LOS ALAMITOS: SUMMER THOROUGHBRED FESTIVAL BEGINS SATURDAY, JUNE 29;

By Bob Mieszerski —-

SUMMER THOROUGHBRED FESTIVAL BEGINS SATURDAY, JUNE 29;
GREAT LADY M. STAKES & LOS ALAMITOS DERBY HIGHLIGHT 10-DAY SEASON

CYPRESS, Calif. – Three stakes – including a pair of graded races – highlight the 2019 Summer Thoroughbred Festival at Los Alamitos.

The 10-day season will begin Saturday, June 29 and continue through Sunday, July 14. Racing will be conducted the final two weeks on a Thursday-Sunday basis. There will be a special holiday program Thursday, July 4. Post time will be 1 p.m.
The final last two Saturdays of the meet will feature the Grade II, $200,000-guaranteed Great Lady M. Stakes and the Grade III, $150,000-guaranteed Los Alamitos Derby.

The Great Lady M., which is for fillies and mares – 3-year-olds & up – at 6 ½ furlongs, will be offered Saturday, July 6.

Won by longshot Once On Whiskey in 2018, the Los Alamitos Derby, which is for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles, will be run Saturday, July 13.

The other stakes race that will be offered during the meet is the $100,000 Bertrando for older horses bred or sired in California. The sixth renewal of the one-mile race will be run Saturday, June 29. The field is likely to include defending champion Soi Phet, an 11-year-old who has won five stakes at Los Alamitos, including the inaugural Bertrando in 2014.

A pair of handicapping contests will be offered – Saturday, July 6 and Saturday, July 13 – with as many as eight berths available to the 2020 National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas.

Grandstand admission is $3 and $2 for seniors 62 and older. Clubhouse admission is $5 and Vessels Club is $10. Los Alamitos offered free general parking. Preferred parking is $5.

The wagering menu includes a pair of $1 Pick 4’s on races 2-5 and the final four races along with a $2 Pick Six as well as the popular Players’ Pick 5 – a 50-cent minimum bet with a reduced takeout rate of 14% rate – on the first five races.

The Pick Six will have the standard 70-30 split with 70% of the pool going to those tickets with six winners with the remaining 30% going to tickets with five of six winners.

Entries for opening day will be taken Wednesday, June 26.

-30-