Santa Anita Handicap Betting Guide: Strategies, Statistics & Picks

2025 Santa Anita Handicap Preview

As the name suggests, the Santa Anita Handicap is run at the Santa Anita racetrack, the Grade 1 race is contested over a distance of ten furlongs usually in March of each year.

Santa Anita Handicap Picks

Our dedicated Santa Anita Betting Picks will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG handicappers for the upcoming card that includes the Santa Anita Handicap but will also have predictions for each meeting at Santa Anita throughout the season so be sure to head over there. Whilst we wait for the 2025 Santa Anita Handicap remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert handicappers on the racing predictions page.

Santa Anita Handicap Content

• Santa Anita Handicap Past Winners
• Santa Anita Handicap Trainer Statistics
• Santa Anita Handicap Jockey Statistics
• 2025 Santa Anita Handicap Trends
• Santa Anita Handicap Trend Analysis
• Other Graded races at Santa Anita Racetrack

Quickest Run Santa Anita Handicap Renewals

When looking over the past 10 renewals, a time of 2:00.67 was set by Shared Belief in 2015, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by Jerry Hollendorfer and ridden by Mike E Smith. The slowest winning time was set in 2024 when Newgate won in a time of 2:03.49, booked to ride was Frankie Dettori on this Bob Baffert trained runner. Below are the top three quickest-run Santa Anita Handicap over the last 10 renewals.

1. Shared Belief (2:00.67) in 2015
2. Shaman Ghost (2:01.57) in 2017
3. Accelerate (2:01.83) in 2018

Santa Anita Handicap Past Winners

Here are the Santa Anita Handicap past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the winning time, and the horse that won along with the cloth number, age, sex, the weight of the horse & which starting gate the horse came from. The trainer of the horse at the time of winning the Santa Anita Handicap as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the moneyline odds the horse was sent off.

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Santa Anita Handicap have been based:

• USA: 10 winners with an additional 15 placings from 80 runners
• CAN: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners

Santa Anita Handicap Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Santa Anita Handicap over the last 10 renewals is John W Sadler who has won the race 3 times. Those 3 winners came from Accelerate (2018), Gift Box (2019) & Combatant (2020).

Here are some of the most active Santa Anita Handicap trainer statistics over the last 10 renewals.

Santa Anita Handicap Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Santa Anita Handicap over the last 10 renewals is Joel Rosario who has won the race 3 times. Those 3 winners came from Gift Box (2019), Combatant (2020) & Idol (2021). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Santa Anita Handicap is Victor Espinoza (2 wins).

Here are some of the most active Santa Anita Handicap jockey statistics over the last 10 renewals.

2025 Santa Anita Handicap Trends

Favorites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 3, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 1, 3, 6

The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well. The trend information is based on the available information on the racing post in terms of previous runs etc.

• 10 / 10 (59%) - No bigger than 163/10
• 10 / 10 (59%) - Break of 28 - 101 days (Last Place)
• 10 / 10 (65%) - Ran over 1m½f - 1m1½f (Last Win)
• 10 / 10 (67%) - Beaten no more -6¼l (Debut)
• 10 / 10 (67%) - Achieved an RPR of 100+ (LTO)
• 10 / 10 (72%) - Placed within last 2 starts
• 10 / 10 (73%) - Within the first 6 of the market
• 10 / 10 (73%) - Ran on FS (Last Win)
• 10 / 10 (74%) - Break of 28 - 393 days (Last Win)
• 10 / 10 (74%) - Carried 120 - 124lbs (LTO)
• 10 / 10 (76%) - Furthest Won 1m½f - 1m4f
• 10 / 10 (78%) - No bigger than 101/10 (Last Win)
• 10 / 10 (79%) - No bigger than 167/10 (Career Win)
• 10 / 10 (85%) - Not in a LST (Last Win)
• 10 / 10 (87%) - Highest Won is not LST

Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Santa Anita racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Santa Anita Handicap. Are you already a member? If not, then why not?! With over $9,000 given away each month in the picks contest, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then why share your thoughts on the Santa Anita Handicap by adding a pick on the race here?

Santa Anita Handicap Trend Analysis

How competitive is the Santa Anita Handicap market?

When looking at the over-rounds for the last 10 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2016 when the race had an over-round of 119%. The race in 2019 was a race that was most in the bookie's favor with an over-round of 123%, whilst on average over the last 10 renewals of the Santa Anita Handicap, the over-round has been 121%, which means the bookie expects to pay out $100 for every $121 which is bet.

Post Positions of the Santa Anita Handicap Winners, Places & Shows

Here are the most recent winning draws along with those who placed and showed:

Best Course for a Santa Anita Handicap Prep Run?

The course which has produced the most winners of the Santa Anita Handicap is Santa Anita, there has been a total number of 8 winners of this race who ran at Santa Anita last time out.

Biggest Priced Winners of the Santa Anita Handicap & Performance of Favorites

Looking at the winning odds over the last 10 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Melatonin in 2016, winning for David Hofmans at odds of 163/10 under the guidance of Joseph Talamo. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 10 renewals there has been a total of 4 winning favorites in the race. Ahead of the 2025 Santa Anita Handicap why not head over to the best racing handicappers page to see what the handicappers are backing today? All figures and trends above, such as the horse's previous runs are based on the information that is available on the racing post.

Other Graded races at Santa Anita racetrack

Here are some other notable races at the Santa Anita racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.

Races in March

• Beholder Mile Stakes
• Frank E. Kilroe Mile

Races in April

• Santa Anita Derby

Races in May

• Gamely Stakes
• Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes
• Shoemaker Mile Stakes

Races in September

• American Pharoah Stakes
• Awesome Again Stakes
• Rodeo Drive Stakes

Races in December

• American Oaks
• La Brea Stakes
• Malibu Stakes

Santa Anita Handicap FAQs

Where is the Santa Anita Handicap run?

The Santa Anita Handicap is run at the Santa Anita racetrack each year, you can get Santa Anita racing predictions all season long as well as for Santa Anita Handicap.

When is the Santa Anita Handicap?

The Santa Anita Handicap takes place around March of each year at Santa Anita.

Who won the Santa Anita Handicap?

The 2024 renewal of the Santa Anita Handicap was won by the Bob Baffert trained Newgate who was ridden by Frankie Dettori in a time of 2:03.49, owned by Sf Racing Llc Starlight Racing Et Al it was sent off at an SP of 16/5. You can view all the recent winners in the Santa Anita Handicap Past Winners section of the blog.

Who will win the Santa Anita Handicap?

On the day of the race, use the trends in this blog and then compare them to the OLBG racing handicappers' predictions for the Santa Anita Handicap, you can do this on the Santa Anita Picks page which not only will have picks for this race but also picks for Santa Anita throughout the season. You may also be interested in the Horse Racing Picks page where you can get daily horse racing predictions from all of the US courses.

Who is the top trainer in the Santa Anita Handicap?

With a total of three winners over the last ten renewals, it is John W Sadler who holds the claim as the leading trainer in the Santa Anita Handicap. To see which other trainers have a good record in the race, head over to the Santa Anita Handicap Trainer Statistics section of the blog.

Who is the top jockey in the Santa Anita Handicap?

With a total of three winners over the last ten renewals, it is Joel Rosario who holds the claim as the leading jockey in the Santa Anita Handicap. To see which other jockeys have a good record in the race, head over to the Santa Anita Handicap Jockey Statistics section of the blog.

Do we have trends for the 2025 renewal of the Santa Anita Handicap?

The simple answer is Yes! We have a total of fifteen trends for the Santa Anita Handicap which can be found under the Santa Anita Handicap Trends section.

Article Contributor Information

We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Santa Anita Handicap Betting Guide: Strategies, Statistics & Picks is Andy. He works on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for US Horse Racing.

Andy Powell

Content editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing analyst with over 15 years of experience, delves into the intricacies of international horse racing, meticulously analyzing complex statistical data to uncover hidden trends. He spearheads the creation and management of OLBG's international horse racing trend blogs, providing valuable insights for bettors worldwide.