O'Neill, Miller Tie for SA Training Title
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In a neck-and-neck contest that came down to the final race of the meeting, Santa Anita Park's trainer title chase ended in a dead heat, with Doug O'Neill and Peter Miller tied atop the standings with 22 wins apiece during the 39-day meet.
O'Neill tied it up in the ninth race, saddling Slam Dunk Racing's 3-year-old filly Mothernaturespell in the penultimate race of the afternoon, and Miller's lone entry in the 10th and final race, Katy Drama, finished fifth.
"In horse racing, a tie is a win," Miller said after the meet-closing race. "Doug has been a friend of mine for 25 years. If I had to split with anyone, I'm glad it was with him."
The O'Neill suite erupted with cheers when Fernando Perez hit the wire with Mothernaturespell, which gave the conditioner his fourth training title at Santa Anita.
"It's an honor to be anywhere near the top here at Santa Anita, Del Mar, or anywhere in Southern California," O'Neill said. "I'm so honored, so humbled and I've got to thank all the owners and all the people we've got at the barn."
Miller won his first title at Santa Anita and it's likely the first for a trainer based at San Luis Rey Training Center in Bonsall, Calif. He was second to Jerry Hollendorfer, 34-33, at Santa Anita's winter meet.
"It means a lot to win the title at Santa Anita, and to do it out of San Luis Rey—I don't think it's ever been done," Miller said. "To win a major, long meet from a training center—we logged a lot of miles on (Interstate 5), or the horses did. We didn't have a good trip in the last (race), but it's all good."
Perennial top jockey Rafael Bejarano won his 12th Santa Anita jockey title with 47 wins, ahead of second-place finisher Tyler Baze, who had 35 victories. Baze and Flavien Prat held an advantage in the early-season standings, but Bejarano quickly overcame them.
"The competition was pretty tough," Bejarano said. "In the beginning, there were a couple riders that put a lot of competition in and the business is split up. A lot of riders are doing really good and that's making it more exciting. I'm just happy for the opportunity to be leading rider."
In the owner's division, Reddam Racing took the title, with 11 victories, two ahead of Hronis Racing, which won the winter meeting title. Hronis Racing was first by earnings, with $869,946, more than $300,000 over runner-up Reddam Racing.