Los Alamitos Holds the Card

A week before the Breeders’ Cup, the most important races that will be run anywhere today are at Los Alamitos.

The annual MBNA American Challenge Championships will be held this evening, topped by five Grade I races offering $775,000 in purses.

Tailor Fit, the world champion quarter horse in 1999, was among 11 entered in the $300,000 MBNA American Challenge Championship at 440 yards.

Others in the field include Meddlin In Money, Gone Kool Man and War Colors.

The other Grade I’s are the $175,000 Bayer Legend Challenge for 3-year-olds at 440 yards, the $150,000 American Airlines Challenge for 2-year-olds at 350 yards, the $75,000 MCI Challenge for 870-yard specialists and the $75,000 Centaur Challenge for fillies and mares at 400 yards.

Sign Of Lanty will be favored in the MCI Challenge. The defending champion has won two in a row at Los Alamitos and 16 of his last 20.

The feature at Santa Anita is the $75,000 Sunny Slope Stakes at six furlongs. The race only drew five entrants and the likely favorite is Roman Dancer.

A 2-year-old son of Polish Numbers trained by Chris Paasch for owners Rod and Lorraine Rodriguez, Roman Dancer broke his maiden first time out at the Sunny Slope distance, then was tried in two consecutive graded stakes. He was fourth in the Hopeful at Saratoga, then finished third, but was disqualified and placed fourth in the Norfolk, his only race around two turns.

Completing the field are Crooked Key, Ecstatic, Cappuchino and American System.

Race of the day: Oak Tree is offering one of its best cards of the meet today and there are several good betting races. The fifth is a very contentious affair for maiden fillies and mares at about 61/2 furlongs, the seventh is a one-mile allowance for 3-year-olds and up, and the ninth is another about 61/2-furlong race for $50,000 fillies and mares.

Who’s hot: Kent Desormeaux. Entering Friday, the jockey had won with nine of his last 16 mounts.

Who’s not: The field in the sixth at Bay Meadows. The 11 fillies and mares entered in the 1 1/16-mile turf race are winless in 97 races.

Exotically speaking: A pick three using Milagra, Apollo’s Music and Belle Story in the fifth, Racino and Window B in the sixth and Broadway Moon, Top Honours and Saucy Cat in the seventh.

Winners: Previous Day/Meet Total: 2/51. Money: Previous Day/Meet Total: $9.40/$278.60. Total money bet: $324.