Budroyale High Weight for Big ‘Cap

Budroyale is the high weight, at 122 pounds, but General Challenge is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s Santa Anita Handicap.

A favorite hasn’t won the race since Best Pal in 1992. Best Pal raced for John and Betty Mabee, who also campaign General Challenge.

Eight horses were entered in the 1 1/4-mile race. This is the field, in post-position order, with weights, jockeys and morning-line odds:

Bagshot, 113 pounds, Chris Antley, 15-1; General Challenge, 121, Corey Nakatani, 9-5; Cat Thief, 120, Pat Day, 7-2; Malek, 118, Alex Solis, 8-1; Puerto Madero, 118, Laffit Pincay, 15-1; Invitato Mio, 110, Danny Sorenson, 30-1; Dixie Dot Com, 117, Kent Desormeaux, 6-1; Budroyale, 122, Garrett Gomez, 5-2.

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Southern California jockey agent Ron Anderson will begin booking mounts for Jerry Bailey at Keeneland on April 7. Bob Frieze, who has been the agent for the enormously successful Bailey for almost 15 years, said he learned Thursday morning that he had been fired.

“Jerry just said that he wanted to make a change,” Frieze said.

Bailey, 42, is in the Racing Hall of Fame. His mounts have earned more than $183 million, and among his more than 4,700 wins are nine in the Breeders’ Cup, two in the Kentucky Derby and the 16 in a row by Cigar in 1995-96.

Anderson previously worked for another Hall of Fame jockey, Gary Stevens, who retired Dec. 26, and he also has the book for Antley. Anderson said Bailey contacted him a couple of weeks ago.

Horse Racing Notes

Anees, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year, makes his 3-year-old debut in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. . . . Another Santa Anita Derby prep, the San Rafael Stakes, will be run Saturday. The favorite in an eight-horse field will be War Chant, undefeated in two starts. . . . Frank Stronach, the owner of Gulfstream Park, and John Brunetti, who runs Hialeah, have struck a deal that will enable tattered-at-the-edges Hialeah to run its meet at Gulfstream, which is located in a more affluent area near Miami. The 58-day season opens March 17, the day after Gulfstream’s meet closes.