The Santa Anita Handicap is truly a great race. And Saturday’s renewal of this Grade 1, $1 million event heads a tremendous Santa Anita card that includes the Grade 1, $400,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile, the Grade 2, $400,000 San Felipe, and the Grade 2, $300,000 San Carlos. Elsewhere, Saturday is the biggest day of the year at Tampa Bay Downs, where the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby tops a program that also includes the champion turf female Tepin in the Grade 2, $200,000 Hillsborough Stakes. Santa Anita Handicap   It is no secret that I’m a big fan of Donworth. I bet him in last month’s San Antonio Stakes despite his coming off a seven-plus-month layoff. And even though he was beaten in the San Antonio, Donworth’s close third after forcing and contesting the pace was an excellent effort. I certainly can go back to him Saturday, and will, with gusto. :: Bet Santa Anita Handicap with DRF Bets and get FREE access to this article and all of DRF Plus, including Santa Anita selections, video, and real-time analysis. Not only does Donworth have every right to show improvement in his second start back off the long layoff, he also looks to be the controlling speed. Cyrus Alexander has a bit of positional speed, but he’s not a real speed horse. And General a Rod just isn’t as quick early as he was when a young 3-year-old two years ago. Melatonin appears to be the one who could give Donworth trouble early. But he, too, doesn’t seem to have the early zip he had in his younger days. Melatonin is also a major question mark going 10 furlongs, so he figures to want the early fractions to be as moderate as possible. The point is that even if he indulges Melatonin in the initial stages, Donworth controls the tempo of this Big Cap. That in combination with projected improvement makes him, in my view, legitimate value even around 5-2. Effinex, Imperative, and General a Rod are the other main players. Effinex had a fine 2015, capped by a willing second to Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and a win in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap. But this will be Effinex’s first start since the Clark 3 1/2 months ago. And while his purpose certainly is to win, Effinex’s trip west might also be about finding out how he handles Santa Anita, the host of this year’s Breeders’ Cup. Imperative finished ahead of Donworth when nosed out in the San Antonio, but it has been almost two years since he actually finished first in a race. And while General a Rod comes into this race off an allowance romp at Gulfstream in which he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 105 that equaled the winning Beyer of the San Antonio, that race was in the slop. I’m always skeptical of lengthy wins and big speed figures in the slop, especially when that horse runs back on a fast track. Tampa Bay Derby :: Tampa Bay Derby: Buy PPs, watch Saturday’s card live   Even though this will be his first start since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Oct. 31, Brody’s Cause will take some beating. Brody’s Cause wasn’t nearly as good as undefeated champion Nyquist in the Juvenile, but his third in that event and his win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity two starts back look strong in the context of this race. That said, I’m going with Economic Model. Economic Model showed promise in winning his only start last year at Saratoga, and his second-place finish last time in the Swale Stakes struck me as a stone-cold prep for a two-turn spot like this because he was going very well late and galloped out strongly. Economic Model is primed for a peak effort, whereas I’m not sure I can say the same for Brody’s Cause. John Battaglia Memorial   Sometimes you have to chase trip horses to unlikely places, and that’s the case for me with Surgical Strike in this evening feature at Turfway Park. A literal reading of Surgical Strike’s past performances will show that he was beaten three starts back in the Pulpit Stakes by Swagger Jagger, another contender here. However, Surgical Strike was full of run in the stretch that day, only to be blocked badly late. I feel he would have won with a clean trip. Surgical Strike, who will love stretching back out to a route Saturday off a fast-closing third in the sprint prep for this, also had a bad trip two back in the Dania Beach when compromised by a wide trip and a slow pace.