Sunland Park Horse Racing Picks Including Mine That Bird Derby for Sunday 2/26/23

Sunday's Mine That Bird Derby at Sunland Park in New Mexico is a prep race for the Sunland Derby on March 26 - which is a Championship Series points race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. So some horses in the Mine That Bird Derby are worth watching as they improve and move forward to race in the Sunland Derby - which awards 50 qualifying points to the winner and likely a spot in the May 6 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs

Post time to start the day is 2:25 p.m. ET with Race 8 and the Mine That Bird Derby at 5:32 p.m. ET.

As always, check the program for scratches and changes, monitor the weather, and keep an eye on the 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).

Sunland Park Betting

Here are some of the best bets to make at FanDuel Racing today, according to numberFire and Horse Racing Nation.

1. New Mexico Jeremy and Thruthestorm, Race 7

FanDuel Racing Odds: 9/2 and 7/2
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Race 7 is the $100,000 Red Hedeman Mile for state-bred 3-year-olds. An open race with Thruthestorm (7/2) the tepid favorite on the outside No. 10 post. Antonios Mark (4/1) and New Mexico Jeremy (9/2) are lead contenders and those are the top-3 finishers with a slight win edge to Antonios Mark, according to numberFire's data.

New Mexico Jeremy is improving since breaking his maiden last Oct. He won an Allowance race in Dec., and then finished a very close 2nd behind a late closing Thruthestorm in a minor stakes last month in both horses Sunland Park debut.

2. Henry Q and Wild On Ice, Race 8

FanDuel Racing Odds: 5/2 and 8/1
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Race 8 is the $100,000 Mine That Bird Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles. How Did He Do That (2/1) is the slight favorite and top pick by numberFire. Horse Racing Nation's Super Screener report picks Henry Q (5/2) to win with the Sunland surface favoring inside speed at this distance.

Henry Q is improving, has stout breeding as a son of Blame, and a sharp morning work in place. He ships in off a win at Santa Anita three weeks ago, and looks much the best with great gate jockey Edwin Maldonado riding.

Toss the last race for Wild On Ice (8/1), who is an in-the-money finisher according to the numberFire projections. He returns with Lasix and can hang in for a piece of the money from a pressing position with longshot Malmo (10/1) potentially hitting the board.

3. Thunder Dome and Cheese Tray, Race 9

FanDuel Racing Odds: 7/2 and 3/1
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Race 9 is the $100,000 Albert and Henry Dominguez Memorial Handicap for state-bred older horses at 1 1/16 miles. The numberFire data projects Thunder Dome (7/2) to win ahead of I Think I'm Here (8/1 and Cheese Tray (3/1) on the inside rail.