Today at Santa Anita: Oct. 13, 2014

TODAY AT SANTA ANITA by Richard Eng

Post Time 1 p.m.

Race 1 - 1 mile, Purse $17,000, Claiming $8,000, 3-year-olds and up

6 Usbek Thunder - Ran fast enough to beat this group in last; just needs to repeat that good performance.

1 Tucker’s Point - Expect a ground saving trip throughout; his last win came at Santa Anita last February.

Long Shot - 2 Diamondsdiplomat

Race 2 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $27,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds and up

2 Candy’s Shoes - Tiny edge in a very difficult heat; taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming.

4 Spring Action - Tepid chalk in a wide open affair; also taking the class drop from MSW to maiden claiming for Mark Casse.

Long Shot - 7 Prospector Alley

Race 3 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds and up

2 Nowalking - Ran a worthy race last time at Del Mar; been working bullets since for Philip D’Amato, looks ready to fire.

5 Day of Fury - Bob Baffert cull has been away since January; main thing is he’s a first time gelding and has been working fast.

Long Shot - 9 Beach Fever

Race 4 - 7 furlongs, Purse $60,000, Optional claiming $62,500, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

2 Sam’s Sister - Perfect after two starts for the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer; filly clearly has a high ceiling.

4 Clearly Confused - Looks like another solid claim by Richard Baltas; he has really come on this summer with lots of wins.

Long Shot - 8 My Sweet Addiction

Race 5 - 7 furlongs, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

3 Warren’s Purrfect - Really found her best stride too late in last; first signs of waking up on the steep class drop.

8 Rosa Divina - Tepid chalk in another difficult heat; big Pick 6 carryover from an impossible card on Sunday.

Long Shot - 4 Smoke ‘n’ Whiskey

Race 6 - 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

2 Halljoy - Always allow extra chances for Rafael Bejarano riding; he finds a way to save ground and horse for the stretch run.

3 Stylish in Black - Has won 2 straight for the underrated Bobby Wayne Grayson barn; this filly has good turf ability.

Long Shot - 7 Nickels Wild

Race 7 - 6 furlongs, $100,000 Speakeasy, 2-year-olds

10 Lord Nelson - Gave a good try versus stablemate American Pharoah; Bob Baffert wanted to give this colt a confidence boost today.

6 All Indians - Rafael Bejarano subs for the injured Kent Desormeaux; expect Kent to get this mount back should it keep improving.

Long Shot - 4 Tizcano

Race 8 - 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $32,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds and up

6 Craving Carats - Peter Miller barn is cold so this drop in class makes sense; everybody likes to win races in SoCal.

5 Too Fast to Pass - Claimed by the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer; that is a good enough to respect, also gets the talent of Rafael Bejarano.

Long Shot - 8 Fighting On

Race 9 - 6 furlongs, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

2 Wade - Big rider switch to Rafael Bejarano for the money shot; beaten favorite looks like he prefers to have a target.

11 Forest Chatter - Gets the parking lot post for Richard Mandella; key is seeing HOF Mike Smith riding in the finale.

Long Shot - 4 He’s On His Toes

Best Bet - 2 Sam’s Sister (race 4)

Santa Anita Sunday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 17/2/$9.20; Long Shots, 8/1/$7.20; Best Bet, 1/1/$4.00

Santa Anita Totals - 195/46/$274.80; Long Shots, 95/12/$161.60; Best Bets, 11/6/$23.00

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #2 Macagone (5/2) in race 4 at Belmont Park. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Sunday, Frank’s Officer Gal ran second at Keeneland paying $4.80 to place and $2.80 to show. Stats - 158/90/$839.20; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick