Santa Anita Park Horse Racing Picks for Sunday 4/11/21
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 nine 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.)
Barraza and Roadside, Race 3
FanDuel Racing Odds: 8/5 and 8/1
Race 3 is a high-end Maiden Claimer for three-year-olds sprinting 6 furlongs. The top pick according to numberFire’s data is Roadside (8/1) to edge heavy favorite Barraza (8/5). Roadside makes his debut, and he’s a son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense. More regarded is Barraza, who is another short-priced favorite who seems logical but offers no value in this six-horse field.
Barraza has displayed improvement on his work tab in the mornings for leading trainer Bob Baffert. The son of Into Mischief finished a distant second in his third start with an improved 88 speed figure. Sir Flatter (5/2) gets first-time Lasix from EPO trainer Peter Miller for his second start and has a pair of stronger workouts leading to his 2021 debut.
Shanghai Sunrise and Dancing Dana, Race 5
FanDuel Racing Odds: 5/1 and 5/2
Race 5 is a Starter Optional Claimer for three-year-old fillies sprinting 6 furlongs. There are three main runners, and the slight preference goes to Dancing Dana (5/2), according to numberFire’s projections. She’ll get a pace-stalking position and has proven to be consistent with six straight in-the-money finishes and improved speed figures — up to 89 when finishing third last race in front of Shanghai Sunrise (5/1), who also has improving speed figures and a pair of sharp recent works, indicating she may be ready to turn the tables.
Warren’s Memorable (12/1) completes the trifecta and returns to sprinting, where she belongs. Her speed figures don’t match, but if the fractions are fast up front, she’ll likely be picking up the pieces from off the pace.
Trina and Li’l Grazen, Race 8
FanDuel Racing Odds: 7/2 and 3/1
Race 8 is the Sunday feature for state bred fillies and mares sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs. Not much in here for this first-level Allowance Optional Claiming race with 9 runners, and the numberFire algorithm projects Li’l Grazen (3/1) to win ahead of Time For Ebby (4/1) and Homehome (8/1). FanDuel Racing odds suggest 28% implied win odds for Li'l Grazen.
Time For Ebby is an eight-year-old making her 61st start. Jockey Tyler Baze wins at only a 12% rate, but he road the mare to a neck-win five weeks ago at this level in one of her best speed figures (92) in years. Li’l Grazen won a pair of races last summer at Del Mar but finished a distant third last race beyind winner Time For Ebby, while Homehome finished last and fourth. Leading jockey Flavien Prat has not ridden Li’l Grazen since last summer’s victories, but he’s back aboard for trainer Peter Miller.
Trina (7/2) is a sharp Bay Area invader with speed figures that fit if she can transfer her speed from the synthetic surface to dirt. She won her last race five weeks ago and has strong gate jockey Abel Cedillo riding and should be running up front.
