santa anita | Horse Racing Free Tips

Two Unbeaten Sons Of Speightstown Head Entries For Malibu Stakes

A pair of unbeatens, Bob Baffert's Charlatan and Steve Asmussen's Nashville head a powerful group of probable starters in Santa Anita's Grade 1, $300,000 Runhappy Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs on opening day, Saturday, Dec. 26. Santa Anita's traditional opening day headliner, the Malibu, the final Grade 1 of the year for 3-year-olds, will be run for the 74th time. (The race was run in divisions in 1972, 1975, 1977 & 1984).

Idle since taking a division of the G1 Arkansas Derby by six lengths on May 2, Charlatan was subsequently disqualified from purse money due to a medication violation, so he thus officially has two wins from three starts. Including the Arkansas Derby, Charlatan, who broke his maiden and took a first condition allowance here this past winter, has won his three starts by a combined 22 lengths.

In a performance that had the racing world abuzz on Breeders' Cup Classic Day at Keeneland Nov. 7, Nashville powered to a 3 ½ length victory in a six furlong ungraded stakes, stopping the clock at 1:07.80 and thus earning a solid 102 Beyer Speed figure—two points less than Whitmore's 104 Beyer in the Grade I Breeders' Cup Sprint over the same surface. Heavily favored in three starts, all sprints, Nashville, like Charlatan, is a son of champion sprinter Speightstown. A first-out maiden winner Sept. 2 at Saratoga, he has won all three of his races in gate to wire fashion by a combined 24 ¾ lengths.

Baffert will also be represented in the Malibu by three-time stakes winner Thousand Words, who has been idle since well beaten in the G1 Preakness Stakes Oct. 3.

Mark Glatt's Grade 1 stakes winning sprinter Collusion Illusion is also listed as probable and although he was well beaten by Whitmore when shuffled back early in the Breeder's Cup Sprint, he ran a much better-than-looked race and should give a good account of himself back on his home ground.

Nominations closed Dec. 10 and among those also listed as probable for the Malibu are the John Shirreffs-trained Express Train, Michael McCarthy's Independence Hall and Doug O'Neill's Strongconstitution.

Opening day entries for the Runhappy Malibu and five other stakes, the G1 La Brea, the G1 American Oaks, the G2 Mathis Brothers Mile, the G2 San Antonio and the Lady of Shamrock Stakes, will be taken at Santa Anita on Monday, Dec. 21.

Although there is still no public admittance due to continuing restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, Santa Anita's races can be viewed live at santaanita.com/live and fans can watch and wager on these races via a number of ADW platforms, including 1st.com/Bet.

Special early first post time on opening day is at 11:00 a.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Two Unbeaten Sons Of Speightstown Head Entries For Malibu Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Low Takeout Wagers Bolster Santa Anita Winter-Spring Meet Betting Menu

With its highly anticipated Winter/Spring Meeting opener set for Saturday, December 26, Santa Anita Park has announced a comprehensive betting menu that will again feature the popular 20 cent Single Ticket Rainbow Pick 6 Jackpot and a myriad of other features, including a North American-low takeout of 15.43 percent on all $2 Win, Place and Show wagers.

Although Santa Anita remains closed to the public due to continued restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans can watch all of the track's live races free of charge via santaanita.com/live and can watch and wager on Santa Anita racing via a variety of ADW platforms including 1st.com/Bet.

In addition to the 20 cent Rainbow Six, Santa Anita will again offer the 50 cent Early Pick 5, which features a low 14 percent takeout, as well as the 50 cent Late Pick 5.

With the Jackpot provision in place, the 20 cent Single Ticket Rainbow Pick 6 requires a perfect single ticket in order to key a potentially life-changing payoff. Providing there is no single ticket winner, consolation tickets with the highest number of winners receive a payoff on 70 percent of the net pool. The remaining 30 percent is carried over to a Jackpot pool, which will continue to accrue until there is a single ticket winner or there is a designated mandatory payoff day.

The $1 Stronach Five will again be offered each Friday and will consist of a fast-paced series of five races from Santa Anita, Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park and Golden Gate Fields. The Stronach Five offers players a low takeout of 12 percent.

Santa Anita will also continue to offer the $5 Golden Hour Double, and the $1 Golden Hour Pick 4. Both wagers embrace late races at both Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields.

Players will also once again be offered $1 exactas, $2 rolling Daily Doubles, 50 cent rolling Pick 3s, an early 50 cent Pick 4, as well as 10 cent Superfectas on all races with a minimum of six runners.

Additionally, the 50 cent Jackpot Super High 5 is again available in all races with seven or more declared starters. The wager requires players to select the first five finishers in each race, in exact order. In those races that do not produce a single ticket winner, 75 percent of the net pool will be paid out to those tickets that have correctly selected five winners, with 25 percent of the net pool carried over to the next Jackpot Super High Five race.

Special early first post time on opening day, Saturday, Dec. 26, is at 11 a.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Low Takeout Wagers Bolster Santa Anita Winter-Spring Meet Betting Menu appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Fan Favorite Santa Anita Wall Calendar Available Online Beginning Friday, Dec. 11

One of the most sought-after day-after-Christmas items for decades, limited issues of Santa Anita's traditional wall calendar will be available beginning this Friday, Dec. 11, for a five dollar charitable donation at santaanita.com/calendar. Net proceeds from each donation, after shipping, will go to benefit the Foothill Unity Center. Based in nearby Monrovia, the Foothill Unity Center provides food distribution and many other services to people in crisis in the San Gabriel Valley.

Traditionally given free of charge with paid admission on opening day, Dec. 26, the 2020-2021 calendar, which is themed “Santa Anita Anomalies,” recognizing some of the unusual moments that have helped to make racing at Santa Anita synonymous with great sport, will not be available on-site this year as there is still no public admittance due to restrictions relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

These magnificent full-color calendars will be available online from Dec. 11 through opening day, Saturday, Dec. 26, or the first 5,000 calendars. There is a limit of two calendars per household, while supplies last.

Santa Anita's Winter/Spring Meet will run from Dec. 26 through June 20. Fans can watch all of Santa Anita's live races free of charge at santaanita.com/live and can watch and wager via a variety of ADW platforms, including 1st.com/Bet.

First post time on opening day, Dec. 26, is at 11 a.m. For more information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Fan Favorite Santa Anita Wall Calendar Available Online Beginning Friday, Dec. 11 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘Sunshine Bonus’ Attracting Out-Of-State Interest To Santa Anita Meet

With its traditional Winter/Spring opener set for Saturday, Dec. 26, Santa Anita's newly announced Sunshine Bonus program is attracting out-of-state horses as trainers and horseman also consider a 10 percent raise in overnight purses which will enable The Great Race Place to distribute $533,000 on a daily basis.

The Sunshine Bonus, which provides several significant incentives, including an immediate payment of $3,000 to the owner of any eligible horse making their first start at Santa Anita, has garnered the attention of horsemen nationwide.

“We're getting more and more interest from people out of state,” said Chris Merz, Santa Anita's Director of Racing. “Robert Falcone, Jr., who is based in New York, was here a couple of years ago and he's here again with a string of horses. With our new turf chute and the overall course in pristine condition, we're going to be able to offer the best wintertime turf racing in North American, without question. Additionally, when you look at the 10 percent increase in overnight purses and the very significant added money provided by the Sunshine Bonus program, people are thinking about us like maybe they haven't in many years now. We're very encouraged.”

Falcone, Jr., who first came to Southern California for the 2017 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar with Mind Your Biscuits while an assistant to Chad Summers, is excited to be back in Arcadia.

“I've got 25 horses, mainly claiming horses, a few allowance and a couple stakes horses that we've brought out from Belmont Park,” he said. “A lot of factors went into making the move. This is a nice environment and the people here are very accommodating. Obviously, the Sunshine Bonus is very important and with the 10 percent increase in overnight purses, we realized the purses this winter at Santa Anita are a little better than at Gulfstream. We had a great experience when we came out here with Mind Your Biscuits and when he won the Malibu that year (2017), it was just tremendous and we ended up having a very successful winter.

“This is an unbelievable place to train horses and with the new turf chute, the grass racing is going to give us a lot of options. To be honest, I felt like I really wanted to help the program here. Santa Anita has been through so much and now, it looks like everything is going in the right direction. The changes that have been made can be difficult at times, but this new approach is what's needed in this game.”

In addition to providing a $3,000 starter's bonus to eligible out-of-state horses, Santa Anita's Sunshine Bonus will also award a 35 percent bonus, above regular purse money-won, to eligible horses in their first five Santa Anita starts.

For additional information on Santa Anita's upcoming Winter/Spring Meet, please visit santaanita.com, or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post ‘Sunshine Bonus’ Attracting Out-Of-State Interest To Santa Anita Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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