Baseball players Bregman and Buehler team on ownership of horse that wins for 1st time

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — All-Star baseball players Alex Bregman and Walker Buehler have teamed as owners of a 3-year-old colt that won for the first time at Santa Anita on Friday.

March of Time defeated four rivals by 2 1/4 lengths to win a six-furlong sprint race worth $60,000 that was designated for horses that have never won. The $60,000 purse was representative of the quality of the horses entered.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, March of Time paid $4.60 to win as the wagering favorite. The colt took over the lead in the upper stretch and put away eventual runner-up Santarena with a furlong to go.

Sired by 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, who was trained by Baffert, the colt’s other owner is Baffert’s wife, Jill. Buehler, a free agent pitcher who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series this year, is a longtime friend of the couple.

Bregman also is a free agent after the third baseman spent the past nine seasons with the Houston Astros and helped them to a pair of World Series titles.

March of Time was previously owned by the high-powered trio of Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith of Coolmore. The colt finished second in his racing debut a year ago.

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

FILE - Jockey Mike Smith, left, speaks with trainer Bob Baffert, center, and Jill Baffert, right, after Justify with Smith atop won the 143rd Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico race course May 19, 2018, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

FILE - Houston Astros' Alex Bregman bats during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Sept. 22, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler throws against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

ROME (AP) — Italy’s parliament on Saturday approved the government’s 2025 budget, worth a total of 30 billion euros ($31 billion) — more than half of that in tax cuts and social security benefits for low-income citizens.

The measures, pushed by the far-right cabinet headed by Premier Giorgia Meloni, won final approval in the Upper House by 108 votes to 63.

The country’s center-left opposition had harshly criticized the economic package, saying it didn’t meet the premier’s pledges to slash taxes for most Italians and boost employment.

Meloni has staunchly defended the budget, stressing its “wide balance” and its aim to support low and medium-income earners and families with children, while adding resources for the country’s struggling health system.

“We used the limited resources available to strengthen the main measures approved during the past years, making them structural and widening them to include a larger audience,” the premier said after the budget’s final approval.

The package includes a 1,000-euro bonus for the parents of newborns, with wealthier families excluded, as part of efforts to reverse Italy’s declining birth rate.

Banks, which have enjoyed high profits in recent years thanks to falling interest rates, will be asked to contribute 3.5 billion euros to the budget, which will to go the national health system.

Italy is under pressure from the European Union to slash its deficit after huge spikes in 2022 and 2023, and has pledged to bring it below the EU’s 3% of GDP ceiling in 2026.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacts during the Senate session in Rome, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024 (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacts during the Senate session in Rome, Wednesday, Dec.18, 2024 (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)