Surfin’ U.S.A. Carries The Memory Of Late Santa Anita Icon Jeff Siegel, Dreams Of LA Times Sportswriter Sondheimer Into Saturday’s Grade III Senorita Stakes At Santa Anita

SURFIN’ U.S.A. CARRIES THE MEMORY OF LATE SANTA ANITA ICON JEFF SIEGEL, DREAMS OF LA TIMES SPORTSWRITER SONDHEIMER INTO SATURDAY’S GRADE III SENORITA STAKES AT SANTA ANITA

ARCADIA, CA (May 8, 2026)—In Saturday’s Grade III, $100,000 Senorita Stakes at Santa Anita, the 3-year-old filly Surfin’ U.S.A. will carry the memory of late Santa Anita icon Jeff Siegel and the dreams of veteran Los Angeles Times sportswriter Eric Sondheimer into her stakes debut.

Siegel was a mainstay of Southern California horse racing for more than 50 years. At Santa Anita, Siegel held a variety of roles including on-air race analyst and morning line maker. Considered the dean of Southern California handicappers, and an accomplished horse owner, Siegel died in October at the age of 74 after a long battle with kidney cancer.

Sondheimer, 67, is approaching his 50th year of covering high school sports in Los Angeles. He’s been doing so for the Times since 1997. It was nine years ago that Siegel first persuaded Sondheimer to partner with him in a racehorse. Surfin’ U.S.A. was their sixth horse owned together. She is already the most successful of the bunch.

“I always appreciated Jeff for getting me involved in this sport,” Sondheimer said. “He was a kind man and just a really good friend. It was sad to see him go. But it’s also very inspiring to see this horse keep his legacy alive and prove that he really knew horse racing and could identify good horses. She’s proof of that. It was my dream for nine years to have a stakes horse and here she is.”

Siegel first rose to prominence as an owner in the 1980s as co-founder of Clover Racing Stable, which later morphed into Team Valor, along with partner Barry Irwin. In 1989, they reached the sport’s pinnacle when winning both the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap with Martial Law and the Breeders’ Cup Turf with Prized.

JEFF SIEGEL

Siegel would eventually step away from Team Valor but continued to dabble in ownership with mostly modest-sized purchases. He zeroed-in on Surfin’ U.S.A at last year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

“Jeff was always so thorough. He would go over every horse at the sale and would assign them a grade, A, B or C. He would then pick out the ones he thought we could afford. We always had a strict budget,” Sondheimer said.

Surfin’ U.S.A. is a daughter of Rock Your World, winner of the 2021 Santa Anita Derby. At the under-tack show prior to the sale, Surfin’ U.S.A. drilled one furlong in 10.0 seconds. Siegel’s interest was piqued.

“He loved this horse because she was so athletic. He was so good at picking out horses that we could afford,” Sondheimer said. “He told our agent (Gayle Van Leer) our budget and that not a penny more. We got her for $80,000. It’s the most we ever paid for a horse.”

Surfin’ U.S.A. was subsequently sent to Santa Anita and joined the stable of trainer Leonard Powell. She debuted on Sept. 26 at Santa Anita in a six-furlong maiden race on turf. After a slow start, Surfin’ U.S.A. ran on to be fourth in an encouraging effort. Eight days later, Siegel died.

“This horse kept Jeff alive,” Sondheimer said. “He had been struggling for months but wanted so badly to see her run. He was pretty much out of it the day of her first race. But he knew she had made it to the races.”

After Siegel’s death, co-ownership of Surfin’ U.S.A was transferred to his younger brother, Barry Siegel. Sondheimer said that while Jeff Siegel typically owned a 75 percent share of horses they owned, he and Barry Siegel are 50-50 partners in Surfin’ U.S.A.

After her promising debut, Surfin’ U.S.A. continued to show improvement in subsequent starts. She eventually broke her maiden on Feb. 1 going 6 ½ furlongs on turf at Santa Anita. Five weeks after graduation day, Surfin’ U.S.A. came right back to win an allowance at six furlongs on turf on March 7. That victory earned her a shot in Saturday’s Senorita Stakes, which is contested at about 6 ½ furlongs on Santa Anita’s unique hillside turf course.

ERIC SONDHEIMER (RIGHT)

“Improvement has been the key,” Sondheimer said. “It’s like a high school athlete you cover, you look to see if they improve. Even if they are good as a freshman, they have to keep improving if they want to reach the highest level. That’s what she is, a freshman that’s now striving to reach for the highest level.”

Surfin’ U.S.A., who’ll have regular rider Armando Ayuso aboard, is a longshot in the Senorita. In a field of 10, she is pegged at 30-1 on the morning line.

“Things are getting serious. I don’t think she’s 30-1, but whatever, that’s nothing to worry about,” Sondheimer said. “Leonard thinks this is the perfect distance for her. And while obviously she’s never raced down the hill before, and some others have, Ayuso thinks she’ll love it. For me, I’m just happy to be here. She’s already done more than we could have ever hoped logically. But somehow if things go our way, Saturday could be unbelievable,”

THE GRADE III SENORITA STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 9 of 9 - Approximate post time 5 p.m. PT

1.    Bella Lyra (9-2)—Ricky Gonzalez—122 2.    Mo’ Em Down (5-2)—Hector Berrios—122 3.    Surfin’ U.S.A. (30-1)—Armando Ayuso—122 4.    Revera (20-1)—Emisael Jaramillo—124 5.    Light Won Up (8-5)—Antonio Fresu—124 6.    Marjoram (10-1)—Juan Hernandez—120 7.    Will Happen (12-1)—Mike Smith—120 8.    Dreaming of Alys (20-1)—Tiago Pereira—124 9.    Still Unwritten (12-1)—Edwin Maldonado—122 10.   Yours Sincerely (20-1)—Kyle Frey—20

First post Saturday is 1 p.m. PT.