Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, Dec. 27

Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Race 1 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $16,000, Claiming $12,500, 3-year-olds and up

7 Mahalo Arturo - Don’t mind the parking lot post in this 7-horse field; has tactical speed to sit a decent trip.

5 Magna Warrior - Taking a huge class drop to face much easier; red flag drop, but he could win this race by memory.

Long Shot - 3 Warren’s Wesley

Race 2 - 6 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds

11 Holy Ascension - You don’t see Saul Arias riding too many favorites in SoCal; suspect you’ll still get value then.

2 Where Is My Mind - Like the cut back in distance; showed good speed that day, suspect she will finish better tonight.

Long Shot - 4 Ill Tell You What

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

1 Fantastic Style - FTS from the Bob Baffert barn; the first flash on the tote board will tell you if she is live or not.

5 Cafetiere - FTS from Kristin Mulhall; key vote for me is seeing Rafael Bejarano taking the call.

Long Shot - 8 Longstocking

Race 4 - 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 8 feet), Purse $35,000, Claiming $32,000, 3-year-olds and up

4 Tigah - Did everything but win last time in a blanket finish; takes a subtle class drop to face slightly easier tonight.

2 Jomelo - Start of the pick 6 with a $146K carryover; this is an open race to the start of another very difficult sequence.

Long Shot - 6 Ezio

Race 5 - 6 1/2 furlongs, $100,000 Midnight Lute, 3-year-olds and up

6 Secret Circle - Bob Baffert would like nothing better than to win a stakes named for one of his best runners; this is class relief too.

5 Seeking the Sherif - Draw a line thru the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and his resume looks much better; absolutely loves Santa Anita too.

Long Shot - 7 Distinctiv Passion

Race 6 - 1 mile (turf, rail at 8 feet), $75,000 Eddie Logan, 2-year-olds

3 Daddy D T - Ran a terrific third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf; Corey Nakatani is one of the best turf riders in racing.

5 Stormy Liberal - Has really taken to turf as shown by his last two starts; prefers to race on, or close to, the early lead.

Long Shot - 11 Bobo

Race 7 - 7 furlongs, Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

5 Dancinthenightaway - Has won both her career starts easily; Mark Glatt taking his time putting her thru her conditions first.

10 Sayes So - Papa Mandella doesn’t win with many FTS, so when it happens be wary; watch the tote board action for more indicators.

Long Shot - 7 Sky Mega

Race 8 - 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 8 feet), $100,000 Robert J. Frankel, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

11 Rusty Slipper - Graham Motion has an uncoupled entry so caveat emptor; was not embarrassed in a difficult Breeders’ Cup heat.

5 Lady of Gold - This is the other Graham Motion turfer; figures to offer solid value with Kent Desormeaux up.

Long Shot - 7 Blingismything

Race 9 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds

5 Cyrus Alexander - Has been a beaten favorite in both career starts; Jerry Hollendorfer switches to Mike Smith for the money shot.

1 Second Summer - Exploded with a big late run last out in turf debut; back on dirt, so has to show that same gumption.

Long Shot - 9 Kantune

Best Bet - 6 Secret Circle (race 5)

Santa Anita Friday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 18/4/$27.80; Long Shots, 9/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Santa Anita Totals - 18/4/$27.80; Long Shots, 9/0/$0; Best Bets, 1/0/$0

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #7 Spa City Fever (4/1) in race 8 at Aqueduct. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, She’s All Even ran second at Aqueduct paying $2.90 to place and $2.60 to show. Stats - 1/1/$5.50; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick