Top 3-year-olds in Santa Anita spotlight
There is no doubt that the 3-year-olds are the glamour division in horse racing.
It would be nice if the best ones, like Triple Crown champion American Pharoah, could race at 4. But the cost of insurance and the potential riches that come from the breeding shed are too much of a pull toward early retirement.
The premier race in each division is the Kentucky Derby for the males and the Kentucky Oaks for the fillies. Both are run the first weekend in May at Churchill Downs.
Santa Anita will be showcasing some of the best 3-year-olds in the west on Saturday’s card.
Mor Spirit figures to be the horse to beat in the Robert B. Lewis. He has already run three times around two turns, including an excellent second to Airoforce in the Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs.
Trainer Bob Baffert has used this strategy before of having one of his best colts race at Churchill Downs as a 2-year-old to get acclimated to the Louisville track early on.
Mor Spirit was an easy winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity last time. He will be ridden by Gary Stevens, who is hoping this colt will be his next Kentucky Derby winner.
Let’s Meet in Rio and Laoban are two other colts to keep an eye on. They exit the same stakes, the Sham, where they ran second and third, respectively.
The filly stakes is the Las Virgenes, and Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly Songbird will be a very short price.
Songbird is undefeated in four lifetime starts and quite frankly has won every start in hand. Jockey Mike Smith rides this feline Cadillac for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
Songbird was not nominated, at this time, for the Kentucky Derby. Her owners, Fox Hill Farms, keep saying she will be pointed for the Oaks and not the Derby.
What keeps her in the Derby discussion is most speed handicappers agree she is flat out faster right now than any of the colts. For Songbird to run in the Derby, two things must happen.
First, the owners must nominate her, and there is still time to do that. Secondly, she must run in and earn enough points in a Derby prep to make the field of 20.
MY SELECTIONS — For those who have asked me about my daily handicap for the Southern California tracks, I have made them available at www.racedaylasvegas.com. Please go to site for more details.
SUPER BOWL WEEKEND — Super Bowl weekend is the second-biggest weekend of the year for tourism to Las Vegas. It is also a fantastic opportunity to showcase the horse racing sport and product to the masses.
Nearly all race and sports books in Nevada are built side by side. And most casino books will use the same ticket writers for both types of wagers. Since the kickoff isn’t until 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, football bettors have a lot of idle time this weekend and many will try betting on horse racing for the first time.
So a couple of things come to mind. If someone is struggling reading the Daily Racing Form or calling out their horse wagers, be a horse racing ambassador. Be patient with the newcomers. Take time to help, if you can. Nothing creates a horse racing fan for life faster than winning your first bet or having a profitable first day.
Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick