Report: Ruis in conflict with Santa Anita over stall space

Following a dispute over stall space at Santa Anita Park, owner Mick Ruis, who also trained Bolt d'Oro through his journey on the Kentucky Derby trail, told BloodHorse's Jeremy Balan this week he's transferring his breeding operation from California to Pennsylvania.

In a wide-ranging report, Ruis said his West Coast string will shrink to 10 allotted stalls at Santa Anita, where his daughter, Shelbe, will continue training the bunch of mostly 2-year-olds.

Ruis said he lost $650,000 on his original investment in the Pegasus World Cup, held at Gulfstream Park, which as with Santa Anita is operated by The Stronach Group. He also pointed to his insistence to run Bolt d'Oro at Santa Anita before the Derby as loyalty to the California circuit.

"I can't say I'm not going to run at Santa Anita, because I don't want my daughter out of a job," Ruis told BloodHorse. "She loves it and she works hard every day, and I want her to have horses to run. But I don't have enough stalls, and it doesn't make sense for me to breed if I have nowhere to put them."

Ruis, who calls himself "the little guy" in racing, also recently purchased a farm in Kentucky as he attempts to grow his Thoroughbred racing and breeding operations.

"Back in the day it didn't matter who you were," Ruis told BloodHorse. "It didn't matter if you were Charlie Whittingham. Everybody got 36 stalls. I'm the little guy. I'm working hard every day.

"...I think Bob Baffert is the best trainer out there, and I've said it more than one time. What he does — he's a magician. But when he can have 60 stalls, and another 60 at Los Alamitos, how can they expect anyone else to get there?"

Ruis has placed his two Grade 1 winners, Bolt d'Oro and Union Strike, in the care of trainer Steve Asmussen. He continues to buy horses and be involved in the day-to-day management of them.

See the full report, along with The Stronach Group's response, at BloodHorse.com.