favorite

Newport Beach businessman Dale Dykema is a highly sought-after guest when potential Republican presidential candidates visit California.

He recently attended an intimate dinner with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a cocktail party headlined by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and a half-hour tete-a-tete with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

In the last quarter of a century, Dykema, 85, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to GOP candidates, party organizations and political action committees. He has yet to make up his mind on whom to back — and more importantly, whom to raise money for — in the 2016 presidential campaign.

“There are just so many candidates in the race. I’m completely on the fence,” said Dykema, founder of TD Service Financial Corp., a company that provides foreclosure services for the mortgage industry. In 2012, he said, he settled quickly on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, but for the upcoming election he may wait until after the first couple of primaries before deciding.

The size of the field — well over a dozen likely candidates — coupled with the lack of a clear favorite mean many Republican donors in California share Dykema’s reluctance to commit.

“Normally, there’s a candidate that the entire establishment is behind and there’s this huge fundraising juggernaut for one person,” said Jon Fleischman, a state GOP official from Anaheim Hills and publisher of an influential conservative blog. “This year, no one has the brass ring already in hand. We’re seeing a lot more listening and a lot less giving early.”

On the Democratic side, state donors are already uniting behind former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the party’s overwhelming favorite. She raised millions for her nascent campaign at events hosted earlier this month by entertainment and business leaders.

As Republican donors weigh their choices, they’re grilling the 2016 candidates on a range of issues, including immigration, religious freedom and net neutrality. They’re doing so in homes in Bel-Air, boardrooms in the Silicon Valley, parties in Orange County and GOP functions all over the state — a nod to California’s primacy in what is known in political circles as the “invisible primary.”

California probably doesn’t matter in the nominating fight. Its June 7, 2016, presidential primary is almost certainly too late to affect the GOP’s process. The state is also too Democratic to put it in play in next year’s general election. But California is the biggest source of campaign cash in the nation.

In the 2012 election, presidential candidates directly raised more than $112 million from California’s deep-pocketed donors. That’s almost the combined total raised in the next two most-generous states, Texas and New York, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. These figures do not include the millions donated to party committees and outside groups such as “super PACs” that are not controlled by a candidate.

Not surprisingly, given California’s tilt toward Democrats, President Obama was the biggest beneficiary then, raising $62.8 million here for his reelection bid, according to the center. But GOP candidates also filled their campaign coffers here — Romney collected $41.3 million, and the rest of the Republican field raised nearly $8 million.

Romney’s extensive fundraising network in California, which he cultivated over nearly a decade, became available to others when he decided in January not to run again.

“We’re talking a lot about it, but no one’s committing to anyone right now,” said Bret de St. Jeor, a Modesto businessman and Romney fundraiser in 2012. “It’s just flat-out too early…. Let’s hear a little bit more. Let’s hear the opening statements from the other candidates before we start jumping on somebody’s bandwagon.”

Donors “love the courting process,” said Shawn Steel, a Republican National Committee member from Surfside in Orange County. “Most of the serious candidates are coming to California repeatedly, and their mission is to establish a rapport as early as possible … and to try to meet as many folks as possible.”

Steel, who is undecided, recently co-hosted a meet-and-greet and intimate dinner for Walker at the tony Pacific Club in Newport Beach. He noted that the field includes multiple candidates who appeal to the same GOP faction, whether it’s establishment voters, social conservatives or tea party groups.

Many potential candidates, he added, have connections to California, or have the opportunity to grow support.

Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina retains backers from her unsuccessful run against Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2010, Steel said. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry developed ties to the state during his unsuccessful 2012 presidential bid, in part because one of his top strategists is a longtime and well-respected California GOP fundraiser.

Walker is a familiar face in California’s donor community, as he is across the nation, because of his fierce fight against unions in Wisconsin. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has spent considerable time wooing the libertarian streak that runs through Silicon Valley. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has blown away audiences with his oratory, Steel said. And Bush’s family has long-standing alliances in the state.

Jeb Bush’s brother, former President George W. Bush, was a prodigious fundraiser here, performing a “cash-ectomy on the California donor community” whenever he visited, Fleischman said. “It was staggering.”

Those relationships haven’t sealed the deal for Jeb Bush here, but they do provide an edge for the yet-undeclared candidate that was visible during a recent, lucrative fundraising swing through the state.

“I really wanted to see him run before his brother ran,” said venture capitalist William H. Draper III, who went to Yale with their father, President George H.W. Bush, and served as his finance chair in his unsuccessful 1980 presidential run.

Draper, a former president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, co-hosted an East Palo Alto fundraiser for Jeb Bush’s committee.

Susan McCaw, a major fundraiser for George W. Bush who served as his ambassador to Austria, said she was impressed by Jeb Bush’s record as governor of Florida and his support for education and immigration reform. She and her husband held a fundraiser for his political action committee at their Bel-Air home.

“I think he has the best chance of beating Hillary in the general,” she said.

Electability was the one quality nearly every donor — committed or not — mentioned as a priority.

John Jordan, a tech entrepreneur and vintner who has spent millions on Republican causes, plans to make a decision over the summer. He is hosting a dinner for Walker at his Healdsburg vineyard and expects to huddle with Paul soon. His sole focus, he said, is backing the candidate who could win the White House in 2016 by attracting the various factions of GOP voters as well as less ideologically driven general-election voters.

“In a pretty cold-blooded way,” Jordan said, “it has got to be someone that can unite the base, that they will like enough to turn out for … but at the same time isn’t someone that’s obnoxious.”

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Twitter: @LATSeema

Last year, I was fortunate enough to travel to Naples, Italy for the first time.

One of the many reasons to visit this historical and culinary diamond is to experience the famed Margherita pizza, invented there in the late 19th century.

My wife, a group of travelers and I caught a break when a table opened at 50 Kalò, a pizzeria lauded in Italy’s Michelin guide and known for its amazing doughs.

We ordered a variety of Neapolitan pizzas, including a pair of the tomato, mozzarella and basil-based Margheritas. How fortunate we were.

One person at our table, however, refused to try them. Her name is Jan and she’s from New Jersey.

“It’s not better than New York style,” she told a stunned table. “I’m sure it’s fine, but my guy is better.”

We all know a Jan in our lives — or sometimes, it’s us. We all have our favorites, whether it’s pizza, tacos, draft beers or wines. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying something different.

And you don’t have to travel to Italy for a great slice. My colleague, Food columnist Jenn Harris, compiled a list of seven new favorite pizzas to try in Los Angeles.

Harris takes readers from Hermosa Beach to Eagle Rock, and from Santa Monica to Los Feliz in search of a lovely pie.

Let’s jump into a few selections from Harris’ list — and remember, don’t be a Jan.

A pepperoni pizza from Sonny’s in Hollywood.

(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

Sonny’s (Hollywood)

I have seen all the social media influencers proclaiming Sonny’s to be the best new pizza in Los Angeles. It’s a giant pizza, with a diameter that seems like the size of a semi-truck tire. The crust is so crisp, the crackles are audible in every video of people munching on it.

A layer of bronze oil sits atop the pizza and settles in the many cups of pepperoni. It creates a sheen over the cheese. My fingers were shiny. The oil dripped down my chin. The cheese, sauce and crust coalesce into a slender slice that’s sturdy enough, but flops at the tip.

Some of the crust was cracker-like and golden. Some of it was burnt. It’s not a perfect pizza, but I appreciated the thin crust and the flavor of the grease-streaked mottled cheese. And if someone else is offering to go through the trouble of ordering the pizza, I’ll happily eat it.

The D-Fresh pizza from Redwood Pie in Hermosa Beach. The pizza is topped with pickled serrano chiles and spicy sausage.

(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)

Redwood Pie (Hermosa Beach)

I first encountered Erik Vose’s pizza when he was operating Vivace Pizzeria, a food truck that housed a 5,500-pound Acunto Mario oven. He made some of the best bubble-flecked Neapolitan pies in the city. Now he’s creating his own category of pizza at Redwood Pie in Hermosa Beach.

He’s making a sourdough crust with a blend of five flours from Central Milling. It’s bready and wonderfully chewy, a sheath of amber orbs and tight, tiny bubbles that create the ideal crunch.

The slice of pepperoni is textbook perfect from Redwood Pie, with a well-balanced sauce, a blanket of cheese and pepperoni cups that transform into blistered meat candy in the oven. For the white pie fans, there’s the “D-Fresh.” A rugged landscape of hot Italian sausage crumbles, frizzled basil and pickled Serrano chiles tops the mozzarella base — and leaves your lips humming with heat.

Pork-and-beef bolognese pizza at Bub and Grandma’s Pizza in Highland Park.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Bub and Grandma’s Pizza (Highland Park)

If you’ve been following Andy Kadin’s career, you know that his breads can be found at restaurants around the city. So it should come as no surprise that his sourdough pizzas possess a wonderful tang and a durable crust that cracks with each fold and bite.

Kadin developed his pizza dough alongside chef Jeff Whittaker, who previously cooked at Hippo and Bar Monette. For the Bolognese pizza at Bub and Grandma’s Pizza, they slather the crust in a robust, meaty pork and beef ragu, with big boulders of meat protruding from the melted mozzarella.

The porchetta pie is painted with a decadent garlic cream and cloaked in ribbons of porchetta, charred broccolini and plenty of pepperoncini. It’s finished with a drizzle of garlic oil and a sprinkle of fennel salt. Imagine all the makings of a stellar porchetta sandwich in pizza form.

For more pizza wonderment, check out this link for the entire list.

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The “Purge” movies are missing from the list, as are the entries in the “Saw” franchise. There are no “Evil Dead” titles. “The Exorcist” is suspiciously absent.

The list, in this case, is the favorite four films of Pope Leo XIV, f.k.a. Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago. The pontiff released the list via video ahead of a planned meeting Saturday with luminaries from the world of cinema.

To avoid the risk of being played off the stage by the academy’s orchestra, let’s share the winners quickly:

1. “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 1946
2. “The Sound of Music,” 1965
3. “Ordinary People,” 1980
4. “Life Is Beautiful,” 1997

That’s it. No “The Agony and the Ecstasy.” No “Pope Joan” or “Spotlight” or “Conclave,” for obvious reasons. No “Sister Act” or “Oh, God!” or any of the associated sequels, for less obvious reasons.

As a matter of fact, not a single comedy at all, much less a goofy comedy. And on either the drama or comedy fronts, the pope definitely could have chosen at least one flick set in his former neck of the woods. Think “The Blues Brothers,” “Home Alone,” “The Untouchables,” “High Fidelity,” “Eight Men Out” or “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” (Think “Chicago,” for goodness’ sake.)

Pope Leo will apparently be meeting Saturday with Hollywood types including, Variety reports, actors Monica Bellucci, Cate Blanchett, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Viggo Mortensen and Chris Pine, plus directors Spike Lee, George Miller, Giuseppe Tornatore and Gus Van Sant.

Seems the pope “has expressed his desire to deepen dialogue with the World of Cinema, and in particular with actors and directors, exploring the possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values,” according to a statement obtained by CNN.

That sounds all well and good, and a person can’t really go wrong with the movies on the pope’s list — two of the four are best picture Oscar winners, and the other two are best picture nominees.

That said, let’s shed a tiny tear for the exclusion of “Bruce Almighty,” if only because Morgan Freeman could use a little papal recognition too.

Director Kacho López Mari’s critically and culturally acclaimed portfolio includes over 40 music videos and short films that, if played at a YouTube watch party, could leave you and your primos feeling as if you just flip-booked through modern Latin music history.

Some of the music videos have captured the trophies of genres, like Tego Calderón’s “Abayarde” and Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina,” both essentials on any reggaetón playlist. Other visuals were works of activism — like Bad Bunny’s “El Apagón — Aquí Vive Gente,” the 22-minute music video and investigative short that shed light on the economic crisis that Puerto Ricans continued to face after Hurricane Maria.

A music video has the power to capture today’s culture, tomorrow’s stars, and yesterday’s immediacy. And thanks to López Mari’s legendary lens, we’re able to behold many iconic Latin music moments. Here are 15 of his must-see videos.

These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.

Tego Calderón, “Abayarde / Gracias” (2003)

Filmed in Manatí, Puerto Rico

Before producing and directing music videos, López Mari produced “underground” parties in Puerto Rico — and commercials at Paradiso Films.

That changed when López Mari’s superior, Sigfredo “Freddy” Bellaflores, heard his young son, Sigfredo Jr. — who would go on to produce videos for Bad Bunny — listening to Tego Calderón’s music in the shower. The next day, Freddy came into the office and threw the Calderón CD at López Mari.

“ ‘If you can reach that guy, we’ll do a video for him for free,’ ” López Mari recalled Freddy telling him. “ And I’m like, OK, I’ll get that guy.”

A few days later, López Mari used his party-producing connections to set up a meeting with Calderón’s team, which told López Mari he could pick the song off Calderón’s debut album, since Paradiso Films was financing the video; the team then asked him to meld another song, “Gracias,” into the visual.

“ That’s why the video is a six-minute piece,” said López Mari. “Back in the day, the reggaetón videos would be two or three songs in each video.”

The young director scouted the location, created the storyline to connect the two songs and presented the treatment to Calderón. Soon afterward, López Mari shot his first music video.

“It was a big phenomenon,” he said. “When that came out, Tego was like a rocket going up to the moon.”

Ricky Martin, “Tal Vez” (2003)

Filmed in Buenos Aires

López Mari co-directed this video with Carlos Pérez, his childhood friend who would later direct the video for Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito.” Both 20-somethings at the time, López Mari and Pérez, recruited a “dream team” to execute it — including Andrzej Sekula, cinematographer for “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs,” as well as Brigitte Broch, Oscar-winning production designer and art director for “Amores Perros” and “Romeo + Juliet.” The editor was Jeff Selis, the most nominated editor in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards.

Ricky Martin needed ample star power for what would be his first Spanish release since “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” Martin liked López Mari’s treatment so much that he would commission the same crew to make the video for 2003’s “Jaleo.”

Daddy Yankee, “Gasolina” (2005)

Filmed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Released pre-YouTube, the original video for “Gasolina,” the lead single off Daddy Yankee’s 2004 album “Barrio Fino,” maximized MTV’s four-minute allotment by mixing in two additional songs into the same visual: “No Me Dejes Solo” (which featured Wisin y Yandel) and “King Daddy.”

Yet when the song blew up, Daddy Yankee needed a longer video — and fast. However creatively edited, the visual actually loops the minute-and-a-half of material originally shot, making it a controversial piece for the co-directors.

In a phone interview, Pérez said that he values the song’s cultural and historical impact, but the video “never felt reflective of our work.” López Mari agreed it wasn’t his finest piece, but it did introduce the world to reggaetón and helped establish an aesthetic for the genre.

Calle 13, “Adentro” (2014)

Filmed in Arizona and Puerto Rico (Barriada Morales in Caguas and Cantera Roca Dura in Manatí)

From Calle 13’s final album, the video for “Adentro” earned López Mari a Latin Grammy nomination for best short form music video. In it, frontman René Pérez Joglar, or Residente, raps regretfully about buying a Maserati as baseball legend Willie Mays hands him a bat, which he then uses to smash the car. It’s later pushed off a cliff.

“For me, it’s a work of art,” said López Mari. “It’s basically a piece to destroy a half-million-dollar car — that [Residente] bought as an anti-capitalist statement.”

Calle 13, “Multi_Viral” featuring Julian Assange, Kamilya Jubran, Tom Morello (2014)

Filmed in the West Bank

Art is a weapon for López Mari and Calle 13, who sympathized with the Palestinian struggle. López Mari told me he considered the “Multi_Viral” video, which was filmed in the West Bank in 2013, was “one of the most important projects” he’s ever worked on.

The video follows Palestinian children as they build a guitar from parts of a gun. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who’s featured on the song, joined them onset in the West Bank. López Mari’s brother, Santiago “Chago” Benet Mari, who served as deputy photographer, told me how filmmaking has taken him and his family places he would have likely never otherwise visited.

“Film is a universal language,” said Benet Mari.

Calle 13, “Ojos Color Sol” featuring Silvio Rodríguez (2014)

Filmed in Buenos Aires

“Ojos Color Sol” was filmed the same day as the memorable 2014 World Cup semifinal match in which Germany thrashed Brazil, 7-1, so concentration levels onset were “fragile” among die-hard soccer fans that day, López Mari recalled.

Still, López Mari’s video would go on to win him his first Latin Grammy for best short form music video, alongside Tristana Robles, López Mari’s life partner, as well as the producer and co-founder of Filmes Zapatero. The song featured Cuban musical legend Silvio Rodríguez, and the video starred Golden Globe Award-winning Mexican actor Gael García Bernal and Spanish actress María Valverde, who share a powerful kiss.

Juanes, “Loco de Amor (La Historia)” (2014)

Filmed in Puerto Rico (San Juan, Río Piedras, Bayamón)

The 16th annual Latin Grammy Awards were historic. After “Ojos de Sol” won best short form music video, “Loco de Amor (La Historia)” won best long form music video — a 16-minute project visualizing four of Colombian superstar Juanes’ songs. This made López Mari the winner of both categories in the same night — a feat never accomplished before or repeated since.

“I like the aesthetics of [López Mari]’s work and his way of working,” Juanes told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2014.

Calle 13, “La Vida (Respira el Momento)” (2015)

Filmed in Salinas, Puerto Rico

“La Vida (Respira el Momento)” was the final video López Mari released with Calle 13 before they disbanded. It featured López Mari’s daughter and nephew, Residente’s nephew, as well as pro boxer Miguel Cotto and MLB player Ángel Pagán. But there’s an even buzzier person who makes an appearance in this video — filmmaker, actor and poet Jacobo Morales, the director behind the 1989 film “Lo Que le Pasó a Santiago,” the only Puerto Rican film to earn an Oscar nomination to date.

Morales sits down in the middle of a road to look through a handful of photos, reflecting on his life’s most precious moments — inadvertently foreshadowing his later role in videos from Bad Bunny’s 2025 album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” such as “Baile Inolvidable,” which were also directed by López Mari.

Juanes, “Mis Planes Son Amarte” (2017)

Filmed in Mexico (Veracruz, Mexico City and its outskirts) and Medellín, Colombia

“Mis Planes Son Amarte” directly translates to “My Plans Are to Love You.” A play on words in Spanish, it could also be heard as “My Plans Are to Mars.” Using that double meaning, Juanes and López Mari innovated what’s considered to be Latin music’s first major visual album (every song has a video): a one-hour film of 12 songs that follows Juanes’ character as an archaeologist and astronaut, exploring the dimensions of life and love.

Chayanne, “Di Qué Sientes Tú” (2018)

Filmed in Mexico City

In 2018, López Mari added the actor and pop balladeer Chayanne to his roster of Puerto Rican icons he’s collaborated with. For the making of Chayanne’s music video for “Di Que Sientes Tú” (Say What You Feel), López Mari took the crew to Mexico City.

“It came at a time when I was falling in love with books again,” said López Mari. “I was surrounded by literature [by Gabriel García Márquez], [Jorge Luis] Borges, Luis Rafael Sánchez — and that literary energy made its way into the set. It all came together in a way that was beautiful and poetic.”

Bad Bunny, “Callaíta” (2019)

Filmed in Puerto Rico (Arecibo, Hato Rey neighborhood of San Juan, Guaynabo)

In the first of many collaborations between Bad Bunny and López Mari, they created a “dream-like atmosphere” of summertime in Puerto Rico. In a 2023 video interview with Vanity Fair, Bad Bunny said it successfully conveyed the feeling of a “hug.” Bad Bunny also said he knew the actress, Natalia L. Garcia, was the right woman for the project as soon as he saw her.

López Mari discovered Garcia on Instagram. “I [loved] her look,” he said. “She reminded me of Uma Thurman in ‘Pulp Fiction’ because of the haircut.”

López Mari’s brother Benet Mari, served as the director of photography — and happened to have the resources to get a carousel on the beach. “Everything was perfect,” said López Mari, calling it a “beautifully executed video” that hit all the notes and goals of marrying image and song.

Don Omar, Residente, “Flow HP” (2021)

Filmed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Los Angeles

In the video for their first-time collaboration, “Flow HP,” Don Omar and Residente, both Puerto Rican industry veterans, amplify their pride for the motherland by rapping in front of the island’s flag, resulting in an unforgettably powerful visual. López Mari and Residente actually directed the video together.

Bad Bunny, “El Apagón — Aquí Vive Gente” (2022)

Filmed in Puerto Rico (San Juan, Güajataca, Rincón)

“[Taylor Swift] fills it [her videos] with Easter eggs,” said López Mari. “So, what does Benito do? He fills it with Puerto Rican history.”

In nearly six months, López Mari and his team worked to produce what began as a Bad Bunny video and expanded into a hard-hitting documentary. In collaboration with Puerto Rican investigative journalist Bianca Graulau, the short film shed light on the recurring blackouts in Puerto Rico after 2017’s Hurricane Maria and how the government’s lackluster recovery efforts exacerbated the greater infrastructural crisis — all of which they strongly consider to be byproducts of U.S. colonialism.

(Fun fact: This video also featured clips from López Mari’s directorial debut with Calderón.)

Juanes, “Canción Desaparecida” featuring Mabiland (official video) (2023)

Filmed in Medellín, Colombia, and rural outskirts

In this video, Juanes and singer-MC Mabiland call to mind more than 121,000 people forcibly disappeared between 1985 and 2016 in their native Colombia. After long shying away from political and social content that colored his first album, Juanes knew he wanted to make an impactful video with López Mari, who felt connected to the story because of his own political inheritance.

Bad Bunny, “Baile Inolvidable” (2025)

FILMING LOCATION: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Normally, López Mari listens to a song several times before he writes a treatment for the direction of a music video. Yet for “Baile Inolvidable,” he only got to listen to it once. He happened to be in the room when Bad Bunny presented the album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” to Apple Music executives and his crew for the first time.

López Mari says he met with Bad Bunny weeks later, in the Río Piedras music studio where the artist had recorded the song. There, López Mari presented his storyboard drawings and location ideas for the video and listened to the song “like 20 times,” he said.

López Mari shot the dance class portion at the Arthur Murray Dance Studios, a famous school for classic salsa in San Juan. The live performance portion of the video was filmed at the University of Puerto Rico’s auditorium, where Robles and López Mari had recently creative directed a Concert for Energy Independence for Casa Pueblo.

“As every artist evolves, the same happens to us directors,” said López Mari. “We keep learning… [And] hopefully, more videos will be made that are more relevant, [that] contribute more to the cultural exchange, [and] that aren’t just a bunch of flashy visuals and bells and whistles.”

DEL MAR — Sometimes the toughest part of owning a horse is deciding what to name it. If you own a bunch of horses, you run out of logical names pretty quickly. You can only do a play on the sire’s name so many times. And if you name it after a living person, you need permission from that person.

But every once in a while happenstance is your guide.

Ned Toffey has been the general manager of Spendthrift Farm for 21 years. Spendthrift saw an Into Mischief colt it liked and bought the yet unnamed colt as a yearling for $650,000. Now the tough part, naming him.

Toffey had just completed an interview with a publication and it was trying to promote it on social media. The only problem is they got a couple of first letters transposed and sent out posted a message on X calling the longtime Spendthrift executive Ted Noffey. Innocent mistake. Once notified it was corrected but not before a few screenshots were taken.

John Velazquez smiles after riding Ted Noffey to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile horse race in Del Mar on Friday.

(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

Noffey went with the joke.

Now people will remember that colt as the winner of the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, pushing his name to the top of Kentucky Derby future pools.

His win wasn’t a surprise as he has won all four of his races, but none this prestigious on the first day of the two-day Breeders’ Cup held at Del Mar. All five of the races on Friday were worth no less than $1 million with nine more on Saturday.

Ted Noffey, the horse, was the favorite and was within a length of the lead all the way around the 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-old males, winning by a length.

“It pretty much unfolded like we thought it would,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “I’m just glad that he was able to keep finding more.”

Brant, the $3 million purchase for trainer Bob Baffert, went to the lead and was in front until the top of the stretch when Ted Noffey inched past and then kept going. He ended up winning by a length over Mr. A.P.

“I was happy with the trip, [Brant] just got tired,” Baffert said. “The lack of two turns caught up with him. He was beat by a real good horse, and they ran really fast. I think he will move up off this race.”

Brant finished third and Baffert’s other horse, Litmus Test, finished fourth. Ted Noffey was the favorite and paid $3.60 to win .

The other $2 million race, the Juvenile Fillies, was won by Super Corredora ($19.60 to win), whose last race was a maiden win, the only time this has happened in this race.

Southern California based John Sadler had to go 42 races before he won his first Breeders’ Cup race in 2018 when he won the Classic with Accelerate.

“My journey has been, there was a time when they’d say, he’s the best trainer that hasn’t won a Breeders’ Cup,” Sadler said. “They stopped asking that after Accelerate. So we’ve won quite a few of them now. So, I’m very pleased with that.

“And as you’re an older trainer, which I am at this point (he’s 69), these are the races you want to win. I think I hold most of the categories here at Del Mar, right behind Baffert—number of wins, number of stakes wins and money earned. The big days are especially rewarding.”

The 2-year-old filly led the entire 1 1/16 mile race and was the front half of a Southern California exacta with Baffert’s Explora finishing second. Hector Barrios was the jockey and it was his first Breeders’ Cup win with a three-quarters of a length victory.

The first race of the day, the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint, was won by Cy Fair ($12.00), a horse named after a high school in Texas and trained by George Weaver. Everyone gave Aidan O’Brien a good shot to win the five-furlong race since he had three horses in the race and his next win would give him 21, the most ever, breaking a tie with the late Wayne Lukas.

O’Brien had to wait for the last race of the day, the $1 million Juvenile Turf over one mile to pick up No. 21. Gstaad ($4.40) was the favorite and didn’t disappoint coming off the pace at the top of the stretch and winning by three-quarters of a length.

The other Breeders’ Cup race of the day, the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf, was won by Balantina ($43.20) by 1 ¼ lengths, the largest margin of the day. She came from well off the pace in the one mile race with a strong stretch drive for trainer Donnacha O’Brien, Aidan’s son.

The first day of the Breeders’ Cup is all 2-year-old races, but Saturday is where all the money is, $23 million in purses to be exact. It’s headed by the $7-million Classic, a 1¼ mile race for horses of any age or sex. The race, and the whole event, took a major blow when Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner and top-ranked horse in the country, was scratched after he spiked a fever early in the week. He was the 6-5 morning line favorite.

Everyone was looking forward to the rematch of Sovereignty and Journalism (5-1 adjusted odds), who finished one-two in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. McCarthy, who trains Journalism and owner Aron Wellman replaced jockey Umberto Rispoli after they didn’t like his ride in the Pacific Classic. Jose Ortiz picked up the mount.

“I think it’s unfortunate that Sovereignty is not in there but this is probably one of the best Classics we’ve seen in about 20 years,” McCarthy said. “We’ll bounce out of there and try and be tactical and try to be within four or five lengths of the lead.”

There should also be some interest in Fierceness (5-2), who won the Pacific Classic after a terrible break when he ducked near the rail breaking from the one. He drew the one for this race too.

“He’s got to break straight and establish the position he wants and run his race,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “His best race gives him a big chance, if he can deliver that.”

Among others in the race are Santa Anita-based Baeza (10-1), who won the Pennsylvania Derby; Japanese horse Forever Young (7-2), winner of the Saudi Cup; last year’s winner Sierra Leone (7-2); and Nevada Beach (20-1) for Baffert and winner of the Los Alamitos Derby and the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita.

Another race to watch on Saturday is the $5-million Turf in which Rebel’s Romance is trying to become the first three-time winner of this race and the third horse to ever win three Breeders’ Cup races, joining Goldikova and Beholder.