When I resided in Southern California there were two racing days I looked forward to most. Opening Del Mar and the stakes-laden card that Santa Anita Park presents each year to kick off its meet on December 26. The crowd is always large and the racing is always fun, but this year the card came up particularly strong. Here are a few horses I am building my day around with the Hit/Split Pick 5 Promo and the $2 Pick 6 at the top of my mind.

Race 3:

My first play comes in this MSW event for 2YO fillies at two-turns where I like the chances quite a bit of second-time starter #3 Lila. The Audible filly was beaten almost ten lengths in her debut in late November in San Diego, but there is plenty of reason to believe a big step forward is coming. Not only did she take a ton of support at the windows going off at odds of 7-2 in a full field maiden event over the Del Mar lawn, but she appeared to get lost midway through the race when she fell back towards the rear after a good start. The Ggg Stables homebred rallied a bit from there, but the addition of blinkers by trainer Richard Baltas should do her a world of good. The presence of Luis Saez along with the shades leads me to believe Lila will be sent aggressively from the gate. A much-improved effort appears very likely.

Play: #3 Lila (10-1 ML)


Race 4:

#9 Barbera did not have things her way when we saw her last compete for trainer Aggie Ordonez. The 4YO filly battled early with 9-5-favorite Wishtheyallcouldbe in a similar spot at Del Mar and tired late to finish fifth. Wishtheyallcouldbe held second, but rode a good inside that day to do so. The race shape in this state-bred first-level allowance event for fillies and mares looks much different, which certainly should benefit the speedy daughter of Stay Thirsty, who has hit the board in all three starts over the Santa Anita main track. With a clean break, jockey Diego Herrera should be able to clear from his outside draw and have enough left late to seal the deal.

Play: #9 Barbera (9-2 ML)


Race 8: Malibu (G1)

The Malibu is always a big race but it got a big boost this year when trainer Kenny McPeek decided to ship Kentucky Derby winner #6 Mystik Dan out to Arcadia for the final crack at a Grade 1 against just his own crop. The son of Goldencents has been training forwardly at Fair Grounds and heads cross-country off a bullet 5-furlong drill in 59.4. Some may be worried about the 7-furlong distance for the 5-2-morning line favorite, but that is not overly concerning to me if the pace is honest and he is ready to fire his best shot. However, this is a tall task to be ready for despite working well in New Orleans considering he has not raced since the disappointing eighth-place run in the Belmont (G1). Plus, there is not all that much speed signed on to set him what is likely to be a strong late run under regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. It would be cool to see him win first off the bench, but from a betting perspective he is a play against.

I like #8 Raging Torrent. The Doug O’Neill trainee ran three big races this spring and summer before chasing the pace down on the inside after being beaten out of the gate in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1). Now, the Maximus Mischief colt has been freshened up and moves to a more favorable outside draw. This should allow Frankie Dettori to sit a much less stressful outside stalking trip just off the pace of #1 Bertonato. Hopefully he has enough to get by the Florida-bred late!

Play: #8 Raging Torrent (9-2 ML)

Best of luck!