Santa Anita spot plays for New Year's Day

Happy New Year!

The feature race at Santa Anita on New Year’s Day is the $200,000 Joe Hernandez (G2), a 6 1/2-furlong turf sprint with a deep field. But it’s far from the only appealing event on the card.

In fact, the race directly preceding the Joe Hernandez is well worth your handicapping time. A 6-furlong maiden special weight for California-breds, the race has drawn eight entries, but one might be a standout at a fair price.

Let’s dig in and play both races on a $75 budget.

Race 6: Maiden special weight (6:03 p.m. ET)

#1 Star Racer (3-1) has never run on dirt, but he’s shown promise in a pair of turf and Tapeta sprints at Golden Gate Fields. He was particularly impressive in a 5 1/2-furlong Tapeta dash on Oct. 25, tracking blazing fractions of :21.28 and :44.24 before finishing third by just half a length. If Star Racer hadn’t been forced to steady hard while rallying up the rail in the homestretch, he might have won.

There’s isn’t a crazy amount of speed in Friday’s field, so I’m optimistic Star Racer will enjoy a perfect trip setting or stalking a modest pace under jockey Joel Rosario. If Star Racer handles the switch to dirt, he can win for fun.

$25 to win on #1 Star Racer
$10 double: 1 with 8
Total: $35

Race 7: Joe Hernandez (G2, 6:32 p.m. ET)

There are plenty of logical contenders in this competitive turf dash, including last year’s winner #1 Texas Wedge (4-1), the speedy Daytona (G2) winner #7 Wildman Jack (3-1), and the Grade 1-winning miler #11 Ohio (12-1). But I’m keen to support the lightly-raced 6-year-old #8 Chaos Theory (4-1).

A son of Curlin trained by John Sadler, Chaos Theory is two-for-two on the California circuit. During the summer, he unleashed a furious late charge in the Green Flash H. (G3) at Del Mar, dashing the final furlong in less than :11 seconds to win by a length. He was even more impressive in a slow-paced 5-furlong allowance race over the same course on Nov. 20, finishing in approximately :10 3/5 to beat Texas Wedge by a head.

Chaos Theory’s pedigree suggests stretching out over 6 1/2 furlongs won’t be an issue, and jockey Umberto Rispoli (a 24% winner on turf) is slated to ride. I’m willing to take a stand and play Chaos Theory on top of all my tickets.

$24 to win on #8 Chaos Theory
$1 trifecta: 8 with 1,7 with 1,4,5,7,11 ($8)
$1 trifecta: 8 with 1,4,5,7,11 with 1,7 ($8)
Total: $40

Good luck!