Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, March 14

Race 1 – 6 furlongs, Purse $25,000, Claiming $25,000, 4-year-olds and up

1 Cuneo – Broke his maiden for $20K so this price tag is more comfortable; need not be much in this slowpoke group.

4 Warren’s Tyler S. – Claimed two races ago by Tim Yakteen; Ran evenly in last, is clearly not overmatched with these.

Long Shot – 2 Lucky Cotton

Race 2 – 6 furlongs, Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $50,000, Cal-breds, Fillies, 3-year-olds

5 Harlington’s Rose – Chalk is making her third start off a 2-month hiatus; tactical speed to sit a snug trip throughout.

4 Ruff Proof – Showed good improvement facing winners for the first time; I did not pick Versye who is a stuck horse in here.

Long Shot – 1 Swissarella

Race 3 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $32,000, Claiming $25,000, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

4 Love Tale – Returns to winning level after being overmatched in last; reunited with that day’s winning jockey Corey Nakatani.

5 Spiced Latte – Won by a paper thin margin in last in a gutsy effort; kicks off a Pick 6 with a $58K carryover.

Long Shot – 8 Readyforhercloseup

Race 4 – 6 furlongs, Purse $27,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds

5 Practical – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; faced much tougher foes at Del Mar.

4 Goyan – Carla Gaines adding blinkers on for this try; takes the weight off with talented bugboy Drayden Van Dyke.

Long Shot – 3 Merlion

Race 5 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

1 Yana – Returns to face easier Cal-breds after a good try in open company; don’t like the rail, but she can overcome it.

9 Unusual Style – Dead late closer will have her work cut out for her late; will hope for a quick pace to close into.

Long Shot – 3 Exclusive Girl

Race 6 – 1 mile, Purse $16,000, Claiming $12,500, 4-year-olds and up

5 Crusher – Ran OK on turf in last, now returns to preferred dirt; can usually get good value with capable Saul Arias up.

8 Trouble X Two – Another switching from from turf to dirt for today; also taking off weight with bugboy Drayden Van Dyke.

Long Shot – 6 Tribe

Race 7 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $60,000, Optional claiming $62,500, 4-year-olds and up

7 A Toast to You – Nice win off the claim by the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer; sure he’s bummed out with news on Shared Belief.

2 Hotradamus – This is one of Rafael Bejarano weaker riding cards; still he is dangerous one anything he rides.

Long Shot – 8 Brokered

Race 8 – 6 furlongs, Purse $20,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 4-year-olds and up

5 Profire – He looked like a sure winner until he spit the bit late; this is even a slower group to face than the last time.

1 Bosque Angel – Ran OK in debut for Bruce Headley; is dropped one notch in class and could dominate these.

Long Shot – 9 End of Time

Best Bet – 7 A Toast to You (race 7)

Santa Anita Park Thursday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/3/$17.80; Long Shots, 7/2/$26.00; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Santa Anita Park Totals – 787/225/$1,378.00; Long Shots, 389/55/$578.00; Best Bets, 48/24/$101.60

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #3 Divorce Party (6/1) in race 8 at Tampa Bay Downs. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, In Kelly’s Defense ran second at Fair Grounds paying $3.20 to place and $2.60 to show. Stats – 45/25/$256.30; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick