Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, January 18

Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Race 1 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

3 Spy Girl - Speedball figures to try and bottom out this field; her two seconds look strong compared to the others.

5 Jean Edward - Has started twice from difficult posts, now moves inside some; one race showed speed, one race rallied from behind.

Long Shot - 7 Seek a Star

Race 2 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $60,000, Optional claiming $62,500, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

6 Kool Kat - Like the cutback in distance from route to sprint; doesn’t have the strongest dirt resume, some cause for concern.

5 Global Hottie - Speedy sort ran like she had a flat tire in last; has good back speed so a return to her peak can win this.

Long Shot - 3 Waster At Midnight

Race 3 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $25,000, Claiming $25,000, 4-year-olds and up

6 Thesheetsguy - Tiny edge off a solid maiden win last out; got claimed by Dean Pederson who retains Rafael Bejarano for the mount.

1 Mahalo Arturo - Claimed by Paul Aguirre who doubles his claiming price today; he ran a career topper so he must repeat the effort.

Long Shot - 3 Gallant Charm

Race 4 - 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 3-year-olds

7 Holy Ascension - It’s rare to have Saul Arias named on the morning line favorite in a SoCal race; Simon Callaghan puts blinkers on here.

10 Cold Spring - Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; not hard to improve on a 0 Beyer speed figure.

Long Shot - 14 She Got Away

Race 5 - 6 furlongs, Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $40,000, 4-year-olds and up

4 May B - Has strung together three nice races to start his career; exits a bullet work and we’ll see how far up the ladder she can go.

2 Door’s Open - Has a very good Santa Anita resume with 3-of-6 wins over local dirt; tactical speed to sit a perfect trip.

Long Shot - 3 Kafister

Race 6 - 1 mile (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $56,000, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

1 Charming Starlet - Like the rail post at a mile on turf or dirt; good position with a short run in to the first turn.

9 Bilger’s Sapphire - Has nibbled her last four starts; she had a less than perfect trip last time, room for a little improvement.

Long Shot - 8 Onedewoman

Race 7 - 7 furlongs, Purse $30,000, Optional claiming $32,000, Fillies, 3-year-olds

2 Natalie’s Wonder - Claimed by Alfredo Marquez, a good trainer who has fallen on hard times; he knows what he’s doing.

4 Clem Juice - The Iggy Puglisi-Paul Aguirre team is easy to root for; this one just graduated, facing winner’s for the first time.

Long Shot - 1 Seek Safe Harbor

Race 8 - 1 1/2 miles (turf, rail at 15 feet), $75,000 Astra, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

5 Lady of Gold - Dead late closer will like all the ground she can get in this marathon; been overdue to win another turf race.

7 Lady Pimpernel - Gutsy win in the grade 3 Frankel last out; she is a natural marathoner from her days overseas.

Long Shot - 1 Scooter Bird

Race 9 - 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 4-year-olds and up

11 Practical - Must overcome a parking lot post in this abbreviated sprint; taking a huge class drop to face much easier.

8 Senor Pegasus - Getting long in the tooth with 10 maiden claiming starts; I respect this barn and he is a juicy 6/1 odds.

Long Shot - 5 Indian Monkey

Best Bet - 1 Charming Starlet (race 6)

Santa Anita Saturday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 17/4/$48.20; Long Shots, 9/2/$23.20; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Santa Anita Totals - 243/65/$425.00; Long Shots, 123/16/$138.00; Best Bets, 15/6/$27.00

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #4 Sky Painter (7/2) in race 10 at Gulfstream Park. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Saturday, Pyrite Mountain ran out at Gulfstream Park. Stats - 10/8/$34.40; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick