Free: How I'd play Del Mar on Saturday, Nov. 29

DEL MAR, Calif. – An outstanding Saturday of racing from coast to coast includes an appealing Del Mar card that features the turf debut of California Chrome. He faces only one other frontrunner in the Hollywood Derby and will be tough to beat at a short price.

From a sporting perspective, the Hollywood Derby should be quite fun. From a gambling perspective, there are more attractive opportunities than California Chrome at odds on and racing over a surface on which he has never started.

Below is a look at the potential betting highlights.

Race 1 is turf route for maiden 2-year-olds. Stretch-out KANTUNE (8) should win. He has run well against many of California’s most highly regarded 2-year-olds (Dortmund is a beast; Lord Nelson is a stakes winner favored Saturday in a Grade 2 at Churchill).

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Kantune is similar to California Chrome in that he will race on turf for the first time and meet easier company. Kantune is by first-crop stallion Kantharos, whose first seven starters on turf produced one win and four seconds. On paper, Kantune is a standout “single.” Surprisingly, he is the 7-2 second choice. Good enough.

Race 4 is a split of the opener, another turf route for maiden 2-year-olds. BOLO (9) will be heavily backed following a solid fifth-place debut. But everyone saw his race, and his low odds will reflect his popularity. Bolo is favored at 5-2.

A logical stretch-out second-time starter is GRAND SKY (3). It is tough to win second out going sprint to route, but trainer Mark Casse does well with the move. He is 5 for 11 the past three months with maiden second-timers stretching out. METABOSS will return to his preferred footing and drop from a stakes that produced two next-out winners.

The bottom line in race 4, the first leg of the pick six, is that Bolo is the right favorite at the wrong price. The recommendation is to “use” him and spread the race trying to beat him.

Race 6 is a Grade 3 turf route for 2-year-old fillies in which BOBBI GRACE (7) is qualified to “upset.” Her U.S. debut was very good. In her first start in three months, she lost ground into the lane and finished willingly for third behind cut-the-corner winner Her Emmynency. It was a solid effort by Bobbi Grace, whose program odds are surprisingly short at 7-2. That seems awfully short.

RAINHA DA BATERIA (3) is the 5-2 favorite based on a Grade 3 win two back. She faces easier after finishing ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. The knock on Rainha Da Bateria is price.

BELLE ET BETE makes her U.S. debut for trainer Paddy Gallagher, who has done well with European imports. Gallagher won the La Puente Stakes in April with Euro shipper Flamboyant; he won the Grade 3 Senorita in 2013 with the European shipper Charlie Em.

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Race 9 is a main-track sprint for 2-year-old maiden fillies. The field includes a second-time starter that in this handicapper’s opinion, represents the most attractive gamble on the card.

LILIES AND ROSES (5) finished fourth in her debut, but the race merely was a prep race. She lacked speed, dropped back, and finished evenly in an ideal schooling race. That race was 5 1/2 furlongs and dominated by speed.

On Saturday, Lilies and Roses stretches to 6 1/2 furlongs for trainer Dan Hendricks, whose maidens often improve a bunch second out. The main rivals for Lilies and Roses are first-time starters. At 8-1 on the morning line, Lilies and Roses may represent the best gamble on the card.