Santa Anita Wrap Up, Del Mar and Breeders’ Cup Preview

Santa Park Wrap Up

Santa Anita Park ended their five week fall stand on Sunday and it was a day for the long shots to come rolling in. With pretty near full fields in the second half of the race program and many just plain wide open events, this Sunday afternoon was ripe for the picking of many good priced horses. Not only did nobody have the pick six on Sunday, five winners came back at $55,394 for the $2 wager. Both surfaces played fair and the handicappers had no idea if speed was going to hold on either surface, because sometimes it did while at other times it did not.

Jockey Results at Santa Anita

To nobody’s surprise, Juan Hernandez easily won the riding title with 25 victories spread out over the five weeks of racing. Umberto Rispoli blanked on Sunday and finished second with 15. Antonio Fresu, who missed four days of riding due to suspensions, was third with 14. Long shot rider Tiago Pereira finished with a flourish winning three on Friday and two more on Sunday to tie for 4th with Hector Berrios at 10 winners each. J.J. easily had the best win percentage at 24%.

Trainer Results at Santa Anita

It was very close for the training title but Bob Baffert was the only trainer of the top three to win on Sunday and he walked away with his 21st Santa Anita title with 14 wins. Phil D’Amato had plenty of chances on Sunday but blanked on the day and was second with 13. And George Papaprodromou had an outstanding meet winning 12 winning races but also blanking on Sunday. Baffert and Papaprodromou had the best win percentages at 31%.

 

Moving to Del Mar

There is no peace for the players, the trainers, or the jockeys as racing resumes this Thursday down at Del Mar with a 9 race program highlighted by the Let It Ride stakes. Then the Breeders’ Cup starts on Friday with a 10 race program, then 12 races on Saturday with an outstanding Breeders' Cup program, and then Sunday will conclude opening week with another 9 races. I hope everybody’s bankroll is up to the task at hand.

Upcoming Del Mar Let It Ride Stakes

The Del Mar meet opens with the Let It Ride stakes on Thursday for three year olds going a mile on the turf. Entries are already drawn for this race and it looks like 10 will go to the post in this restricted ungraded stakes with a $100,000 purse. Trainer Phil D’Amato has two in the race but the real threat to the locals will be a Brad Cox shipper who is stakes placed. The race does look like a good gambling and wagering venue.

Breeders' Cup at Del Mar

On Friday is of course the five Breeders’ Cup races for two year olds but there are three other stakes for the undercard, all for Cal breds. Ken Maddy, a state Senator who did so much for racing in California, is honored with a race in his name for juvenile fillies going 5/8 on the turf. The purse for the “Maddy” is $200,000 while other Cal Bred Juveniles will race for $175,000 at 7 furlongs on the main track, one race for colts and one race for fillies.

Then on Saturday there are the 9 Breeders' Cup stakes but there are two other Grade 3 stakes on the undercard, the Goldikova at a mile on the turf for fillies and mares 3 and up, and the Bayakoa stakes at a mile on the main track for fillies and mares 3 and up. An allowance race fills out the 12 race Saturday program.

First post on Friday will be 11:35 AM Pacific time while first post on Saturday will be 10:05 AM Pacific time. Selections for Saturday will be sent out on Friday evening due to the early post time.

THE BREEDERS’ CUP

The great thing about the Breeders' Cup races is that it is so different from our daily run of the mill programs at our local tracks. First of all, for the most part you have full fields, many times as much as 14 horses in a race. Secondly, you have top quality stock from all over the world and trying to decipher who’s going to come to the top of the heap on this given day is a real challenge.

Sure we know that the European horses will dominate in the long distance turf races, but which one. And now the country of Japan has become a major player in these races, both turf and dirt, and they are sending as many as 9 horses to Del Mar this year. They will have three in the Classic for Saturday on the main track and all three have to be considered contenders. And last but not least, the opportunity for good mutuels on first class horses is available in all of the Breeders' Cup races because of the factors listed above. Who doesn’t like getting a $9 or $10 mutuel on a favorite with a Grade 1 animal. And then things really open up from a wagering stand point when you get into the vertical and horizontal exotic wagers. Yes, it is difficult to land on these types of bets but when and if you do, they can certainly make your day or your week.

50 Cent Pick 4 and Pick 5 Breeders' Cup Betting Options

Saturday offers the best of all of these worlds because of the 9 Breeders' Cup races and this year the Classic will be smack dab in the middle, meaning there will be four other races both before and after the Classic. There are 50 cent pick fours this year that are just as attractive as the 50 cent pick fives. For example, on Saturday, there will be an all TURF pick 4 on races 5,7,9, and 11 while there will also be an all DIRT pick four on races 6,8,10,12 with the Classic being race 8. Those are both 50 cent wagers and will offer good returns if one can put together the right numbers.

There are the usual pick fives as well, three of them, one with races 1 through 5, one with races 4 through 8, and one with races 8 through 12. And on Friday they will have a $3 all TURF pick 3 on races 6,8,and 10, all Breeders' Cup races. The pools will be huge this year with countries like Canada, England, France, Germany, and Ireland all being comingled into the B/C Global Pool while there will be separate pools for such countries as Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Jamaica, Hong Kong, and the continent of Australia.

Where to Watch the Breeders' Cup On TV

FanDuel TV will carry all of the races including the undercards on both Friday and Saturday with the exception of one race, that being the Classic. NBC has the exclusivity on that race and can be streamed on Peacock as well. In addition USA TV will cover all of the B/C races on Friday and all of the B/C races on Saturday with the exception of the Classic. World class race caller Larry Collmus will not only call all of the B/C races for NBC but he will also be the voice of Del Mar for the entire five weeks of fall racing which will be on a Friday through Sunday schedule once the first week is completed. The Del Mar schedule goes from October 31 to December 1st this year. This will be the 41st edition of the B/C which started in 1984 at Hollywood Park. This will be the third time that Del Mar has hosted the Cup and they also won out to host the Cup in 2025, where the Turf meets the Surf.