Horse Racing: Today at Los Alamitos, Dec. 19

Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Race 1 - 1 mile, Purse $17,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

1 Ann’s Gold - Tiny edge due to rail post going one mile; short run to the first turn, thus can save some valuable ground.

5 Katy’s Plum - Dead late closer found her best stride too late in last; there isn’t much speed in here so the pace could be slow.

Long Shot - 2 Warrens Goldnugget

Race 2 - 6 furlongs, Purse $18,000, Claiming $12,500, Fillies, 3-year-olds

2 Salsita - Payback in second race off the claim by Peter Eurton; drops in class off a win, willing to lose the horse, win the purse.

3 Norastone - Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low level; was overmatched badly in a couple of poor stakes tarts.

Long Shot - 1 Hotaling Heart

Race 3 - 1 mile, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, 2-year-olds

4 Empire Cat - Seeing Rafael Bejarano in action at Los Alamitos is a sweet thing; clearly he moves horses up versus other riders.

3 Visitation - Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; exits three turf races for this dirt start.

Long Shot - 6 Sooner Than Later

Race 4 - 6 furlongs, Purse $42,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds

6 Patsy G and Me - Showed good early speed in her debut at Golden Gate; suspect that could translate well to dirt track here.

3 Won’t Be Shaken - FTS from top NoCal trainer Steve Miyadi; watch the tote board action for additional clues.

Long Shot - 1 Thermodynamics

Race 5 - 6 furlongs, Purse $30,000, Starter allowance $40,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds

4 Seek Safe Harbor - Expect speedball tactics from this barn burner; the only trouble maker will be Aguacita if she leaves too.

6 Watdifrenzdzitmake - Don’t you hate horses with crazy spelled names like this; Tiago Pereira has ridden well for Philip D’Amato barn.

Long Shot - 3 Aguacita

Race 6 - 6 furlongs, Purse $42,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds

1 Slew’s Charm - In a race this poor, I’ll take anything Rafael Bejarano is riding; he can squeeze a little extra from a horse.

4 Stipend - Has been well bet in both career starts; showed solid improvement last time out, could improve a little again.

Long Shot - 3 Lucy De

Race 7 - 1 mile, Purse $46,000, Optional claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds and up

6 Wrightwood - Could do worse than backing another Rafael Bejarano mount; may get a wide trip but may not matter with these.

5 Luckbox Sam - Like this speedy type stretching out around 2-turns; can be dangerous if this is a no passing zone field.

Long Shot - 2 Macho Sox

Race 8 - 6 furlongs, Purse $14,000, Claiming $8,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

5 Shared Image - Was flattered in last when sat behind a speed duel; did well to win but now may have to do the dirty work herself.

6 Slewbie Doo - Second race off the claim by Michael Pender; takes a huge class drop which can only help her chances.

Long Shot - 7 Bird In Love

Best Bet - 4 Seek Safe Harbor (race 5)

Los Alamitos Thursday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/5/$21.60; Long Shots, 8/1/$7.00; Best Bet, 1/1/$3.00

Los Alamitos Totals - 143/43/$216.00; Long Shots, 68/5/$66.40; Best Bets, 9/5/$16.00

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #2 Courtney Ryan (2/1) in race 3 at Gulfstream Park. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, More Than a Party won at Gulfstream Park paying $4.60 to win, $3.00 to place and $2.60 to show. Stats - 195/115/$1,068.10; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick