A $142,777 carryover up for grabs

ARCADIA, Calif. - As if there wasn't enough going on in horse racing this week, there is a pick-six carryover of $142,777 at Santa Anita on Wednesday.

Just a few days in advance of the Breeders' Cup on Friday and Saturday, the focus of Wednesday's races at Santa Anita will be primarily on bettors trying to hit a big score. The program includes just one allowance race, a sprint on the hillside turf course for statebred fillies and mares.

The pick six is on the third through eighth races. The first pick-six race will begin at approximately 2 p.m. Pacific. There are three turf races and three races on the synthetic main track in the pick six.

The third race, a claiming race over a mile, is led by Imitation, Ocean Grand, and Seeking Answers, who ran well in their last starts.

The fourth race, a maiden claimer over seven furlongs, could be the one in which Regal Redemption gets her first win. Trained by Jay Robbins, Regal Redemption adds blinkers.

There are nine 2-year-old maiden fillies in the fifth race, led by Boston Cat, who was second in a similar race at Saratoga in August.

Of the eight runners in the sixth race, a one-mile test for $25,000 claimers, General Bueno and Johnny the Cat will attract support off their recent runner-up finishes.

The featured seventh race, an allowance, has just six starters over the hillside turf course. It marks the hillside debut of Excessive B and B, a winner of 1 of 5 starts.

Trained by Brian Koriner, Excessive B and B has finished fourth in two optional claimers since returning from a layoff of more than seven months in late August. Owned by Keith Card and Vessels Stallion Farm, Excessive B and B was considered a potential California Cup entrant until her connections decided that Wednesday's race was more logical, Koriner said.

"We'd love to run in the California Cup down the hill, but we'd be running away from a win," Koriner said.

"We're looking for a good effort, third [race] off the bench. She's stayed sound. She had a sharp work back and we're looking for her to run a little better race."

One notable rival Excessive B and B must beat is Short Sentence, who was fourth in a one-mile optional claimer on Oct. 3 and who has drawn the rail.

Getinthereonetime and Teacher's Rule will be well-backed in the eighth race, for 2-year-old maiden claimers.