Maiden races generate minimal publicity, and rarely attract media coverage. It’s not a complaint. I like maidens. Everyone should. (The Santa Ysabel Stakes is Sunday’s DRF Race of the Day. Get free Formulator PPs for the race here.) Racing programs would crumble without maidens. This winter at Santa Anita, 37 percent of all races have been for maidens (103 of 275, through Feb. 28). The tilt is especially pronounced away from stakes-charged weekend cards. But many of us enjoy action on regular days also. So, maiden races. They’re good. Maiden races can be more appealing than stakes. For example, Sunday’s stakes schedule includes a five-runner Grade 3 Santa Ysabel at Santa Anita and a six-runner Biogio’s Rose at Aqueduct. Maiden races offer value more often than small-field stakes. Bigger, deeper fields mean higher odds for legitimate contenders. And handicapping maiden races can lead to opportunity. Race 8 on Sunday at Aqueduct, for New York-bred maidens, provides an example. Aqueduct, race 8 Four of the nine entrants are first-timers. How do you handicap a horse that has never started? At first, you don’t. At least not before reviewing horses who have run, and comparing their ability to the speed-figure requirement. Daily Racing Form past performances for most races include “Beyer pars,” found on the right side of the past performances below the race conditions and above the PPs of the first horse. The Beyer par for New York maidens, 3-year-olds and up, is 75. :: Bet horse racing on DRF Bets. Double Your First Deposit Up to $250. Join Now. That means a 75 Beyer is normally required to win at this level. Handicappers can allow for leeway, and accept horses who have run within five points of par under similar conditions. Only one of the Aqueduct entrants qualifies. Triple Americano earned a 70 first out, while four others have started multiple times without getting close to par – Me ’n Sap, Black Irish, program favorite Mr. Buckley, and Forgotten Mission. Based on figures, they are not fast enough. One could argue Triple Americano’s 70-Beyer debut was in a lower-level maiden-claiming race, and therefore not applicable. But class barriers from maiden-claiming to special-weight are less strict in statebred races. Running for a tag first out does not preclude winning a statebred special-weight second out. The replay of Triple Americano’s debut, available in DRF Formulator, is revealing. Triple Americano broke slowly. He picked up steam and reached contention into the turn but was caught wide. He continued his rally while losing ground, made a run at the leader in deep stretch, then lost his punch and finished third by less than two lengths. Triple Americano ran against the race shape. The winner led gate to wire on the rail; the runner-up saved ground. The chart and replay are in Formulator. Triple Americano qualifies on speed; the replay is icing on the cake. What about the first-time starters? Micro Me is from a stable that is 3 for 38 (8 percent) with firsters the past five years. His sire, Micromanage, has not sired a debut winner from 35 starters, according to Formulator. Winners Laugh is from a stable that is 16 for 68 (24 percent) with firsters over five years. Broken Vow is a below-average debut sire, but Winners Laugh’s dam had speed and produced a runner with speed. Pedigree info is available in Formulator. Contender. Noble Conquest is from a 22 percent debut stable; his sire is 5 for 137 with debut runners. Sinful Dancer is from an 18 percent debut stable; his sire is 2 for 32 with debut runners. Based on trainer stats and elementary pedigree analysis, Winners Laugh looks interesting. But he’ll have his hands full with the most likely winner of race 8 on Sunday at Aqueduct – Triple Americano at 3-1. Santa Ysabel Stakes To be honest, selecting the second favorite in this Grade 3 route for 3-year-old fillies (Santa Anita, race 4) is not that creative. But hopefully, this race underscores the value of video replays from Formulator. It’s one reason Moraz is preferred over favorite Kalypso. :: Enhance your handicapping with DRF’s Santa Anita Clocker Report A warning – the last four Santa Ysabel winners were odds-on: Songbird, $2.10; Unique Bella, $2.20; Midnight Bisou, $2.60; and Donna Veloce, $2.60. Perhaps this is not the spot to go against the chalk. Kalypso, however, seems distance challenged. She squandered easy front-running trips in both route races. Moraz, meanwhile, is on her way up. She finished third last out, 1 3/4 lengths behind Kalypso. Moraz had an uneasy trip when trapped inside and was briefly blocked into the lane. She “kind of got lost,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. Moraz moves from the rail to the outside, in the clear. Here’s hoping for odds higher than 2-1. Otherwise, there are plenty of maiden races with legit contenders at higher odds. Red-board review Only one of three selections Feb. 28 won, but all three fired, including longshot Our Super Freak in the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes, race 9 at Oaklawn Park. The caveat was odds-on Monomoy Girl would be tough. Our Super Freak outran her 15-1 odds and finished second. The exacta from Monomoy Girl paid $6.90 for $1. In race 5 at Santa Anita, play of the day Capo Mafioso wired the field at $8. In race 9 at Golden Gate Fields, Tom’s Surprise finished second as the 2.90-1 favorite.