Futurity, Starlet Lead Los Al Winter Stakes Schedule

Four stakes for 2-year-olds—including a pair of graded races—highlight the upcoming Winter Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos Race Course. The six-day season is scheduled to begin Dec. 5 and continue through Dec. 14. Racing will be conducted on a Friday-Sunday basis (Dec. 5-7 and 12-14) both weeks. Post time will be 12:30 p.m. PT. The $200,000-guaranteed Starlet Stakes (G2) for 2-year-old fillies will be renewed for the 12th time at Los Alamitos Dec. 6, one week before the $200,000-guaranteed Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), captured in 2024 by eventual Santa Anita Derby (G1), Preakness Stakes (G1), and Haskell Stakes (G1) winner Journalism. Won a year ago by the Bob Baffert-trained Tenma, the Starlet—like the Futurity—will be contested at 1 1/16 miles. Both races are part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby (Los Alamitos Futurity) and Kentucky Oaks (Starlet), offering the top five finishers qualifying points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale to the grade 1 races at Churchill Downs in May. The other two stakes for juveniles will be run at one mile and are ungraded. The $100,000 Soviet Problem Stakes for fillies will be offered Dec. 7, while the $100,000 King Glorious Stakes will be run Dec. 14. Both are for horses bred or sired in California.