Santa Anita Picks: Santa Anita Derby Day, 4/5/2025

The Santa Anita spur of the Kentucky Derby trail draws to a close Saturday, April 5, with the Santa Anita Derby (G1). The 1 ⅛-mile race offers a $500,000 purse, as well as enough

Kentucky Derby qualifying points to earn the winner a spot in the Kentucky Derby, even with it only becoming a 75-point qualifier with five horses in the field. Others who run well can also make the Run for the Roses if they ran well in another points race or two.

The Santa Anita Derby is one of five stakes races at Santa Anita Park on Saturday. Kentucky Oaks-bound fillies can earn their way to the big race by running well in the Santa Anita Oaks (G2), a 100-point prep. Other stakes on Saturday’s race day include the Monrovia (G3) for older filly and mare turf sprinters, the Echo Eddie for California-bred sophomore dirt sprinters, and the Evening Jewel for California-bred sophomore sprint fillies.

The 12-race card gets underway at noon Pacific Daylight Time. Don’t forget to check the weather and scratches before the races, since track condition and scratches can affect the pace scenario and class makeup of each race, and scratches can happen for any reason.

With the Derby less than a month away, discover top Kentucky Derby Contenders and review updated Kentucky Derby Odds to make your winning wager.

Santa Anita Picks

Race 4 - Santa Anita Oaks, 1 1/16 miles on the dirt - Look Forward, Tenma

FanDuel odds: 10-1 and 1-1

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On form, Tenma (1-1) is the horse to beat. She has won four of her five starts, including the Starlet (G2) at the same distance as the Santa Anita Oaks. And, though she was defeated in her only start at Santa Anita last year, she bounced back in her most recent start, the Las Virgenes (G2), to win strongly. The big question for her is pace: between No Bad Beats to her outside and Silent Law to her inside, Tenma is going to be between two other speed horses. If a speed horse survives the battle, it will probably be Tenma, but at such a short price it makes sense to consider if anyone can mow them down in the lane.

Enter Look Forward (10-1). She misfired at Oaklawn last out, but now returns to California, where she has shown good form. She was second to Tenma three back in the Starlet, but looked better next out in the Santa Ynez, which she won in stalk-and-pounce fashion. If she can tap into that style, especially since there are a few who are faster than her on paper, she could get first run on the battling leaders and right the ship at a big price.

Race 9 - Allowance, California-bred N1X, 6 ½ furlongs on the downhill turf - Private Gem, Piper’s Causeway

FanDuel odds: 7-2 and 6-1

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Private Gem (7-2) looked good in two dirt starts in 2023, but was then off over a year. He returned February 21 in a starter allowance down the hill, his first turf start and his first try against open company. He was well bet, and he won in press-and-take-over fashion. Now he makes his second start off a lay, and although this is conventional allowance company, it’s state-breds again, and the starter win last out does not count against the condition. He keeps high-percentage rider Umberto Rispoli, Mark Glatt trainees stay sharp second off the lay, and it’s reasonable to expect another strong effort.

Piper’s Causeway (6-1) comes out of a win in a 1000-yard mixed race at Los Alamitos, but unlike many who float between straight Thoroughbred races and mixed-breed ones, he has enough class for this level. Two starts back, he was beaten by only half a length on the Santa Anita Park turf, and he has mustered several good efforts on the grass at this California-bred first-level condition. And, though jockey Armando Aguilar is hardly a big name on this circuit, he was in the irons for that good second two-back, suggesting some rapport. With tactical speed and an ability to run consistently good races, he has price appeal.

Race 10 - Santa Anita Derby (G1), 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt - Journalism, Citizen Bull

FanDuel odds: 6-5 and 8-5

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Journalism (6-5) has been the king of the California spur of the Kentucky Derby trail, and he has every reason to keep running hot in the Santa Anita Derby. Citizen Bull is a new challenge, but Journalism has faced several other seemingly untouchable Bob Baffert horses through his time on the Kentucky Derby trail and kept proving faster and better than them. His tactical speed should keep him close enough to the pace to handle the short field—in fact, he has won both his Derby preps so far in stalk-and-pounce fashion in five-horse fields, so closing up a few lengths of ground into a modest pace at Santa Anita is old hat. His pedigree appeals for the extra distance as well: he is by long-winded Curlin out of an Uncle Mo mare, Mopotism, who placed at the top level going 1 ⅛ miles.

The biggest threat to Journalism is the aforementioned Citizen Bull (8-5). He has won all three of his two-turn starts on the front end. He is probably the best Baffert runner that Journalism has had to clash with yet, and he has enough speed to clear off early and dare the field to catch him. There’s a strategic question here, as the one other horse in this field with serious speed is Barnes—also trained by Baffert, though for different owners. Barnes probably ensures that Citizen Bull cannot go slow, but he is a classy horse who keeps finding what he needs, and should be ready for another good effort.

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