2-DAY PICK SIX CARRYOVER OF $332,613 INTO FRIDAY

(Edited Santa Anita Park report)

ARCADIA, Calif. — Under partly cloudy skies and with the San Gabriel Mountains serving as a picturesque backdrop, 16-year-old apprentice jockey Tyler Kaplan lived the dream at 1 1/16 miles on Thursday, as he won with the very first mount of his career, a 5-year-old mare named Soldier Betty, in the fifth race at Santa Anita.

“One of my goals was to win a race at Santa Anita and I’ve accomplished that,” said Kaplan.  “When we hit the wire, it was amazing.  I couldn’t believe it, I was right here,” he said in the winner’s circle.

A California-bred daughter of One Man Army, Soldier Betty paid $7.60 to win.  Trained by Vladimir Cerin, she’s owned by Blau, Pellman and Weiss.

A native of Norco, Calif., Kaplan attended former jockey Frank Garza’s jockey school in Tehachapi and is currently interning at Chris McCarron’s North American Riding Academy in Lexington, Ky.

“Jerry Truman taught me how to gallop horses at Frank’s school when I was 13 years old,” said Kaplan.  “I’ve been working horses here at Santa Anita since Dec. 18.  I can’t describe the way I feel.  There’s no other feeling like this.  I used to come to the races when I was real young and I’d try to imagine how it would feel—standing up after the wire and winning.”

Although victorious by one-half length, Kaplan’s maiden voyage wasn’t without incident.  According to the Equibase chart, Soldier Betty “was shuffled back into the (far) turn, came out off heels leaving the turn and (was) three deep into the stretch, rallied under some urging while lugging in through the final furlong, bumped with Lucy Got Lucky in late stretch but got up nearing the wire.”

“In this race, I was just trying to let her get into her rhythm and keep it going.  We broke from the number two post position and before the race, Vladimir told me to try to get her outside and ‘don’t get trapped inside.’  But as we went down the backside, we were down there and I didn’t want to panic and take too much hold of her.  I had wanted to save the rail, but I had so much horse and she was pulling, so I had to go outside and she got it done.”

Kaplan, who took online classes and graduated high school at age 14, has his sights set high.  “My three goals were to win a race at Santa Anita, become a successful jockey and win the Kentucky Derby.”

One down, two to go.

2-DAY PICK SIX CARRYOVER OF $332,613 INTO FRIDAY, TOTAL POOL COULD REACH $1 MILLION

 A massive two day Pick Six carryover of $332,613 will await players at Santa Anita on Friday and it is expected the total pool could exceed $1 million.

Thursday’s Pick Six began with race three, which was won by Worth a Punt, who paid $13.40 with Alex Solis up.  A 3-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding by Mutakddim, he is owned by Rachel Pagones and is trained by Howard Zucker.

Joe Talamo booted home Warrensmysterydice in race four, returning $17.60 to win.  A 4-year-old California-bred filly by Affirmative, she’s owned by her breeder, Benjamin Warren and is trained by Jorge Gutierrez.

Tyler Kaplan, a 16-year-old apprentice who was riding in his first-ever pari mutuel race, won the fifth race aboard Soldier Betty, who paid $7.60 to win.  A 5-year-old mare by One Man Army, she’s trained by Vladimir Cerin and is owned by Blau, Pellman and Weiss.

Race six went to a hard-charging Crossing the Line, who paid $8.80 with Rafael Bejarano aloft.  An 8-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding, Crossing the Line is owned by Doubledown Stables, Inc. and is trained by John Sadler.

Thursday’s seventh went to Ellafitz, with Martin Garcia at the controls.  The 3-year-old Kentucky-bred filly by Tiznow paid $17.20 to win.  She’s owned by D & E Racing and is conditioned by Bob Baffert.

Victor Espinoza guided Blind Optimism to victory in race eight, paying $12.60 to win.  A 3-year-old California-bred filly by Momentum, she’s owned in part by her breeder, Paul Reddam, and partners Kovel and Fuller.  Blind Optimism is trained by Doug O’Neill.

First post time for “Free Friday” at Santa Anita is 1 p.m.  There is no charge for General Admission and $1 beers, sodas, popcorn and coffee are offered.  The Pick Six will cover races three through eight.