Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Robert J. Frankel at Santa Anita is the last graded stakes race that will be run in 2012. This 1 1/8-mile turf race for fillies and mares is appealing to me as an exacta bettor.
When the 20 percent bonus for winning pick six tickets bought ontrack kicks in, the effective takeout will be about 13 percent, making it perhaps the best bet at the track.
This Ones for Phil in the Dave's Friend at Laurel Park and Action Andy in the Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream Park look like legitimate favorites, but the Daytona at Santa Anita is a good place to search for a live longshot and there are two candiidates who fit the bill.
BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, December 22, 2012 by Bob Fierro & Jay Kilgore.
The Weekend Warrior has slimmer pickings than usual this Saturday, what with New York and Southern California being dark. No worries, however, as several stakes worth examining are on the schedule, most notably at two of the major winter venues, Gulfstream Park and Fair Grounds.
As I made my way through the past performances of the Eclipse Award candidates, I was searching for controversy.
Michael Hammersly's weekly "Trip Notes" report, which includes the graded stakes races from the previous weekend -- this edition, including the Hollywood Turf Cup and CashCall Futurity, which occurred at Betfair Hollywood Park on Dec. 15, 2012.
BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, December 15, 2012 by Bob Fierro & Jay Kilgore
Led by two graded stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park on Saturday, with purses for the two events totaling $1 million, there’s high-quality action there, and to a lesser extent, at other winter tracks like Fair Grounds, too.
