How to bet Saturday's Beholder Mile Pick 4 on a budget

Santa Anita Park carded a pair of Saturday stakes races in its Pick 4 highlighted by a rematch between top fillies Unique Bella and Paradise Woods in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile. While enjoying the weekend's feature race, we'll also look to build on our bankroll.

The Pick 4 will have a minimum bet of 50 cents, and once again, I will use one of my favorite cost-effective wagering strategies, the spread ticket formula. It would cost $200 to lump all of my contenders on one ticket, but the spread ticket formula knocks the price down to a more affordable $32.

Saturday's Late Pick 4 sequence will start with Race 7, the $200,000 Snow Chief Stakes with a scheduled post time of 6:48 p.m. ET. It will be followed by Race 8, a maiden special weight dirt sprint for California-breds (7:22), and Race 9, the Beholder Mile (7:53 p.m. ET). The final leg of the Pick 4 will be Race 10, an optional claiming event for downhill turf sprinters (8:23). 

Late Pick 4 Contenders

Race 7 (Snow Chief, CA-bred, 9T) 

Primary - #2 HARDBOOT, #5 Hit the Seam

Secondary - #1 Take the One O One, #6 Psycho Dar

Comments: #2 Hardboot (3-1) removed blinkers and rallied to win the grassy Silky Sullivan at this distance on GG turf April 29. He could easily run past this group. #5 Hit the Seam (12-1) showed nice interest in the stretch in his last two downhill show finishes vs. maidens. He has improved since switching to turf, and now he tries two turns vs. winners. #1 Take The One O One (5-2) has the numbers to win this, but I am not sure he wants to go this far. He ended up 7th of 14 after making a move from post 12 in his lone turf start vs. open stakes foes at DMR last fall. #6 Psycho Dar (9-2) finished an even 3rd in the same race Hardboot exits. He might sit the right stalking trip. 

Race 8 (MSW, CA-bred, 6f) 

Primary - #5 LEMON CRUSH, #9 Magnolia’s Hope

Secondary - #8 Paprika, #1 Thalia, #7 Z Z Tiger

Comments: #5 Lemon Crush (7-2) moved to the Palma barn and ran a much better race second time out despite a bad start from the inside post. She can contend for the win if she breaks with the field this time. #9 Magnolia’s Hope (8-1) finished an uncomfortable 6th in the same race today’s rival Lemon Crush exits. She adds blinkers second time out, and that is a profitable move for Machowsky. #8 Paprika (5-2) landed the place in all three outings. She adds blinkers, returns to dirt, and switches to Kent D. #1 Thalia (6-1) split a 10-horse field in her downhill debut. D’Amato shows a +ROI with his MSW dirt starters. #7 Z Z Tiger (6-1) showed speed and lost ground in the stretch in her previous four outings. Four runners from her Jan. 27 race were next out winners, and she is the likely target under Fuentes. 

Race 9 (G1 Beholder Mile, 8f) 

Primary - #6 UNIQUE BELLA

Secondary - #4 Paradise Woods, #5 Vale Dori, #3 La Force

Comments: #6 Unique Bella (3-5) has not lost at SA since finishing 2nd in her career debut on 6-23-16. She captured her last six local outings (all graded wins) and Smith can watch the pace unfold and choose a comfortable early/pressing path from the outside post. #4 Paradise Woods (2-1) can beat anyone on her best day, especially when she is able to dictate the tempo out front. Her best shot is to go straight to the lead under Prat. #5 Vale Dori (4-1) was once good enough to win a race like this, but her local comeback in the G3 Adoration was not pretty. She missed by a neck in this event last year after winning the G3 Adoration. Bejarano has booted her home multiple times. #3 La Force (20-1) gets pace to chase and can spice up the exotics. 

Race 10 (OC-40k/1x, 6.5T) 

Primary - #2 HOOTIE, #8 Tina’s Exchange

Secondary - #5 Passionate Reward, #7 Skelton Pass, #6 Incensed

Comments: #2 Hootie (5-1) does not always settle, and he is not an easy horse to ride. This downhill sprint is an interesting option for him. Maybe the big turn back from ten panels will force him to relax early and finish fast. #8 Tina’s Exchange (3-1) gets a pivotal post switch after landing the place from the rail in a similar local spot April 8. He was 2nd in his other two downhill starts as well, and the fresh gelding looms an early/pressing threat. #5 Passionate Reward (7-2) won his downhill debut on April 28. The pace was slow that day, and he stalked, pounced, and scored by 1.5 lengths. Mandella usually gives his runners a race, so that debut win was solid, and Stevens rides. #7 Skelton Pass (4-1) loves the downhill course, but his recent form is suspect after getting claimed and finishing 4th of 5 in a local off the turf sprint. #6 Incensed (6-1) adds blinkers and ran a couple of quality downhill races during the winter meet.

Late Pick 4 Spread Tickets (Total Cost - $32)