Santa Anita Park Horse Racing Picks for Friday 2/26/21
It's a great time to dive into horse racing, and FanDuel Racing gives you the chance to do just that.
Starting at 3:30 p.m. EST, we have 8 races at Santa Anita Park. Using numberFire’s projections as a guide, here are some of the best bets.
As always, check the program for scratches and changes, and check the weather and track conditions.
(I will reference Equibase's Speed Figure in selected races, which tells you how fast a horse has been running in each of its races -- adjusted for track, distances, and conditions.)
Warrens Candy Girl, Race 3
FanDuel Racing Odds: 2/1
Race 3 is a Maiden Special Weight for state-bred three-year-old fillies, and it is going 1 mile on the turf. It's a modest field, and the top pick of numberFire’s data is Warrens Candy Girl (2/1) with favorite Big Beauty (9/5) expected to hit the board. Guaranteed Tip Sheet makes Warrens Candy Girl a best bet.
Warrens Candy Girl has four straight runner-up finishes since October, including last months $200K stakes race when she closed hard from off the pace to narrowly miss. She was stuck in traffic and didn’t get a good break, and a jockey change to Abel Cedillo should give her a better break from the gate.
Big Beauty stretches out after a runner-up finish going 6 furlongs on debut.
Crash Corrigan and Bob Daniels, Race 5
FanDuel Racing Odds: 3/1 and 5/1
Race 5 is a Maiden Special Weight for state breds sprinting 6 furlongs. There is a best bet by Guaranteed Tip Sheet on Crash Corrigan (3/1), who has hit the board in his last two starts, including a career-best 82 speed figure 11 days ago against similar runners and coming up a half-length short. I’ll Stand Taller (8/1) is the projected winner for numberFire’s algorithm with Letsgetlucky (5/2) and Crash Corrigan to challenge. I’ll Stand Taller makes his debut for leading trainer Doug O’Neill, who is tied for the meets lead with 17 wins.
First-time starter Thrive (3/1) gets the meet's leading jockey, Flavien Prat, and it breaking from the outside No. 8 post. Toss the last start for Bob Daniels (5/1), who stumbled badly at the beginning and never got going. He has a solid work tab and can hit the board after going off at 2/1 odds last race.
Just Distorted, Race 6
FanDuel Racing Odds: 2/1
Race 6 is the featured Maiden Special Weight for three-year-old fillies, and it's a 6-furlong sprint. The favorite and top pick of numberFire is Ginja (3/1) with Soothsay (5/2) a top challenger. Ginja is trained by Bob Baffert and breaks from the rail for her career debut. She’s well bred and has good gate works on her work tab.
Horse Racing Radar notes that Just Distorted (2/1) is making her debut and had a strong bullet work five days ago, which was best of 67 runners that day at 4 furlongs. She’ll be in the winner's circle if she runs as well as she’s training. Soothsay has the same sire as the top choice, Distorted Humor. She clocked the fastest 5-furlong work a week ago and is a challenger on debut.
