Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, Jan. 9

Post Time 1 p.m.

Race 1 – 1 mile, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies, 3-year-olds
7 Pageant Material – Should be a solid favorite for Santiago Gonzalez and trainer Richard Baltas; adding blinkers on and has tactical speed regardless to sit a trip.
4 Shakti – If you draw a line thru her last two turf starts, note her dirt races are better and a bit faster; reunited with Joe Talamo who is riding in good form right now.
Long Shot – 10 Zira Gold

Race 2 – 6 ½ furlongs, Purse $30,000, Optional claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds
5 Courageous Dave – Could be a chalky daily double if the form holds; claimed by trainer Richard Baltas, whose barn is on quite a tear recently, blinkers on weight off.
4 Classico – Jockey Rafael Bejarano seems to relish the challenge he is getting from Santiago Gonzalez, among others; guys like James Graham and Corey Nakatani left town.
Long Shot – 6 Tough But Nice

Race 3 – 6 ½ furlongs, Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $40,000, 4-year-olds and up
5 Acceptance – Tiny edge in a very tough heat; with horses coming off the shelf, others in for a $40K price tag and those that are just plain average, it's a mixed bag.
2 Lieutenant Colonel – Has not been seen since a miserably try in the Wood Memorial; has been gelded since by trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, restarting here from square one.
Long Shot – 7 Rock Shandy

Race 4 – 5 ½ furlongs, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds
3 Rim Nick – Did a classic pop and stop in career debut; like that Rafael Bejarano sticks as he could have ridden others in here, be wary of the seven FTS in here.
7 Cupid – No one is better with a second time out maiden than HOF trainer Bob Baffert; this one was favored in his career debut and ran well until the last furlong.
Long Shot – 2 Clear the Way

Race 5 – 1 mile, Purse $30,000, Starter allowance $40,000, 4-year-olds and up
6 Big Tire – Has been stuck in this same class for nine races without winning; the field is full of camera shy horses, but this guy is certainly long overdue.
5 John's Success – Key for me is getting claimed by trainer Philip D'Amato who hires main man Rafael Bejarano; his best races have been on turf so this is experimental.
Long Shot – 7 All Star Parade

Race 6 – 1 mile, $100,000 Sham, 3-year-olds
4 Found Money – Of the horses who raced predominantly on dirt, this one has the strongest resume; that doesn't mean he's the most talented, but dirt talks, turf walks.
9 Collected – HOF trainer Bob Baffert will find out early if this colt has any affinity for Arcadia soil; if the horse spins his wheels, it will be back to grass.
Long Shot – 1 Rare Candy

Race 7 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $60,000, Optional claiming $62,500, 4-year-olds and up
2 Motown Men – Has been a productive claim for trainer Ted West; he took him for $40K, won and placed in a few races, now puts the shingle out for $62,500, next.
9 Just Kidding – I'll bet you $1 this horse does not go off at 12/1 odds or higher; off three competitive races and now reunited with Rafael Bejarano, he is a contender.
Long Shot – 6 Follow Me Cerv

Race 8 – 1 1/16th miles, $200,000 San Pasqual, 4-year-olds and up
4 California Chrome – I am 0 for 7 at this meet so far with my best bets; I'm not going to leave you tomorrow with a goose egg, I go up or down in flames with the champ.
5 Hoppertunity – To me he looks like the only horse with a chance to upset the champ; he loves to run second, which is becoming a bad, and very expensive habit.
Long Shot – 3 Point Piper

Race 9 – 6 furlongs, Purse $17,000, Claiming $8,000, 4-year-olds and up
4 Love de Car – Sliding down the claiming ladder to this bottom rung; has lots of speed to lead or follow close up, Santiago Gonzalez is riding great so far this meet.
14 Gnarly Dude – Tomorrow is my last day handicapping for you, and this newspaper; it has been a fun 18 years, I hope you've enjoyed my work as much as it was a joy for me.
Long Shot – 6 Justonemorething

Best Bet - 4 California Chrome (race 8)
Santa Anita Friday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/3/$31.00; Long Shots, 8/2/$39.60; Best Bet, 0/0/$0
Santa Anita Totals - 146/30/$200.80; Long Shots, 76/9/$121.60; Best Bets, 7/0/$0
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #3 Key to Power (20/1) in race 10 at Gulfstream Park. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Town Tart ran out at Aqueduct. Simo stats - 9/2/$15.70; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick