One of the great exotic bets being offered by Santa Anita Park this season is the Coast to Coast Pick 5, which will be on the wagering menu every Saturday and Sunday throughout the meet through April 7. The bet gives horseplayers a chance to handicap some of the weekend’s top races from two elite racetracks and make a big score with a low takeout bet on an affordable ticket.

Read more about the Coast to Coast Pick 5!

As its name implies, the Coast to Coast Pick 5 will be a pick 5 bet that will encompass a five-race sequence of pre-selected races from two of the top tracks running at this time of year – Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park. The bet will have a $1 minimum denomination and will have a player friendly 15% takeout. In the event there’s no winning ticket, 100% of the pool carries over to the next day’s pick 5.

With five highly playable races in the sequence every Saturday and Sunday, the Coast to Coast Pick 5 is sure to attract a lot of attention from bettors, and this Saturday, Jan. 13 will be no exception. The Pick 5 will start out with a pair of races late in the card at Gulfstream and then conclude with Races 5, 6, and 7 from Santa Anita. The three Santa Anita races will include the $200,000 Leigh Ann Howard California Cup Oaks and the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Sprint presented by John Deere.

Let’s take a detailed look at the Santa Anita portion of the Saturday, Jan. 13 Coast to Coast Pick 5 races and then construct some combinations to put together and see if we can cash in for an investment of $100.

COAST TO COAST PICK 5 – SATURDAY, JAN. 13

LEGS 1 -2: Races 10-11 from Gulfstream Park, first post time 4:35 p.m. ET and 5:05 p.m. ET (1:35 p.m. PT, 2:05 p.m. PT)

LEG 3: Santa Anita, Race 5, California Cup Oaks, 5:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. PT)

If you are still alive in the Coast to Coast Pick 5 after the Gulfstream Park portion of the proceedings, you still need to get through three races from Santa Anita (if you get knocked out in the Gulfstream races, read on and bet a Pick 3 in races 5-7 at Santa Anita). Race 5 at Santa Anita, the third leg of the Pick 5, is a one-mile turf race that is probably the most challenging race of the sequence. The field of nine newly turned 3-year-old fillies does not appear to contain any standouts that would be friendly for our pick 5 tickets. Some in the field have not yet run on the grass and only three horses in the field already own a turf win. Nevertheless, we need to narrow down the race a bit for our tickets so we don’t end up using all nine. The horse to beat is #5 Sushi Sticks, who won at first asking in her turf mile career debut at Del Mar and then had a tough trip in a Grade 3 turf mile against open company in her second start. She ran well to be third in a $75,000 one-mile stakes spot at on Tapeta Footings all-weather surface at Golden Gate Fields last time and should relish this switch back to the turf in a more winnable spot than when last seen on the green. #9 Grand Slam Smile beat five of today’s eight opponents when she won the $177,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies Stakes two races ago at seven furlongs on the dirt. Not sure if she can repeat on the turf but she needs to be on our tickets, as does #4 Asada Fries who has been showing improvement in all of her recent starts and already owns a win going a mile on the turf.

LEG 4: Santa Anita, Race 6, allowance-optional claiming, 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT)

The fourth leg of the Pick 5 is an allowance-optional claiming race for California-breds going 6 ½ furlongs on the dirt that has drawn an eight-horse field. This race seems to be a little more straightforward than the previous race and you can probably lock this one down by using the two top contenders in the field – #3 Minister Shane, and #5 El Rey Dorado. Minister Shane finished third in a tougher-looking spot at this level back at Del Mar last fall in a race that was particularly promising for Minister Shane, who doesn’t get a lot of opportunities sprinting on the main track but seems to make the best of them when he does. El Rey Dorado is in career-best form and comes in off back-to-back dirt sprint wins by open lengths in his last two races. This is a logical class level for him, and the best handicapping angle in this race is that El Rey Dorado looks like the best – and possibly only – speed in the race with a legit chance to go wire-to-wire.

LEG 5: Santa Anita, Race 7, Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Sprint, 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. ET)

Rose Maddox (BENOIT photo)

The final leg of the Pick 5 sequence is the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Sprint going 6 ½ furlongs on the downhill turf course. There are eight California-bred horses entered and there are several contenders in the race because you know they’re not going to make it easy for you even if you stay alive in the Pick 5 this long. There are some accomplished turf sprinters in this field, none more so than #2 Rose Maddox, who won the similar California Distaff Handicap on this downhill course two races ago on Oct. 14, beating a field that included two of today’s prime challengers, #1 Madiha and #5 Chismosa. That win looks even better now that Rose Maddox was flattered by both Madiha, who won a 6 ½-furlong downhill turf sprint allowance over some of these rivals in her next start, and by Chismosa who came back to win the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes on New Year’s Day on the dirt in her next start. Rose Maddox will be tough to beat, but we need more coverage on our tickets for this competitive Pick 5 finale. Let’s also add in two more top contenders. #6 Stay and Scam has never run worse than second in four turf sprint outings so far, and her last race was her best of all when she blew away a five-furlong optional claiming turf sprint at Del Mar by 4 ½ lengths. Finally, #8 Chancery Way is in her best career form now with two straight stakes wins in her last two races. Those wins were on dirt and all-weather surfaces, but she has good enough turf form from her prior grass tries and has come close enough to beating Rose Maddox in the past to merit serious consideration in this spot.

Proposed Coast to Coast Pick 5 play ($100 bankroll):

Leg 1: #2 American of Course, #7 Socially Selective – use 2 horses on your tickets

Leg 2: #2 Bossy Diva, #5 Kick a Rhyme (add AE #13 Get the Candy if in) – use 2 or 3 horses

Leg 3: #4 Asada Fries, #5 Sushi Sticks, #9 Grand Slam Smile – use 3 horses

Leg 4: #3 Minister Shane, #5 El Rey Dorado – use 2 horses

Leg 5: #2 Rose Maddox, #6 Stay and Scam, #8 Chancery Way – use 3 horses

Coast to Coast Pick 5 Tickets

2,7 / 2,5 / 4,5,9 / 3,5 / 2,6,8 x $1 = $72

Or

2,7 / 2,5,13 / 4,5,9 / 3,5 / 2,6,8 x $1 = $108 (if #13 Get the Candy draws into race 11 at Gulfstream)