Wed, 02/11/2026 - 15:34

Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Celestial Body should benefit from debut experience

Aqueduct | Race 9 | Post Time 4:43 p.m. (ET)

Tue, 02/10/2026 - 16:51

Wednesday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Breslau can bounce back from disappointing effort

Aqueduct | Race 1 | Post Time 12:40 p.m. (ET)

Forgiving Spirit (#1) is arguably the horse to beat in his current form. He's finished in the exacta in his last three starts and was thriving after getting claimed by Rudy Rodriguez last fall. He is coming into this race off a minor layoff, but that may have been partly due to Rodriguez's suspension into early January. His tactical speed should ensure that he works out a good trip in a race that doesn't feature an abundance of pace, yet I do think that this is a minor step up in class for him.

Tue, 02/10/2026 - 09:46

Brad Free's Santa Anita Horses to Watch for the week of Feb. 6-8, 2026

Debra A. Roma
Explora, second finisher in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, may be best suited as a sprinter.

LIAM SMITH
Trainer: Jeff Mullins
Last race: Feb. 6, 6th
Finish: 1st by 11
Beyer: 90
Two weeks after claimed for $50,000 from highly rated maiden win, 3-year-old dueled early and ran away late to crush starter allowance. Eligible to entry-level allowance, nice sprint prospect.

Thu, 02/05/2026 - 18:49

Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Makes Sense deserves another chance at two-turn distance

Aqueduct | Race 9 | Post Time 3:48 p.m. (ET)

Thu, 02/05/2026 - 13:18

Weekend GamePlan: Picks for Robert B. Lewis, Bayakoa, Ladies' Turf Sprint

Nerazurri wins at OP Dec 20 2025
Coady Media
Eclipse Award winner Nitrogen will be a big favorite in the Bayakoa but don't underestimate her stablemate Nerazurri (above), a two-time winner at the Oaklawn meet.

Is it worse being really wrong or nearly right?

If nearly right you can take heart in your process, but those tough beats really hurt. If you’re dead wrong you might wonder what the hell you were thinking, but at least losing doesn’t sting as much.

Last weekend at Gulfstream, Redland Rebels led three jumps before the wire and two jumps after it at odds of 9-1. That stung. Looking for a salve in three solid opinions this week.

Robert B. Lewis

Starting point: Beat favored Desert Gate.

Thu, 02/05/2026 - 10:54

Santa Anita: Ron Gierkink's $3 Late Pick 3 play for Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026

Barbara D. Livingston
Santa Anita's $3 Late Pick 3 begins with race 7 on Saturday.

RACE 7: WARM SUN AND BREW wound up second after an ideal stalking trip last time out in a sprint at this level. He graduated over a mile on the front end at Del Mar and should be dangerous with his tactical speed. Longshot FREEPORT JOE, who hasn’t won in three years, was a troubled fifth two back in an identi­cal spot and can rally off the speed. SIR PERCIVAL, part of the pace, was a hard-trying second when returning from a three-month break Jan. 10 and has since worked well on the synthetic training track. (3)

Wed, 02/04/2026 - 18:32

Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Redwineandwhiskey exits tough trip

Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 3:12 p.m. (ET)

Tue, 02/03/2026 - 17:02

Wednesday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Top Gun Rocket should appreciate turnback in distance

Aqueduct | Race 4 | Post Time 2:42 p.m. (ET)

Tue, 02/03/2026 - 09:17

Brad Free's Santa Anita Horses to Watch for the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2026

Coady Media
The talented Cornucopian returned to the races in a stylish manner, winning an allowance by three lengths and earning a 97 Beyer Speed Figure.

CHRISTA MCAULIFFE
Trainer
: Steve Miyadi
Last race: Jan. 30, 7th
Finish: 5th by 5 1/2
Beyer: 54
Debut filly bumped and off half-step slow, ran up on heels backstretch, cut corner into lane, evenly. Better-than-looked debut by full sibling to stakes winner Rose Maddox.

Thu, 01/29/2026 - 12:40

Weekend GamePlan: Picks for Kitten's Joy, Tampa Bay Stakes

Redland Rebels02.8.3.25
Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photos
Redland Rebels showed a nice turn of foot winning his maiden in early August at Gulfstream. He makes his first start since that effort in the Kitten's Joy Stakes.

Fourth-place Captain Cook ran best among the newly turned 4-year-olds in the Pegasus last weekend. The others, Disco Time and Tappan Street, finished, respectively, eighth and 12th. Tappan Street’s the last horse to beat Sovereignty, and some are treating the Pegasus like a referendum on the 3-year-old class of 2025.