The annual California foal crop is down to less than 1,500. Historic farms are being recycled as business parks, while locally produced horses rarely make an impact beyond the state line. So what is there to celebrate on Saturday at Santa Anita Park in another version of the California Cup?
Survival.
The five stakes highlighting the 10-race program have attracted 40 entrants. The races have names like the Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint Stakes, the Unusual Heat Turf Classic Stakes, the Leigh Ann Howard California Cup Oaks, and the California Cup Derby, which should not be confused with the California Derby, scheduled for April 29 at Golden Gate Fields. For context, California Chrome won the California Cup Derby, not the California Derby.
There is also the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint Stakes, a vestige of the Sunshine Millions winter extravaganza of years past when Cal-breds and Florida-breds threw down in a bicoastal flurry of riches offered at Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park. For eight years, 2003-09, the Sunshine Millions Classic made good on its name and offered a purse of $1 million. Eight different jockeys, trainers, and ownerships won those eight runnings, sharing the wealth everyone knew would not stick around for long.
The Sunshine Millions Classic has not been run since 2018. While a part of the early season schedule, the race was won by some very good horses, including the major stakes winners Lava Man, Go Between, Ron the Greek, Southern Image, and Mucho Macho Man .
As for the California Cup, in its inception in 1991 the program presented a full boat of nine stakes for foals of the Golden State on a sparkling autumn Saturday during the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita. The highlight was the California Cup Classic, also on the scrap heap, which enjoyed such winners as Hall of Famer Best Pal, Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) winner Sky Jack, and the full brothers Budroyale and Tizbud (a third Cal-bred brother, Tiznow, was otherwise occupied that time of year with the Breeders' Cup).
Things change, but the name of the California Cup lingers and good horses show up. The Chosen Vron, by Vronsky, is a two-time grade 3 race winner who will be going for his ninth win in the Don Valpredo Sprint. George Krikorian's Cast Member, a daughter of Munnings , guns for her fourth win in four starts in the Oaks. In the $200,000 Cal Cup Derby, Giver Not a Taker looks tough off his score in the King Glorious Stakes last month, but he will get an argument from Gold Rush Stakes winner Passarando and James Shenouda's Crypto Ride, beaten just a head in the King Glorious.
It's easy to figure out who Pete Parrella will be rooting for in the Derby. As an owner, he's got no dog in the hunt. But as the proprietor of Legacy Ranch in Northern California, Parrella proudly stands Clubhouse Ride, a son of Candy Ride and the sire of Crypto Ride, as well as such stakes graded stakes winners as Warren's Showtime and Brickyard Ride , along with a host of runners who have more than paid their way.
In 2005, the year Parrella bought the land he turned into Legacy Ranch, California could claim 3,664 registered Thoroughbred foals, representing just shy of 10% of the North American total. The most recent Jockey Club census of 2020 credits California with 1,462 foals, which translates to 7.5% of the North American crop. About a hundred of those come from the Legacy operation, which also stands the stallions Mr. Big (by Dynaformer) and Straight Fire (by Dominus).
"There are still some good-sized farms in California," Parrella said. He listed Tommy Town, Harris Farms, Terry Lovingier's Lovacres Farm as some of the West's going concerns in a tough climate.
"But labor costs, inflation, hay, and grain are making it very difficult for owners whose horses are on the lower end of the racing programs," Parrella went on. "There was a time that someone would be content to have horses running for $16,000 or $10,000 if they could win a few races and get their picture taken. But those horses cost as much as the better ones in this day and age, and the costs just don't justify it."
Parrella founded Parr Lumber Company in 1976 in Southern California and for many years owned a smaller version of Legacy Ranch near the town of Chino, where echoes of the famous Rex Ellsworth Thoroughbred operation still linger. The most successful horse to carry the colors of Pete and Evelyn Parrella is the three-time quarter horse champion Griswold, who made the move to Northern California with the family and lived to be 25. His remains are buried at Legacy.
"I'm fortunate that my lumber company continues to generate a good income," Parrella said. "As for the ranch, I've never taken a dime out of it. We put back everything into making it as perfect a place as possible. We started with 125 acres and added another 20, but that's been enough for our operation. And right now our neighbors are 10-acre ranches with a $10 million home on each one, which is a pretty good situation.
"So I'm all in," Parrella added, "as long as the good Lord gives me some room to keep my brain working. Even in my 80s, I'd like to continue doing this for another 10 years and have some fun with it."
