2023 Santa Anita Oaks Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

Santa Anita’s spur of the 2023 Road to the Kentucky Oaks draws to a close on Saturday, April 8 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California! The Santa Anita Oaks (G2) offers a $400,000 purse as well as 100-40-30-20-10 Road to the Kentucky Oaks points for its top five eligible finishers, meaning the winner earns enough to guarantee a spot in the Oaks and the second-place finisher likely does, too.

The race drew a field of nine, though morning-line favorite Faiza remains in the barn of Bob Baffert and as such is ineligible to earn Kentucky Oaks points. The rest of the horses can earn points, including Grade 1 winner And Tell Me Nolies, last-out stakes winner Princess Bettina, and smart maiden winners Venganza and Clearly Unhinged.

The recent winners of the Santa Anita Oaks have included some of the most important fillies of recent years, including four-time champion Beholder (2013); multiple Grade 1 winners Stellar Wind (2015), Songbird (2016), Paradise Woods (2017), and Midnight Bisou (2018); and Preakness (G1) winner Swiss Skydiver (2020).

Santa Anita Oaks 2023 Information

Race Date: Saturday, April 8, 2023
Track: Santa Anita Park
Post Time: 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time
Distance: 1 1/16 miles
Age/Sex: three-year-old fillies
Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

Santa Anita Oaks Odds

These are the horses who entered the 2023 Santa Anita Oaks in order of post positions, along with their trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Santa Anita Oaks Prep Results

The nine runners in the Santa Anita Oaks come out of eight different races. The only race that sends more than one runner directly into the Santa Anita Oaks is the traditional local prep, the Santa Ysabel (G3). Faiza and And Tell Me Nolies, the first two horses across the wire, return here.

The only other horse who comes out of a points race is outside-drawn Don’t Get Pickled, who finished third in the Sunland Park Oaks. The one other entrant who is coming out of a stakes race is Princess Bettina, who won the China Doll at a mile on the Santa Anita lawn last out.

The other five runners come out of maiden victories at Santa Anita. Clearly Unhinged is the only one of the group who comes out of a straight maiden special win that was originally intended for dirt; she won on debut going 6 1/2 furlongs. Venganza and Window Shopping both won off-turf maiden special weights. Cliquish won a maiden/optional claiming race, while Gila graduated in a $30,000 maiden claimer last out.

Santa Anita Oaks Contenders

These are the 2023 Santa Anita Oaks entrants, organized by post position:

Venganza: By Curlin out of a War Front mare, she was entered to debut in a six-furlong turf race on March 11. The race was washed off the dirt, it scratched down to a field of just two, but Venganza led at every call and won by 4 1/4 lengths. Her dam Avenge was a graded-stakes quality turf router while sire Curlin was well proven on dirt; both sides of her family support stamina, though, so the step up in trip suits. However, she will have to either show some tactical speed or fight for the lead inside.

Gila: She has raced five times, and it took her a drop to claiming company before she finally got off the mark last month. Her race record suggests that she is one-way speed, meaning she’ll have several other foes to deal with early. All of her races have come back slow relative to her company in this, as well, meaning she’s jumping into the deep end here.

Clearly Unhinged: In a race with five last-out maiden winners, she is the only one who graduated in a straight maiden that was originally carded for the dirt. She led at every call, though she handled some prompting early before opening up late. Her pedigree suggests that she should be able to stretch out to two turns, and trainer Michael McCarthy does well with first-time routers as well. The biggest concern is all the other speed in the race.

Cliquish: She was well beaten by Clearly Unhinged on debut, but came back to graduate by nine lengths in a maiden-optional claimer on March 5 despite stumbling a little early. This is a far tougher group, and she will have to improve significantly. However, in a race with so much speed, she has shown she can pass horses, and both her pedigree and her trainer’s record first-time route suggest that she will move forward with more ground.

Faiza: Undefeated in four starts, she has won three graded stakes races in Southern California stretching back to last year. She cannot qualify for the Kentucky Oaks because Bob Baffert is still banned from Churchill Downs, but she has been well-primed and well-spotted in these two-turn dirt stakes. She is tactical enough to either press the pace or lay a couple of lengths off the pace, and she shapes as the horse to beat.

Window Shopping: She was well beaten on debut in a turf mile after some trip trouble, but she came back to dominate an off-turf mile on March 17 by sixteen lengths. She showed in that race that she could set off the pace and open up, and that she handled dirt well: no surprise, as she is by American Pharoah out of a Tapit mare. This is a class rise, but the extra sixteenth of a mile (or even more later) should suit perfectly.

Princess Bettina: She has found success on the grass in her last five starts, but switches back to the dirt for this. On the one hand, she was well beaten in both of her dirt tries last year. On the other hand, both of those were in sprints, her form has been far better in two-turn races, and her tactical versatility is a help. Furthermore, her pedigree suggests that dirt should suit her fine, and she is a better horse now with some maturity.

And Tell Me Nolies: She rattled off three straight victories last year on the West Coast, including wins in the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and the Chandelier (G2). She was well beaten in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, though her first start back was a credible second to Faiza in the Santa Ysabel. She has to face that foe again, but last year she needed a start off the bench, and if she also improves second-up this time, then she has a win chance this time.

Don’t Get Pickled: She is one of only three horses who comes out of a points prep, but this is a deeper field than the Sunland Park Oaks, and she basically clunked and finished third by default. Her last two races have shown she has some talent at two turns, and she did not drop that far back two back in the Arizona Oaks, but this is a far tougher group than she faced in any of her races to date, and she has yet to run a race that makes her look like a threat in this.

Santa Anita Oaks Past Winners Past Performances

Nine of the last ten winners of the Santa Anita Oaks have made their last start over the local course, and nine of the last ten came out of a victory. The only horse who came out of a start away from Santa Anita was Swiss Skydiver (2020), who won a COVID-delayed Santa Anita Oaks off of a win in the Fantasy (G3) at Oaklawn. The only one in the last ten years who came out of a loss was Desert Dawn (2022), who rebounded from a fourth-place finish in the Santa Ysabel to win the Santa Anita Oaks.

In addition to Desert Dawn, three other recent winners came out of the Santa Ysabel. Beholder (2013), Fashion Plate (2014), and Bellafina (2019) all won it before winning the Santa Anita Oaks. Stellar Wind (2015), Songbird (2016), and Midnight Bisou (2018) came out of wins in the Las Virgenes.

The two other recent winners came out of maiden special weight wins at Santa Anita, and each made their stakes debut in the Santa Anita Oaks. Paradise Woods (2017) graduated second out, while Soothsay (2021) broke her maiden on debut.

Santa Anita Oaks Undercard

The Santa Anita Oaks is the eleventh of twelve races Saturday at Santa Anita, with half the races on the card being stakes races. In addition to the Santa Anita Oaks, the card also features the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1), which is one of the most important prep races for the Kentucky Derby.

Other major races on the card include the $200,000 Charles Whittingham (G2) for older turf routers, the $200,000 Monrovia (G3) for fillies and mares sprinting on the downhill turf course, and a pair of $150,000 stakes races for older California-bred dirt sprinters. With class horses running all day long, make plans to watch all day on FanDuel TV, and to play the card through FanDuel and TVG!

Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park began as a part of Rancho Santa Anita. After a series of owners, it was acquired by horse breeder Lucky Baldwin, who built the original Santa Anita Park in 1904. That facility closed in 1909 after a California law banning racetrack gambling, and then it burned down in 1912. Horse racing became legal again in California in 1933, after which the Los Angeles Turf Club was formed. They built a new track, the present Santa Anita, which opened on Christmas Day in 1934.

Santa Anita's main track is a one-mile dirt oval. The turf track inside of it is a 0.9-mile grass oval. A unique feature of that Santa Anita turf track is the downhill course, which juts out to the northwest over the far turn, crosses over the dirt, and then joins the turf oval. Santa Anita runs 6 1/2-furlong turf sprints over that course, and also uses it as a start for some of its longer turf routes.

Santa Anita Oaks FAQ

Q: When is the Santa Anita Oaks?
A: The 2023 Santa Anita Oaks happens Saturday, April 8, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, the eleventh of twelve races on the card.

Q: Where is the Santa Anita Oaks?
A: It takes place at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Santa Anita Oaks?
A: D. Wayne Lukas leads all trainers with eight wins in the Santa Anita Oaks, though he has not won it since Surfside prevailed in 2000, and he does not run a horse in the race this year. Among trainers who entered a horse in the race, Richard Mandella leads with four, most recently with Soothsay in 2021. Mandella has both Venganza and Window Shopping in 2023.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2023 Santa Anita Oaks?
A: Faiza, coming out of a victory in the Santa Ysabel, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite. The Bob Baffert trainee is undefeated in four starts and should hold favoritism despite her ineligibility for Kentucky Oaks points.

Q: Who is the best Santa Anita Oaks jockey?
A: Bill Shoemaker leads all jockeys with ten wins in the Santa Anita Oaks, most recently in 1986. Among jockeys entered in the 2023 edition of the race, Mike Smith leads with four wins. He rides Venganza this year.

Q: Who won the 2022 Santa Anita Oaks?
A: Desert Dawn upset the 2022 Santa Anita Oaks for trainer Phil d’Amato and jockey Umberto Rispoli. D’Amato and Rispoli reunite in 2023 with Cliquish.