Free: How I'd play Santa Anita for Sunday, Jan. 11

ARCADIA, Calif. – The main track at Santa Anita was sealed before the first race Saturday as track superintendent Dennis Moore prepared for rain. How that affects the racing program a day later, on Sunday, is a mystery.

Will the track be fast? Will it be wet? Will the inside be preferred, or the outside?

Who knows?

Wiggle room is necessary due to uncertainty; Sunday strategy is subject to change. Races 1, 5 and 8 are scheduled for turf and therefore out of the early discussion. As for the remaining races on dirt, below is this handicapper’s early plan.

Race 4 is a sprint for Cal-bred maiden fillies. Second-time starter THERMODYNAMICS (2) should win. Her runner-up debut was solid. She broke slowly, rallied wide, and finished with interest with the front-running winner.

The problem is that Thermodynamics is the 8-5 favorite. The most probable winner on the card, she offers negligible value. So it’s a pass race.

Race 7 is a $75,000 stakes for fillies and mares; Grade 2 winner TIZ MIDNIGHT (4) is favored. The mare she beat last time by a head, WARREN’S VENEDA (5), might be worth fooling with. Warren's Veneda has had two straight compromising trips. She is due for racing luck.

The pace should be contested; Warren’s Veneda should get a good trip right behind the speed. Although her 3-1 morning line is nothing to be excited about, she could drift up from that number. She usually does.

Finally, race 9 is a $30,000 maiden-claiming sprint. First-timer MUZZLED MOUSSE (4) appears well spotted. Sired by The Pamplemousse and apparently working well, he is the first foal out of a dam that won her debut by more than eight lengths. She was injured in her second start and did not race again.

Muzzled Mousse is 5-1 in the program. That is a good middle number that will be worth keying in the last race of the week.