US EditionSo Happy Wins Santa Anita Derby, Giving 60-Year-Old Jockey Mike Smith a Shot at Kentucky Derby
The 60-year-old Hall of Famer earned a Derby chance as So Happy won by 2 3/4 lengths and took 115 qualifying points.
- On Saturday, April 4, 2026, 3-year-old colt So Happy won the $500,000 Santa Anita Derby in Arcadia, California, ridden by jockey Mike Smith, delivering an upset victory for trainer Mark Glatt.
- Smith, 60, guided the 7-1 longshot past favorite Potente, trained by Bob Baffert, positioning the Hall of Famer to become the oldest rider to win the Kentucky Derby.
- Elsewhere, Further Ado won the $1.25 million Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, while trainer Riley Mott's Albus scored an upset in the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.
- The victory propelled So Happy into fourth place on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 115 points; Glatt plans to ship the colt to Churchill Downs for the May 2 race.
- Trainer Michael McCarthy celebrated a 1-2 finish in the $200,000 Santa Anita Oaks with fillies Meaning and Brooklyn Blonde, while the Classic Meet concludes Sunday with a crowd of 37,562, the largest since 2018.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Associated Press News
So Happy wins Santa Anita Derby, giving 60-year-old jockey Mike Smith a shot at Kentucky Derby
So Happy has won the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby by 2 3/4 lengths. That gives Mike Smith a shot at becoming the oldest rider to win the Kentucky Derby.
Santa Anita Derby Day returns with races, carnival, Kentucky Derby stakes
One of the West Coast’s most important Kentucky Derby prep races takes place Saturday as Santa Anita Park hosts the 2026 Santa Anita Derby, bringing top three-year-old thoroughbreds to Arcadia with…
So Happy Upsets Heavy Favorite Potente in Santa Anita Derby
When So Happy (c, 3, Runhappy–So Cunning, by Blame), won his first two starts, both sprints, impressively, then yielded when stretched out to 1 1/16 miles in the GII San Felipe Stakes, it was assumed he had distance limitations. After all, his own sire, Runhappy, was the 2015 champion sprinter, and So Happy had kicked off his own career with a 6 1/2-furlong maiden win Nov. 22 and a GII San Vicente Stakes win Jan 10 at seven furlongs. So Happy ig…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left, 50% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
