It’s both exciting for fans and healthy for the sport of horse racing when the reigning Horse of the Year remains in training for the following season, and last year’s queen Thorpedo Anna returns for her 4-year-old debut in the $400,000 Azeri Stakes Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Thorpedo Anna became the just the seventh female racehorse to win Horse of the Year since the advent of the Eclipse Awards in 1971, joining All Along (1983), Lady’s Secret (1986), Azeri (2003), Rachel Alexandra (2009), Zenyatta (2010), and Havre de Grace (2011).
The records of the previous six female Horses of the Year in their next start the following season after winning the coveted prize are … well … not inspiring.
Azeri and Havre de Grace won their first start the following season and Zenyatta was retired after winning Horse of the Year, but All Along, Lady’s Secret, and Rachel Alexandra all lost their comeback races. That’s a 40% (2-for-5) strike rate.
#1 Thorpedo Anna is the 2-5 favorite on the morning line for the Azeri Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mare 4 years old and older scheduled for 6:25 p.m. ET. There really are three choices in a race with a heavy favorite: get creative with exactas or trifectas and try to create value on the favorite, bet against the chalk given other horses should offer tremendous value, or skip betting the race.
Given the history outlined above, one might surmise that taking a stand against Thorpedo Anna in this race is the best option, but I’ll try the first tactic instead.
Thorpedo Anna toyed with females last year with her lone defeat against males coming when second by a head to champion Fierceness in the Draftkings Travers Stakes. The Fast Anna filly won her other six races against fillies and won both of her starts in 2024 at this 1 1/16-mile distance, including a win on the Oaklawn Park main track by four lengths in the Fantasy Stakes. She won five Grade 1 races last year and has a steady workout pattern since Jan. 24. Thorpedo Anna might not be 100% fit for the race but I believe she will be close to that, and I’ll willing to bet that is good enough against this group.
There are three speedy types in the race that could lead to a solid pace and I expect Thorpedo Anna to be up close, maybe tucked in just behind them from her inside post position. The way I see the race unfolding is Thorpedo Anna taking command on the final turn from the pacesetters and pulling away in early stretch.
I think the filly just to her outside – #2 Alpine Princess (6-1) – is by far the best of the rest and will try to shadow the favorite, so my plan is just to hammer the exacta with Thorpedo Anna first and Alpine Princess second and hope to turn a 2-5 favorite into a better-paying exacta.
Wagering Strategy on a $20 Budget
$20 exacta: 1 over 2 (total cost $20)
What to say at the betting window: Oaklawn Park, Race 10, $20 exacta 1 over 2
Pick 3
8-9/10/12-1/4/7
8-9/10/12-1/4/7
$5
Daily Double
10-1
10-1
$2
Superfecta
1-6-5-2
1-6-5-2
$14
Consolation Double
10-4
10-4
$2
Pick 3
8-9/10/12-1/4/7
8-9/10/12-1/4/7
$5
Daily Double
10-1
10-1
$2
Superfecta
1-6-5-2
1-6-5-2
$14
Consolation Double
10-4
10-4
$2
