For the second year in a row, Antonio Fresu finished as the leading jockey at the Santa Anita Hollywood Meet. Phil D'Amato bagged yet another Santa Anita trainers' title and Reddam Racing finished as leading owner.
At the 30-day Hollywood Meet that ended Monday, Fresu won 33 races from 183 mounts (18 percent) to narrowly edge runner-up Armando Ayuso (31 wins). He also led all jockeys in purse earnings with $2,092,580.
A 34-year-old native of Sardinia, Fresu has been riding at Santa Anita since moving to the U.S. in December 2023. He was forced to miss the first five weeks of 2026 after injuring his left foot during a race on opening day of the Santa Anita season on Dec. 28.
"The year didn't start like we wanted to, so this is a nice achievement," Fresu said. "My agent Ron Anderson has been doing an amazing job. And obviously thank you to all the trainers and owners who supported me, especially after the injury. They gave me the opportunity and I just tried to do my best."
Fresu's biggest wins at the Hollywood Meet came with Stronghold in the GIII Triple Bend and Almendares in the GIII American, both trained by D'Amato.
For D'Amato, this year's Hollywood Meet was his ninth time being the leading trainer at Santa Anita. His previous title came at last year's Autumn Meet. D'Amato won 22 races from 95 starters (23 percent) and tallied $1,455,500 in purse earnings. He also led all trainers with seven stakes wins, which was one more than runner-up Michael McCarthy.
"The credit goes to my entire team. It takes everyone to win a training title," D'Amato said.
D'Amato's most notable wins at the meet came in the GI Gamely with Thought Process, GIII Triple Bend with Stronghold and GIII San Juan Capistrano with Gold Phoenix.
Reddam Racing, operated by Paul Reddam and Zillah Reddam, won seven races from 39 starters and topped all owners with $444,994 in purse earnings. Leading the stable was 3-year-old filly She's No Quant, a homebred for the Reddams who won both a maiden race and first-level allowance for California-breds. Reddam Racing was also the leading owner at the 2024 Hollywood Meet.
Live racing returns to Santa Anita on Friday, Sept. 25 with the start of the Autumn Meet. There will be live racing every Friday through Sunday and a special holiday Monday card on Oct. 12, until closing day on Sunday. Nov. 1.
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