Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, March 22

Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Race 1 – 6 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Claiming $16,000, 4-year-olds and up

3 Muchos Besos – Claimed off a good second going a mile; like the cut back in distance to a sprint, will be closing fast.

4 Peacenik – Reclaimed by Bill Spawr but disappointed in last; he’s better then that, so expect improvement on the drop.

Long Shot – 1 Gnarly Dude

Race 2 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies, 3-year-olds

4 La Sorella – Showed good improvement from career debut to second start; one more step improvement and she’ll win today.

5 Nazareth – Has run well twice on turf, long and short; goes short today and figures to sit back and come blasting home late.

Long Shot – 1 Sweet as a Rose

Race 3 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $20,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 4-year-olds and up

3 Street Maven – Dropped to this bottom level in last and just missed; slight edge in a tight fit.

1 Roman Tizzy – Figures to show more speed from the rail to protect his post; woke up last time at this bottom rung.

Long Shot – 4 We Have Lift Off

Race 4 – 1 1/2 miles (turf, rail at 15 feet), $200,000 San Luis Rey, 4-year-olds and up

1 Vagabond Shoes – Shortest priced favorite on the card; this is not the strongest grade 2 stakes you’re going to see.

5 Temeraine – Never had clear sailing in last in a traffic jam stretch run; only 5 horses, but still may come down to trip.

Long Shot – 3 Lucayan

Race 5 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds

6 Gameboy Luke – Showed improved early speed in last, now Mark Glatt adding blinkers on; suspect easy tactics to decipher.

7 Twenty Percent – Lot of FTS in here so keep an eye on the tote board; this one was made the morning line chalk by Jon White.

Long Shot – 2 Bayview Drive

Race 6 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $50,000, Claiming $75,000, 4-year-olds and up

8 Stoney Fleece – John Sadler has won his way out in spades for this $40K claim; would shed no tears to lose him for $75K.

5 El Commodore – Speedy sort will try 2-turns here under Gary Stevens; plenty of experience racing well at the distance.

Long Shot – 2 Willyconker

Race 7 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $19,000, Claiming $10,000, 4-year-olds and up

11 Paseo Alegro – Claimed by Vann Belvoir off a solid win; he has carved a nice niche for himself in SoCal.

2 Big Wags – Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low level; chance to win this off memory.

Long Shot – 9 Joe Carl

Race 8 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 15 feet), $75,000 Pasadena, 3-year-olds

1 Enterprising – Ran a much better than looked race in the El Camino Real Derby; big future still, but on the grass.

4 Diamond Bachelor – The first 3 races of his career were all better; just happens they were all on the grass course too.

Long Shot – 8 Royal Banker

Race 9 – 7 furlongs, Purse $16,000, Claiming $12,500, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

7 Corinthian Melody – Taking a huge class drop to face much easier; his race two back, if repeated, would win today.

6 Lil Cheyenne – Reunited with Mark Glatt and ran a good third off a 2-month hiatus; will need pace up front to do her best.

Long Shot – 8 Joint Attempt

Best Bet – 4 La Sorella (race 2)

Santa Anita Park Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 14/6/$33.60; Long Shots, 8/2/$18.60; Best Bet, 1/1/$3.60

Santa Anita Park Totals – 865/243/$1,492.00; Long Shots, 428/61/$638.80; Best Bets, 53/25/$105.20

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #7 Cast a Doubt (3/1) in race 5 at Aqueduct. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Frederico ran second at Oaklawn Park paying $4.80 to place and $3.60 to show. Stats – 50/28/$288.90; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick