’ve been targeting this race since his win in the Fall Highweight, and he’s been training very well going into Sunday.”

Drawing the rail, Life in Shambles will be ridden by Jose Lezcano.

Gold for the King arrives at the Gravesend from an impressive 9 ¼ length victory in the Thunder Rumble division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes on November 18 for trainer Charlie Baker and owner Francis Paolangeli.

A 4-year- old New Yorkbred, the Posse gelding has four wins from five starts at the Big A with one secondplace finish to go along with three wins from five starts at the distance with a pair