Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita Park, March 17

By Richard Eng

Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Race 1 – 1 mile, Purse $58,000, Allowance, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

2 Melanistic – Claimed out of her last two starts; Richard Baltas barn has been pretty warm this meet, expect improvement.

4 Sweetrayofsunshine – She has been claimed in her last 4-of-6 starts; popular in the claim box, now Bill Spawr’s turn.

Long Shot – 6 Swiss Bliss

Race 2 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf), Purse $35,000, Maiden claiming $75,000, 3-year-olds

7 Wind of Bosphorus – Both of his turf sprint races are good; did everything but win last time in a dirty nose decision.

11 I’m Wide Awake – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; expect Corey Nakatani to sit for one run.

Long Shot – 2 Heat Flash

Race 3 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $35,000, Claiming $32,000, 4-year-olds

1 Sir Allison – Bob Baffert cull is sliding down the claiming ladder; suspect the low price will finally attract some buyers.

6 Fast N Furius Cat – Has run two good races since claimed by Ted West; similar effort would put him right there at the wire.

Long Shot – 2 Plenny of Henny

Race 4 – 1 mile (turf), Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

9 Jade With Envy – Richard Baltas could win another race on this card; like that Rafael Bejarano is riding for the barn.

8 Sidepocket Run – Don Warren filly showed improvement in second career start; he’s old school, so expect another step forward.

Long Shot – 2 Lady Now

Race 5 – 7 furlongs, Purse $60,000, Allowance, Cal-breds, 4-year-olds and up

2 Ain’t No Other – Interesting small field in here; tiny edge to Rafael Bejarano and the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer.

1 Mel’s Game – Has exploded with back to back wins for Julien Leparoux and Mike Mitchell; he may just be this good.

Long Shot – 3 Thirtyfirststreet

Race 6 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf), Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 4-year-olds and up

4 Pulpit’s Express – Expect speedball tactics down the hillside turf course; Gary Stevens plays catch me if you can.

2 Rock Me Baby – If he duels with Pulpit’s Express, neither one will win; better is he stalks and not blisters early fractions.

Long Shot – 11 Dixieland Blues

Race 7 – 1 mile, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds

9 Footbridge – Ran way too well to lose in last; got nosed by a Bob Baffert nice colt named Governor Charlie.

8 Spirited Touch – This one takes a subtle cut back in distance for Bob Baffert; this colt is not one of his chosen ones.

Long Shot – 1 Consurgo

Race 8 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf), $100,000 Irish O’Brien, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

8 Miss Well Molded – Lot of turf races today, hope it doesn’t rain; big rider switch to Rafael Bejarano for the money shot.

7 Curvy Cat – Tepid chalk in a wide open affair; eked out a win last time and now returns to stakes company.

Long Shot – 3 Dancingtothestars

Race 9 – 7 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, 3-year-olds

8 Inflamed Spirit – Taking a huge class drop to face the bottom rung; need not be much to get his photo taken.

7 Ice Cream Truck – When Garrett Gomez stays for a cheap finale, the horse must be live; will sit in arrears and make one run.

Long Shot – 4 Trice Up

Best Bet – 9 Footbridge (race 7)

Santa Anita Park Saturday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 17/5/$26.80; Long Shots, 8/1/$6.80; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Santa Anita Park Totals – 820/209/$1,354.50; Long Shots, 405/56/$648.40; Best Bets, 47/16/$64.00

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #7 Power Dreams (2/1) in race 7 at Tampa Bay. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Saturday, Creation ran out at Gulfstream Park. Stats – 44/31/$239.90; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick