Santa Anita Horse Racing Picks for Saturday 3/18/23

he Santa Anita Classic Meet continues Friday at "The Great Race Place" with 10 races and post time at 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. local.

As always, check the program for scratches and changes, and monitor the weather and track conditions.

(I will reference Equibase's Speed Figure in selected races, which tells you how fast a horse has been running in each of its races after adjusting for track, distances, and conditions).

Santa Anita Betting

According to numberFire horse racing projections, these are some of the best bets to make at FanDuel Racing today.

1. Comanche Country and Princess Bettina, Race 7

FanDuel Racing Odds: 8/5 and 5/1
Bet Now at TVG | Bet Now at FanDuel

Race 7 is the $100,000 China Doll Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 mile on the turf. The numberFire data projects the favorite Comanche Country (8/5) to win and Princess Bettina (5/1) to hit the board.

Comanche Country breaks from the outside No. 7 post with top turf rider Umberto Rispoli riding for EPO leading trainer Phil D'Amato. The Irish-bred has won 3-of-6 starts including a Grade 3 race here last fall. Her last race was a 7th-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. She's had a mix of fast morning training sessions on her work tab since along with slower conditioning with a focus on fast final furlongs.

2. Trusty Rusty, Take Charge Curly, Race 8

FanDuel Racing Odds: 5/2 and 20/1
Bet Now at TVG | Bet Now at FanDuel

Race 8 is a Maiden Claiming race for 3-year-olds at 1 mile. The favorite ChicknfingerFriday (2/1) is the favorite and preferred pick by numberFire's data. Longshot Take Charge Curly (20/1) from the outside No. 9 post is projected to finish in the money along with Do it for Dave (4/1).

This is not a good group, as Chicknfingerfriday is winless in 8-starts with no runner-up finishes either. His best speed figure was 73 last race. Trusty Rusty (5/2) is on the rail with the top jockey at the meet Juan Hernandez riding, and he posted the highest speed figure (77) in the group when finishing a closer fourth last month.

3. Enclosure and Ruby Nell, Race 10

FanDuel Racing Odds: 5/2 and 8/5
Bet Now at TVG | Bet Now at FanDuel

Race 10 is a Maiden Special Weight for 3-year-old fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs. The three top contenders and favorites are projected to decide the race by numberFire's data. Enclosure (5/2) with Juan Hernandez riding for trainer Bob Baffert gets the edge ahead of Pleasant (4/1) and the favorite Ruby Nell (8/5).

Enclosure's sire is the great Arrogate, and she makes her career debut. Ruby Nell had a solid debut in Jan. finishing a close second as the favorite with a big rally from way off the pace.