Free: How I'd play Santa Anita on Sunday, April 5

ARCADIA, Calif. – Sunday is a good day to hunt for Easter eggs and overlays. The eggs will be in the Santa Anita infield; the overlays are in races 1 and 6.

Race 1

BLUEGRASS REWARD (2) bombed as the favorite last out. Something upset him in the post parade. He washed out, raced wide, failed to show speed, and finished a distant third. He was claimed for $16,000 by Doug O’Neill.

Bluegrass Reward returns Sunday in a starter allowance ($16,000 claiming) at a generous price of 4-1. If bettors accept his last start at face value, his odds will be every bit that high. Bluegrass Reward is better than he showed, and the fact that O’Neill brings back the 10-for-48 veteran in a starter allowance rather than a claiming race signals supreme optimism.

Assuming that Bluegrass Reward is dry in the post parade and keeps likely pacesetter MY JEALOUS (4) in his sights, he can reel him in for the “upset.”

:: Bet Santa Anita with DRF Bets. Get up to a $500 cash bonus! Find out more today.

Race 6

Fourteen entered this maiden-$40K starter allowance at 6 1/2 furlongs on turf (12 will start). The field size ensures generous prices, even for the favorite.

HAWKEDON (7) is the 7-2 chalk. He might be a “good thing” in his first start since last May. His speed figures are among the tops in the field, and he has never raced at this “low” level.

Hawkedon returns for trainer Mike Puype and jockey Rafael Bejarano. They are 4 for 14 over the past five years with layoff runners (six months or more). The gelding’s works are sharp. He is the best horse in the field.

Bluegrass Reward in race 1 and Hawkedon in race 6 are the keys to this handicapper’s day. If they blow, well, there’s always the egg hunt.