Gary Stevens rides Runhappy to victory on opening day at Santa Anita

A crisp, cloudless opening day at Santa Anita greeted the racetrack’s largest opening-day crowd since 1994 and began with 32-year-old jockey Santiago Gonzalez, a native of Venezuela, riding winners in the first three races.

Then came the charge of the ageless Hall of Famers, 52-year-old Gary Stevens and 50-year-old Mike Smith.

Stevens was aboard the fastest horse of all Saturday, Breeders’ Cup sprint champion Runhappy, who strolled to a 3 1/2-length victory in the Grade I, $300,500 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs in 1:21.76. The favorite broke out of the starting gate “like a quarterhorse,” as Stevens put it.

“To get to feel that power coming into the stretch was awesome,” Stevens said.

Stevens also guided Om to victory in the Grade II, $201,500 Mathis Brothers Mile. Smith rode Birdatthewire from last to first to win the Grade I, $301,000 LaBrea Stakes at seven furlongs.

Stevens and Smith are American classics who keep getting better with time.

“We hang out together an awful lot,” Smith said. “Maybe that’s the reason.”

Said Stevens: “We both work hard and stay fit. Fast horses make us fast.”

The younger jockeys must be wondering what Stevens and Smith are having for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The secret?

“In the early 1990s, I started working out and taking care of myself,” Smith said. “It’s really paying off.”

Besides the veteran jockeys performing well on opening day, there was the most unlikely of occurrences in the fourth race, the $100,000 Daytona Stakes. Trainer Phil D’Amato’s horses, 21-1 Toowindytohaulrox and 50-1 Coastline, finished 1-2. And that led to a10-cent superfecta bet with the combination 13-14-4-10 returning a lucrative $24,476.39.

Although Saturday’s attendance of 44,873 was the largest opening crowd at Santa Anita since 46,904 showed up in 1994, it masks unresolved issues surrounding the sport, such as attendance woes (the crowd was 833 one week ago for a Thursday thoroughbred card at Los Alamitos).

“We’re kind of in a state of flux,” trainer Peter Miller said when asked to characterize racing in Southern California. “I think we’re either going to go the right way or the wrong way. Hopefully, it’s getting better. I think we may have hit the bottom and it’s starting to rebound and go in the right direction.”

Missing from Santa Anita for the first time in 33 years was track announcer Trevor Denman. Frank Mirahmadi handled the announcing duties. But the weather picked up spirits Saturday when the San Gabriel Mountains glistened beyond the backstretch, purple and yellow pansies stood in full bloom near the paddock and the large crowd also was given free calendars, free stuffed toy horses and free sunshine.

Santa Anita’s 63-day winter-spring meeting will feature a search for a 3-year-old successor to American Pharoah, who became the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. The Santa Anita Derby is set for April 9.

Also, the Breeders’ Cup is returning to Santa Anita for a record ninth time on Nov. 4-5.

Look for Stevens and Smith to be around.

Follow Eric Sondheimer on Twitter @LATSondheimer