New Bloodlines at Los Al; Allergan’s Phantom Links

California Chrome was the chalk horse heading into the Kentucky Derby on May 3, continuing a streak of OC ties that started in 2012, when CashCall Inc.’s Paul Reddam saw his I’ll Have Another win at 15-1. Yorba Linda resident David Kenney was a partner in Goldencents, which was among the upper tier of contenders but finished out of the money last year … California Chrome isn’t from here, but the horse did train at Los Alamitos Race Course—a coup for longtime proprietor Doc Allred, who has moved quickly in recent months to add training facilities for thoroughbreds to complement the North OC track’s status as a quarter-horse center, along with general upgrades of the grandstands and amenities … Allred’s new ambitions took shape after Hollywood Park shut down racing operations in favor of residential development. That sent the Southern California thoroughbred crowd looking for new arrangements, and our Chris Casacchia broke the news in December that Allred would attempt to fill the gap … Los Al now has a “new loam track, with the longest homestretch in North America” and “has lured plenty of top California trainers, especially those displaced by Hollywood Park’s closure,” according to the New York Times … Can’t be as enthusiastic about OC’s chances of drawing the Clippers to take up residence at the Honda Center now that Donald Sterling is expected to be forced into a sale of the team. Some locals got worked up about a potential bid by Broadcom and Ducks owner Henry Samueli, who owns another company that runs the Honda Center and was involved in an earlier plan that nearly brought the Sacramento Kings to Anaheim a few years ago. Keep this in mind on the Clippers, though: the NBA’s problem is with Sterling, not the Los Angeles market or the Staples Center—and there’s no lack of L.A. money anxious to bid on the team … Curious that one of the best takes on Sterling’s racially charged rant came from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Time magazine. The Hall of Famer, who spent a few months working as a Clippers’ coach some years ago, expressed shock that anyone was shocked, given Sterling’s track record. It was a head-scratcher because Abdul-Jabbar had only recently signed on as a columnist for Freedom Communications’ newly launched L.A. Register … Credit Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait for expressing a good sense of commercial rights and showing a better negotiating posture than most pols manage when playing with public money. Tait’s take on word that the Arte Moreno’s Angels have talked about the possibility of building a new ball yard at Great Park in Irvine, from the L.A. Times: “It’s the right of any businessman with an out clause to look at his options. I happen to believe his best option by far is Anaheim” … Now a sports nonreport—because there is no golf course at Allergan’s HQ campus in Irvine, despite what Valeant CEO Michael Pearson recently told a group of analysts, according to the Province, a Vancouver newspaper. The inaccurate claim about the golf course comes as Pearson pushes a hostile bid for the Irvine-based drug maker (see related story, page 1). Allergan has a soccer field, but it would be tough to mistake that for a golf course. Especially for Pearson, who spent several years in OC before Valeant decamped to Canada.