Silver Charm Stands Out in a Crowd

A big crowd at Santa Anita won’t bother Silver Charm today. The last three times he has run, attendance totaled 301,255.

Silver Charm’s Kentucky Derby drew 141,981, attendance for the Preakness was 88,594 and a throng of 70,680 watched the Belmont Stakes.

Those were the three biggest turnouts in U.S. racing this year. The Derby and the Preakness usually draw such crowds, but the Belmont, with Silver Charm going for the first Triple Crown sweep since Affirmed in 1978, brought out the third-largest crowd in track history.

Silver Charm will be the drawing card again today as Santa Anita launches an 85-day season. Estimates for today range from 35,000 and up. In recent years, when Santa Anita opened on weekdays, the track just broke the 30,000 mark, but Fridays, part of a long Christmas weekend, have traditionally been big-draw days. The last Santa Anita opener to come on a Friday was in 1986, when the count was 65,954.

Before the meet is over, Silver Charm will be challenged by Free House and Deputy Commander, who were also formidable 3-year-olds from 1997. Free House, who beat Silver Charm in the Santa Anita Derby before running third in the Kentucky Derby, second in the Preakness and third in the Belmont, bled despite being treated with Lasix in his last race, the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs in September, and may not surface at Santa Anita until the $500,000 Strub Stakes on Feb. 7. Deputy Commander, who won the Travers and the Super Derby before finishing second to Skip Away in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, is also expected to run in the Strub.

Touch Gold, who won the Belmont, depriving Silver Charm’s owners of a $5-million bonus that would have come with a Triple Crown sweep, is far from Santa Anita, recuperating in Florida.

“We’ll never patch that hoof of his again,” trainer David Hofmans said. “[Owner Frank Stronach] said that if the hoof doesn’t grow back naturally in a satisfactory way, he’ll retire the horse and send him to stud.”

Skip Away, who beat Deputy Commander, Touch Gold and the others in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, is also in Florida, at Gulfstream Park. He’s a possible for the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap on March 7. More definite for Santa Anita’s richest race is Gentlemen, who missed the Breeders’ Cup because of an ulcerated throat but has returned to training at Hollywood Park. Gentlemen is expected to use the $300,000 San Antonio Handicap, a race he won this year, as a prep for the Big ‘Cap.

The road to the Santa Anita Derby is marked by a series of races for 3-year-olds, including the San Vicente (Feb. 7), the San Rafael (March 1) and the San Felipe (March 14). Bob Baffert, Silver Charm’s trainer, has a strong contingent of contenders, including Real Quiet, winner of the Hollywood Futurity, and Souvenir Copy, winner of the Del Mar Futurity and the Norfolk.

The three-race La Canada series, for fillies that are becoming 4-year-olds in 1998, begins Saturday with the $150,000 La Brea Stakes. Among the entries are I Ain’t Bluffing, Minister’s Melody and Fun In Excess, and to be heard from later is Sharp Cat, who has moved from Wayne Lukas’ barn to Wally Dollase’s.

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Santa Anita at a Glance

* Dates: Today through April 20.

* Schedule: Wednesdays through Sundays, plus next Tuesday, Jan. 19, Feb. 16 and April 20.

* Post times: Noon today and Feb. 7, March 7 and April 4. 3 p.m. on April 10 and April 17. 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. 1 p.m. all other days.

* Major races: $200,000 Malibu Stakes, today; $300,000 San Fernando, Jan. 17; $500,000 Strub, $300,000 San Antonio Handicap, Feb. 7; $200,000 La Canada, Feb. 8; $1-million Santa Anita Handicap, March 7; $300,000 Santa Margarita Handicap, March 8; $200,000 Santa Anita Oaks, March 15; $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, April 4; $300,000 Santa Barbara Handicap, April 18; $400,000 San Juan Capistrano Handicap, April 19.