I’m focusing on the two pick fours on this challenging 11-race card, which allows me to avoid races 6 and 7, a bottom $6,250 claimer and a two-turn maiden special for 3-year-old fillies on the grass.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Overlay opportunities are abundant Saturday at Santa Anita; the focus of this suggested “pick X” is the final two races. Big fields entered both. Race 9 is the $250,000 California Cup Turf Classic; race 10 is a $30,000 maiden-claiming sprint.

 It is tempting to try stringing together more than two races to end the card. But the scratch of Big Macher from race 8, the California Cup Sprint, had made San Onofre into an odds-on favorite. Not interested in singling a 4-5 shot. Not interested trying to beat him.

There are some competitive fields on this California Cup card, which present some opportunities. The trouble is you have to wait a bit – three of the first four races are for maidens and chockfull of first-time starters, so wading in too deep there seems risky business.

However, a couple horses later on the card offer some options to cash both on in-race wagers and multi-race exotics.

To answer your question, no, we were not amused by the out-for-a-stroll effort by last week’s Pick but such are the pitfalls of not having a strong preference in a race.  In any case, we would think that Dr Anderson is a horse to watch next time out.  There were 11 BreezeFigs horses which did break their maidens last week, and there were two BreezeFigs exactas stakes races at Aqueuct (Overprepared and

Because it’s a Kentucky Derby prep, the Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park will garner most of the attention of horseplayers Saturday. But aside from using a few horses in multirace gimmicks – the race is difficult to decipher and is a pass for me.

Three other stakes across the country entice, however – everywhere from New York to Florida to California. So, let’s get to that action.

Rego Park Stakes

I wish all horses ran consistently from race to race, but that is not reality. I have no particular explanation for why Eagle ran so poorly in last Saturday’s Lecomte Stakes other than it is horse racing. He got a 93 Beyer Speed Figure when third in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes but just a 72 when he never ran at all in the Lecomte. International Star won the Lecomte with just an 89, a five-point improvement from his Kentucky Jockey Club performance. War Story continued forward with an 85 in the Lecomte.

LENAPAH
Trainer: Shannon Ritter
Last race: Jan. 19, 5th
Finish: 4th by 2 1/4
Beyer: 71

He has proven to be a solid fit at the $10,000 claiming level, and can take advantage if able to pick up a little more real estate. He closed well in this mile race, which end at the sixteenth pole at Oaklawn.

Life and racing can be unpredictable. One minute you’re up and things seem to be going your way, then everything changes and nothing is going your way.

My goal has always been to be the best horseplayer I can possibly be. I am comfortable in the knowledge that no matter how much I think I know about racing, there is a lot more I don’t know. I prepare to the best of my ability only to find out that there is more.

STORMY LIBERAL

Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Last race: Jan. 15, 3rd
Finish: 4th by 2 1/2
Beyer: 74
Favored in an allowance turf sprint, this 3-year-old never had a chance due to a wide trip. He pressed four and five wide throughout and flattened out late in race won by a horse that saved ground. The ground loss is a legitimate alibi.

KAFISTER

G R’S GIANT
Trainer: Charlie Baker
Last race: Jan. 15, 6th
Finish: 5th by 3 1/2
Beyer: 48

Raced four wide early, put in a big middle move that carried him to within a half-length of the lead while continuing wide on the second turn, and was checked between horses in deep stretch against $40,000 New York-bred maiden routers first time off the claim.