Santa Anita: Horse racing pick of the day for Oct. 12

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Monday, Oct. 12

Santa Anita, Race 6: Optional-claiming allowance (5 1/2 furlongs on turf, 6:42 p.m. ET)

Peter Miller excels at training turf sprinters and has gone 9-for-30 (30%) at the Santa Anita fall meet, which stamps #2 Grit and Curiosity (9-5 on the morning line) as a clear favorite to win this allowance dash.

An improving 4-year-old, Grit and Curiosity hasn’t missed the trifecta in three starts on turf and recently returned from a seven-month layoff to finish third in a tough renewal of the Eddie D. (G2). Sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over the Santa Anita turf, Grit and Curiosity rallied to finish just 2 3/4 lengths behind multi-stakes winners Big Runnuer and Wildman Jack.

With hot jockey Juan Hernandez in the saddle, Grit and Curiosity should reach the winner’s circle at a short price. We’ll play him over the lightly raced #1 Tilted Towers (5-2) in a cold exacta, then add #4 Mesut (3-1) for a chalky but straightforward trifecta.

$22 exacta: 2 with 1
$8 trifecta: 2 with 1 with 4
Total: $30

Good luck!