HORSE RACING

Today at Santa Anita Park

By Richard Eng

Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Race 1 – 6 furlongs, Purse $21,000, Claiming $12,500, 4-year-olds

2 Mack’s Gold Bullet – Sharp win in last on the drop; has lots of back class to repeat that race.

7 Stormin Proud Papa – Found his best stride too late in last, first out for Mike Mitchell; expect improvement tonight.

Long Shot – 4 Chinese Praise

Race 2 – 6 furlongs, Purse $27,-000, Maiden claiming $40,000, Cal-breds, Fillies, 3-year-olds

7 Ralphy Girl – Solid debut and appears capable of improving in second outing; speed and wide posts doing well at Santa Anita.

6 Anita Margarits – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; need not be much to compete in here.

Long Shot – 1 Babyneedsnewshoes

Race 3 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 15 feet), $75,000 Megahertz, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

8 Wild Mia – Solid turf resume in midwest for Tom Proctor; Jerry Fanning tried her short, but she likes 2-turn routes.

6 Imperialistic Diva – Finally broke thru with first U.S. victory; may turn on the light where she can move forward.

Long Shot – 1 Equitana

Race 4 – 6 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming 430,000, 3-year-olds

9 Pulpit’s Express – Ran evenly in debut for Mike Mitchell; his babies win at a high rate second time out.

3 Patriotic Lion – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; Freddie Lenclud is a French rider.

Long Shot – 7 Dream Caught

Race 5 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 4-year-olds and up

4 Husband’s Folly – Shows promise on grass, going 2-turns for the first time; key will be if Rafael Bejarano can rate him.

1 Don Perico – Speedy sort will enjoy the turf rail out 15 feet; saves all the ground and comes grinding hard late.

Long Shot – 3 Lord’s Minister

Race 6 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds

6 Candy’s Jewel – second best last 2 times out; worked a bullet for the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer, sitting on go.

4 Castaway – Broke thru with a career best effort last out for Bob Baffert; was aggressively put into the race.

Long Shot – 3 Called to Serve

Race 7 – 1 mile, Purse $17,000, Claiming $8,000, 4-year-olds and up

6 Miles Heir – Tiny edge in the hardest race on the card; who knows which of these cheap claimers will wake up.

8 Raingear – Winless in 2-years but one of the favorites today; that tells you something about the rest of the horses.

Long Shot – 5 Asperity

Race 8 – 6 furlongs, $150,000 Palos Verdes, 4-year-olds and up

8 Euroears – Speed and wide posts in dirt sprints have excelled at Santa Anita; expect Bob Baffert horse to send hard today.

2 Amazombie – Eclipse champion is steady as they come; key is he is always at the mercy of the pace, will BC jinx beat him?

Long Shot – 4 Mensa Heat

Race 9 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, 3-year-olds

4 Hava Cigar – Wicked finish last time after dawdling most of the way; moves from post 13 to 4 and may have less to do.

5 Mr. Padre – Ran much better on the stretch out while facing a slower early pace; chance with a repeat effort.

Long Shot – 7 Push Button Magic

Best Bet – 6 Candy’s Jewel (race 6)

Santa Anita Park Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/3/$12.60; Long Shots, 7/1/$10.80; Best Bet, 1/1/$3.40

Santa Anita Park Totals – 279/68/$411.00; Long Shots, 142/21/$267.00; Best Bets, 16/7/$27.60

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #3 Minister Colin (6/1) in race 8 at Gulfstream Park. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Honchis ‘N Ponchis won at Aqueduct paying $11.20 to win, $5.00 to place and $3.20 to show. Stats – 15/12/$136.40; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick