Santa Anita Picks: San Felipe Stakes Day, 3/7/26

Key Takeaways:

• San Felipe Stakes Day at Santa Anita Park features four graded races, including the Santa Anita Handicap and Beholder Mile, making it one of the strongest horse racing winter cards in Southern California for Santa Anita Picks.
• Several races on the card feature pace-heavy fields, creating opportunities for tactical runners and late closers in strong form to capitalize on fast early fractions.
• Nafisa enters the Beholder Mile in peak form after back-to-back wins, and her tactical speed and improving profile make her a live upset threat against the favorite.
• Gas Me Up gets an ideal setup in the Kilroe Mile, where a projected speed duel should favor his stalking style and strong finishing kick.
• British Isles brings proven stamina and improving dirt form into the Santa Anita Handicap, giving him value in a race lacking a clear standout at the 1¼-mile distance.

Saturday, March 7, features one of the biggest cards of the winter Santa Anita horse racing meet. The 11-race card features four graded-stakes races. The San Felipe (G2) is a major Kentucky Derby prep that offers 50 points to the winner, enough to practically punch the winner’s ticket to Churchill Downs for the first Saturday in May. However, that’s not all there is.

There are two races at the top level on the dirt for older horses. The Santa Anita Handicap (G1) is a taxing 1 ¼-mile test open to horses aged four and up. Older fillies and mares also have a top-level dirt test in Saturday’s Beholder Mile (G1). On the turf course, the milers shine in the Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G2), a race that long held top-level designation, though it is currently a Grade 2.

The card gets underway at noon Pacific Standard Time. You can watch every race on FanDuel TV and get up-to-the-minute news and analysis for Santa Anita Park and across the country. You can also bet every race online from your computer or smartphone at FanDuel! Make sure to check the scratches and weather before placing your bets – the day is expected to be warm and sunny, but scratches can happen for any reason and can affect the pace and class balance.

Here are three best bets on the San Felipe Stakes day card at Santa Anita Park:

Santa Anita Picks - 2026 San Felipe Stakes Day Best Bets

Race 4 - Beholder Mile (G1), one mile on the dirt - Nafisa, Om N Joy

FanDuel odds: 8-1 and 5-1

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Trainer Bob Baffert has two in the Beholder Mile. Splendora, the 4-5 morning-line favorite, comes in off of a string of impressive victories, including a score in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint two back – but she hasn’t quite made the grade when stretching out to two turns against stakes horses. She did win a restricted stakes at a mile on dirt, so it’s not off base to think she might improve enough … but it’s not unheard of for the “other” Baffert to step forward.

Enter Nafisa (8-1). She needed 13 starts to break her maiden, but it is safe to say she figured it out – she graduated three back going 6 ½ furlongs at Del Mar, then won an allowance at a mile at Santa Anita, and then made the grade in the La Canada (G3) at 1 1/16 miles last out, attending the pace before taking over to win by 4 ¾ lengths. Jockey Kazushi Kimura had the call in all three of those starts, and he returns to the irons today. This is a case of striking while the iron is hot – and taking a shot against a stablemate who has the class, but is better at a different kind of race. Given Nafisa’s tactical speed, clean outside gate, and improving recent form, it’s worth it for bettors to take a shot here, too.

Om N Joy (5-1) was a rising California-bred star last year and proved by the end of the year that she could cut it in open company. She won the one-mile Torrey Pines (G3) at Del Mar in her first start against graded foes, and ran a credible fourth in the one-turn Raven Run (G2) on a trip to Keeneland last October. This isn’t an easy assignment: it’s her first start since October and her first race against older company. But, she won first off the bench last year as well, and if she picks up where she left off, she can track the pace and make a threatening run in the lane over a track she has already proven she likes.

Race 9 - Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G2), one mile on the turf - Gas Me Up, Almendares

FanDuel odds: 7-2 and 9-2

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Between El Potente, Cabo Spirit, Mi Bago, and Final Boss, there is a huge amount of front-end gas in this race. Though the Santa Anita Park turf course can be kind to frontrunners, the setup suggests it’s going to play a lot kinder to someone who can stay out of that fight early and make a run.

The setup looks perfect for Gas Me Up (7-2). He made a name for himself at Woodbine last year but has proven he can run at Southern California tracks, too – he even broke his maiden there back in 2022 for Peter Eurton, his current trainer, before spending 2024 and 2025 with Kevin Attard. Since returning to the Golden State, he won the Joe Hernandez (G2) down the hill two back and then finished second to El Potente in the Thunder Road (G3). El Potente didn’t go slow when he won the Thunder Road last out – but he’s going to have to go faster against this crowd, meaning Gas Me Up can finish the deal like he did two back down the hill, or last year in the King Edward (G2) up in Canada.

A few others figure here for a piece, including El Potente, who often hangs on for second or third even after wicked fast paces, and Astronomer, who could get a nice trip but hasn’t won since an allowance in 2023. But, along with other horses with a win chance, Almendares (9-2) is the most worth looking at for anyone looking to spread past Gas Me Up on top. The Phil D’Amato trainee is a midpack to closing type who reliably musters a late run. He still has to prove himself at this class, as his last win came in the restricted Wickerr at Del Mar. But, he has two wins and five more on-the-board finishes going a mile on the lawn, he ran a surprisingly good third in the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) last out, and should be fit to move forward now that he gets a class drop and shortens to his best distance.

Race 10 - Santa Anita Handicap (G1), 1 ¼ miles on the dirt - British Isles, Westwood

FanDuel odds: 6-1 and 7-2

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Skippylongstocking, coming off a win in the Pegasus, likely would have been bet down to favoritism or close to it had he shipped out for this race, though he acted up just before flying out, and trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. kept him in Florida. His defection leaves this race with a field of six. The field lacks a clear standout on paper – and given the tendency of likely favorite Just a Touch to fall short when running in stakes company, this is a good spot to look for value on top.

For a 1 ¼-mile race, the field is mostly short on stamina. But, only mostly – British Isles (6-1) is an allowance winner at 1 ½ miles, albeit on grass. He has only recently come back to the dirt after spending most of his career on the turf. His return to the dirt came in the Native Diver (G3), in which he finished a close second behind Nevada Beach – and finished clear of Westwood, who he faces again here. He was then fifth in the Pegasus World Cup (G1), no threat to Skippylongstocking or White Abarrio but nonetheless in the top half of the field at 83-1. This is a softer field despite the Grade 1 designation. He is back home in California, and in a race that looks like a war of attrition, he can track in range of the pace and hold on to outstay his foes.

The aforementioned Westwood (7-2) comes into the race in promising form. He led at every call in the 1 ⅛-mile San Pasqual (G2) last out, handling early pace pressure and opening up in the lane. Expect jockey Kazushi Kimura to send him from the outside once more and see what happens. Westwood has hit the board in five of his six starts at Santa Anita, showing an affinity for the track, and has finished in the money in eight of ten starts, a level of consistency his foes cannot match. Though his pedigree isn’t a slam-dunk to stretch out to 1 ¼ miles, most aren’t, and the fact that he is a solid 1 ⅛-mile horse and is by Kentucky Derby winner Authentic makes it worth a shot to stretch him out and see what happens, especially in a field that is relatively shallow for a Grade 1.

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