HORSE RACING

​Santa Anita Park Horse Racing Picks for Saturday 4/24/21

It's a great time to dive into horse racing, and FanDuel Racing gives you the chance to do just that.

Starting at 4:00 p.m. EST, we have 1 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).

North County Guy, Race 1

FanDuel Racing Odds: 6/5

The day the The Great Race Place opens with a state-bred stakes race for older horses going 1 mile on the turf. The top pick according to numberFire’s data is North County Guy (6/5) to edge the other race favorite, Acclimate (9/5).

They are both conditioned by leading EPO trainers (Richard Baltas and Phil D'Amato). Leading jockey Flavien Prat rides Acclimate, who ran a better time in his last race despite adding distance. He drops from graded company to a Cal-bred race. Horse Racing Radar notes that North County Guy ran the top last-race speed figure in a decisive victory last time out, and he's in career-best form.

As Time Goes By, Race 8

FanDuel Racing Odds: 3/5

Race 8 is the $200K Grade II Santa Margarita Stakes, and we should see another chalky favorite win. There are just five fillies and mares running in the 1 1/8-mile race, and As Time Goes By (3/5) will be tough to beat, according to numberFire's projections. Jockey Mike Smith has As Time Goes By stretching out after winning easily two races back and then finishing second behind Preakness Stakes-winning mare Swiss Skydiver in a Grade I stakes race last month.

Both Pharoah's Heart (4/1) and Harvest Moon (2/1), the latter with Flavien Prat riding, make second starts after a layoff. numberFire likes the chances of Harvest Moon to improve after finishing fourth in that same Grade I race behind As Time Goes By. Harvest Moon has not races in more than four months, and she also finished fourth in the Breeders' Cup Distaff last November.

Lady Noguez, Race 9

FanDuel Racing Odds: 4/1

Race 9 is a Starter Allowance race for fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles on the turf. numberFire's algorithm projects Lady Noguez (4/1) to beat the favorite, Goodtingscominpink (5/2). Lady Noguez has five runner-up finishes in the past 13 months but was a disappointing fifth as the favorite last race when sprinting a shorter distance. Her best can be good enough here, but Goodtingscominpink has the fastest speed figures in this field.

It's not a strong group of eight runners, as Goodtingscominpink has won just 1-of-15 starts and is the betting favorite in this race off her two runner-up finishes in two starts this year.