Santa Anita: How to (boldly) bet the Late Pick 5 on Feb. 7

The minimum bet amount for Sunday’s Late Pick 5 at Santa Anita is 50 cents, but you don’t always have to play the absolute minimum!

The Sunday sequence kicks off in Race 4 and looks pretty straightforward, with a bevy of formidable favorites in the mix. Indeed, the Pick 5 looks winnable on a very modest budget, so why not increase the size of your base bet to $5, or even $10? If you win, you’ll multiple the resulting payoff by 10 or 20 times.

Let’s go for broke and play the Pick 5 with a $10 base bet:

Race 4: Allowance (Six furlongs on turf, 3:33 p.m. ET)

#4 Greg’s Diva (8-5) hasn’t missed the trifecta in six starts, including four excellent runs on turf. The daughter of Shackleford brings the best Brisnet Speed ratings to the equation and boasts serious front-running speed. There’s a strong chance the daughter of Shackleford will shake loose on an easy lead under jockey Ricardo Gonzalez, setting the stage for another sharp effort.

In short, what’s not to like? Greg’s Diva has been freshened since November and enters off a bullet half-mile workout for trainer Phil D’Amato, who strikes at a 28% rate with runners beaten as the favorite in their previous start. We won’t get creative here—we’ll just single Greg’s Diva to kick off the Pick 5.

Race 5: Maiden special weight (6 1/2 furlongs, 4:03 p.m. ET)

Seemingly everyone is talking about #5 Bezos (6-5), who closed at 26-1 in Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 2 even though he’s yet to race. Trained by Bob Baffert, Bezos has been cranking out fast workouts like clockwork and will be heavily favored to win under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith. Keep in mind, Baffert has gone 22-for-51 (43%) debuting three-year-olds in dirt sprints at Santa Anita since 2018.

We’ll ride the Bezos bandwagon and make him a short-priced singled.

Race 6: Starter optional claiming (Six furlongs on turf, 4:34 p.m. ET)

#6 Translate (3-1) hasn’t finished out of the exacta in four starts. The daughter of Tonalist was particularly sharp in a maiden special weight over this course and distance on New Year’s Day, dueling for the lead through fast fractions before pulling away to win by 3 1/2 lengths.

With back-to-back 91 Brisnet Speed ratings under her belt, Translate is the fastest filly in Sunday’s field. Is she another runner worth singling? I’m tempted to say yes.

Race 7: Allowance optional claiming (Six furlongs, 5:08 p.m. ET)

#4 Edgeway (6-5) was among the better three-year-old filly sprinters last year, placing third in the Purple Martin S. and second in the Dogwood (G3). The only horses to defeat Edgeway were Kimari, Frank’s Rockette, and Four Graces, all of them high-class graded stakes performers.

Edgeway has been freshened since June, and enters off a sharp series of workouts for trainer John Sadler. Hot jockey Joel Rosario takes the mount, so we’ll keep our bold strategy going and single Edgeway as well.

Race 8: Allowance (6 1/2 furlongs on turf, 5:41 p.m. ET)

Having played the first four races cold, we’ll spread a little to conclude the Pick 5. #11 Colt Fiction (5-2) owns the best Brisnet Speed ratings, but he’s done his best running on dirt. #7 Brix (7-2) and #2 Master Ryan (5-1) haven’t run quite as fast, but they’re both consistent and capable turf sprinters.

One of these three should prevail, so we’ll use them all and call it a day.

The Ticket

Race 4, $10 Pick 5: 4 with 5 with 6 with 4 with 2,7,11 ($30)

Good luck!