The winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity certainly hasn't run his way into the Kentucky Derby quite yet, but there's no doubt that whichever two-year old colt wins this race will be well on his way to being amongst the favorites on the California circuit starting in February to reach the Run for the Roses.
You can find horse racing odds at BookMaker.eu at the online racebook.
ODDS ANALYSIS
1: Urlacher 10/1
2: Frank Conversation 8/1
3: Hollywood Don 6/1
4: Toews On Ice 9/5
5: Mor Spirit 8/5
6: Sorryaboutnothing 12/1
7: I'malreadythere 8/1
Bob Baffert has positioned himself to be the winning trainer in this race for sure. He's saddling Toews On Ice and Mor Spirit, the two favorites to win the Los Alamitos Futurity. Of course, Doug O'Neill, another of the big time trainers on the California circuit, is training both Frank Conversation and Sorryaboutnothing.
Clearly though, this race is about the two Baffert horses who will certainly go off as the favorites, and both have the argument to being an odds on choice if not for the presence of the other one in this small field of seven.
FAVORITE TO FOLLOW
Given our choice of the Baffert duo, we prefer Mor Spirit. He's got the slightly better breeding as we see it with Eskendereya serving as the sire. Of course, Mor Spirit has only won one of his three career races, but he's finished first or second in all three races and has been the favorite everywhere he has gone.
We'll give Mor Spirit a bit of a pass for failing at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Jockey's Club in November, as that was raised in the mud on a sloppy track. Still, Mor Spirit proved that he could get out towards the lead against a large field in bad weather conditions, but it was clear to us that his fractions weren't setting up well to win that race.
Keep in mind as well that Mor Spirit now has Gary Stevens back in the saddle after running at Churchill Downs with Martin Garcia onboard. Garcia is instead racing here at Los Alamitos aboard Toews On ice.
UNDERDOG TO WATCH
Hollywood Don was the favorite at the Del Mar Juvenile Turf race in September, but he's back on the dirt here at Los Alamitos. We're not sure if the transition is going to work well for him, knowing that he was only third best to Nyquist at the Frontrunner Stakes in September.
That said, we've got a colt that should be great at distance coming from the turf, and he's finally running against a field which we think is beatable to him instead of at the Breeders' Cup and the Frontrunner.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Boxing the Baffert bunch probably isn't going to do you a heck of a lot of good, knowing that the exacta will probably only pay $5 or so. That said, that's still a +250 price for the winning ticket and could be worthwhile if you can pick the correct side.
Still, we'd rather hedge our bets here and just place an exacta box on both horses to finish first and second. Any other result would be a bit of a shock to us, and it's worth what should be at least even money on getting these two right in first and second.
With a gun to our head though, we'd rather rely on Mor Spirit.
Play Mor Spirit to win the Los Alamitos Futurity
Need to fund your account before the big race but don't have your computer? No problem! BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone or tablet. Don't miss out on getting paid because you couldn't bet. Click here, and deposit at BookMaker now! The Los Alamitos Futurity is scheduled for Saturday, December 19, 2015 at 6:58 p.m. ET at Los Alamitos Race Course.
