ARCADIA, Calif. - A string of longshots on Saturday has led to a carryover of $164,202 for Sunday's program at Santa Anita.
Sunday's pick six covers the fifth through 10th races on a program that begins at 12:30 p.m. For the most part, the pick six races on Sunday include full fields.
Here's a glance at the top contenders in the pick six races, three of which are on the hillside turf course.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. A nerve-racking week ended in triumph for trainer Nick Zito on Saturday after his two entrants, High Fly and Noble Causeway, finished first and second in Gulfstream Parks $1 million .
High Flys 1 1/2-length win over Noble Causeway gave Zito his first Florida Derby victory after 16 losses, and marked the first time in 30 years that a trainer had sent out the first two finishers in Gulfstreams marquee event. It also gave High Fly a sweep of the tracks two premier 3-year-old races. He won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth four weeks earlier.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Value Plus obviously enjoys performing on Florida Derby Day. So, too, does his trainer, Todd Pletcher.
Value Plus's form tailed off following his second-place finish behind Friends Lake in the 2004 Florida Derby, but he returned on Saturday's Florida Derby undercard to register an easy four-length victory over 6-5 favorite Gygistar in the $100,000 . The win was the second of three stakes victories on the Florida Derby undercard for Pletcher, who also won the Orchid Handicap with Honey Ryder and the Pan American with Navesink River.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - It had been just more than a year since Buckram Oak Farm endured the bitter disappointment of having their star homebred, Eurosilver, declared out of contention for the Kentucky Derby.
Following three defeats since Eurosilver had recovered from the mysterious infection that sidelined him, the disappointment had deepened. Saturday, however, all was well again in the Eurosilver camp, as the 4-year-old colt raced to victory in the Grade 3, $100,000 at Gulfstream Park.
No Bull Baby, a fixture in the local female sprint division over the last year, won the second stakes of her career in Saturday's $86,250 Santa Paula Stakes at Santa Anita.
Leading throughout under jockey Victor Espinoza, No Bull Baby ($8.60) finished 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.79. Breaking from post 2, she led by a half-length over stablemate and favorite Inspiring through fractions of 21.26 and 43.79 seconds.
"I didn't expect to be on the lead," Espinoza said. "I broke so sharp, I thought, I better go. That track is a little bit fast."
Heavenly Humor broke a step slowly but wound up getting a good stalking trip and held off fast-finishing Puxa Saco late to win the $60,400 MOC Insurance Woodside Handicap at Bay Meadow.
Heavenly Humor won her second straight sprint stakes at the meeting. She won the six-furlong Soviet Problem going wire to wire on
Feb. 26 in her first start in nine months. She had won the 1 1/16-mile San Jose last May before the layoff.
Savorthetime won like a 1-5 shot should at Oaklawn Park when she overtook pacesetter Boston Express in the stretch and went on to a 3 1/4-length victory in the $50,000 Carousel Stakes. It was another 5 1/2 lengths back to Dance Tune in third.
With the victory, Savorthetime gave her trainer, Steve Asmussen, a sweep of the filly and mare sprint series at Oaklawn. Asmussen won the first two legs of the series, the $50,000 American Beauty and the $50,000 Spring Fever, with Souris.
Sent off the 7-5 favorite off a victory in her racing debut, Jet Set Citi made it two in a row by winning the $50,000 Smart Halo at Laurel.
Ridden by Steve Hamilton, Jet Set Citi stalked the pace of Missile Bay through a quarter-mile in 22.76 seconds and a half in 46.43.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Rack Em Up, a hard-trying 7-year-old gelding, fell suddenly entering the stretch of the ninth race on March 26, unseating jockey Melvin Toro. Rack Em Up subsequently had to be euthanized, saddening Larry Vaughn and his staff at L & D Farm, which owned and bred the classy turf specialist.
Friday's announcement of three confirmed strangles cases at Tampa Bay Downs may have been premature, according to Rosalyn Randall, the association veterinarian at the track.
Randall said that in her opinion the three cases, all of which came from the barn of trainer Ron Allen, remain suspicious but have not been clinically proven to be strangles, a bacterial infection characterized by a runny nose, fever, and swollen lymph nodes.
