John Cherwa is a special contributor to the Los Angeles Times. He started at The Times in 1980 and left in 1995 to be sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and Tribune Co. sports coordinator in 2002. He rejoined The Times in 2009 and left his post as deputy sports editor late in 2017. Currently, his major coverage area is horse racing, where he can be found at big races at Santa Anita, the Triple Crown series and Breeders’ Cup. He also can be found at the Olympics, having just finished the Tokyo and Beijing double, marking his 11th Olympics. Cherwa also contributes general interest stories from Florida.
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William Byron was sitting in ninth place heading into the final lap of overtime when a late crash allows him to take his second straight Daytona 500 win.
President Trump called the Daytona 500 ‘great for the country’ during Fox interview Sunday. Driver Bubba Wallace, who has feuded with Trump, declined to discuss the visit.
William Byron capitalizes on a late crash to move from ninth place to first on the final lap and win the Daytona 500 for the second straight year on Sunday.
California’s racing future likely hinges on adding Historical Horse Racing machines, but they are similar to slot machines and face many hurdles.
A lawsuit filed by former Santa Anita public relations director Mike Willman accuses track executives of lying during the 2019 horse fatality crisis.
Declining purses, field sizes and foal crops puts California racing in trouble. But if racing in California dies, can the rest of the country succeed?
White Abarrio, winner of the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic, claims victory at the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, the richest race in the U.S.
For the first time since Flightline, a Southern California horse has won an Eclipse Award, with Citizen Bull taking the 2-Year-Old Male award for Bob Baffert.
Raging Torrent, a winner in four of seven races this year, won the Malibu Stakes on the first day of racing at Santa Anita. Mystik Dan finished last.
Mystik Dan had to make a 1,900-mile van ride to Santa Anita to run in the Malibu Stakes. He’s the first Derby winner to race at Santa Anita as a 3-year-old since 1997.