Los Alamitos Futurity: Fort Bragg Likely to Be the One Finishing the Strongest

Written by: Brian Zipse
Updated December 16, 2022
5 min read

Los Alamitos Futurity Odds and Post Position

Check out our predictions and odds for the Los Alamitos Futurity at Los Alamitos!

PP

Horse

Odds

Jockey

Trainer

1

TALL BOY

15/1
BET HERE

U Rispoli

L Mora

2

CARMEL ROAD

3/1
BET HERE 

J J Hernandez

B Baffert

3

FORT BRAGG

5/2
BET HERE 

F Prat

B Baffert

4

PRACTICAL MOVE

5/1
BET HERE 

R Vasquez

T Yakteen

5

ARABIAN LION

6/5
BET HERE 

J Velazquez

B Baffert

*Odds provided by author Brian Zipse.

Los Alamitos Futurity Predictions and Best Bets

Here are my plays ($60 in total)

  • $20 Exacta Box - Fort Bragg and Arabian Lion = $40
  • $10 Exacta Box - Fort Bragg and Practical Move = $20
  • If you're playing only to win, go with my top pick Fort Bragg (5/2).    
How We Rate
Affiliate Disclaimer
21+

TwinSpires

4.4/5

$200 Sign-Up Offer

21+ | Terms and conditions apply

Los Alamitos Futurity Predictions

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will be in search of his 14th career victory in this race when he sends out a trio of juveniles led by Arabian Lion in Saturday’s Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity at Los Alamitos. 

A $600,000 2-year-old in training purchase, the son of the young Triple Crown-winning sire Justify was a romping debut winner two months ago as an odds-on favorite at Santa Anita.

He took the show on the road for his second start, and although he was beaten, he ran a bang-up race when second in a fast 7-furlong allowance race at Keeneland behind the highly regarded Giant Mischief.

His toughest competition in the 1 1/16-mile feature on Saturday is expected to come from his two stablemates Fort Bragg and Carmel Road.

Fort Bragg, a son of Tapit, has actually finished first in two straight but was taken down two starts ago for interference. He came right back to officially break his maiden last month at Santa Anita.

Carmel Road, meanwhile, broke his maiden by nearly nine lengths at Del Mar back in August but was unable to carry over his success last time when he faded badly out of contention in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland.

As a Kentucky Derby points race, the Los Alamitos Futurity will award points on a 10-4-3-2-1 scale to the top five finishers on Saturday.

Want to keep track of your winnings? Our horse racing calculator will do it all! Plug in your bets before and after the race and see how much you’ve won.

Los Alamitos Futurity Predictions and Race Analysis

Arabian Lion

The likely favorite leads the Baffert trio after a pair of fast performances to begin his career. His debut performance came at Santa Anita where he trounced his competition gate to wire while going six furlongs. 

Next out he shipped to Keeneland for a high-priced allowance race. ALthough he could only manage second place that afternoon, his performance was quite good, as he battled the unbeaten Giant Mischief down the stretch in a fast race.

With speed and talent, he is the one to beat on Saturday. As the clear favorite stretching out for the first time, however, there is one in here that I prefer at the distance.

Fort Bragg

This well-bred son of Tapit will get blinkers off on Saturday which should allow him to track his fast stablemates early. Having finished first in his last two starts, he brings good experience into the race, and is in fact the only horse to have won at the distance. 

I believe those two factors will be key in the stretch run of this Grade 2 race. Well-supported in each of his first three career starts, he should offer a bit of value here in his stakes debut. 

It could just be a matter of time before this one breaks out with a big performance. While his stablemates have plenty of speed, he is likely to be the one finishing the strongest. He is the top pick.

Carmel Road

A $650,000 yearling purchase, this son of Quality Road bounced back from a troubled trip in his debut at Del Mar in August to romp home a big, front-running winner at the same track three weeks later. 

The impressive, near nine-length victory led to a trip to Keeneland for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity but he was never a factor after breaking from the far outside post position in the big field which was won by the soon-to-be champion Forte. 

The third of three from the powerhouse Baffert barn, he must be respected as he attempts to turn things around after his failed trip to Kentucky.

Practical Move

Although he has yet to cross the wire first, this son of Practical Joke officially broke his maiden two starts back at Santa Anita when Fort Bragg was taken down for bothering him. 

After getting the first place award in the maiden race, he turned in a pretty solid effort last month in the Grade 3 Bob Hope when he finished a competitive third behind a pair of fast juveniles. Never worse than third in his four career starts, he has consistently run against very good horses. 

He will run without blinkers as he stretches out to 8 1/2-furlongs on Saturday and has a realistic shot to deny Baffert a clean sweep of the race. 

Tall Boy

The big longshot of the field, this son of Lookin At Lucky remains a maiden after three starts at Del Mar. Most recently, he finished a well beaten third in a maiden sprint just three weeks ago. 

While improvement is not out of the question, he would need to improve leaps and bounds to seriously contend here. I find the maiden hard to recommend in this Grade 2 stakes race.



How We Rate
Affiliate Disclaimer
21+

TwinSpires

4.4/5

$200 Sign-Up Offer

21+ | Terms and conditions apply

How to Watch the Los Alamitos Futurity

  • What: Los Alamitos Futurity (Grade 2)
  • Location: Los Alamitos
  • Time: Saturday, December 17 -- 5:00 pm Eastern time
  • How to Watch: FanDuel TV
  • Purse: $200,000
21+ | Terms and conditions apply
Claim Now
Image for Brian Zipse

Brian Zipse

Horse Racing Betting Analyst

Expertise:
Horse Racing
Betting Picks
Taken to the races at a very young age, Brian has been a passionate fan of horse racing his entire life. Professionally, his work has been published on several leading industry sites. Brian served as the Editor of Horse Racing Nation from 2010-2017, where he still writes a regular column and hosts the popular weekly webcast HorseCenter.
Nationality: American
Education: Bachelor of Communications
Favourite Sportsbook: FanDuel Sportsbook
Favourite Casino: BetMGM Casino
Experience:
15 years
We've been featured on:
espn logo
reuters logo
cbs-news logo
forbes logo
entrepreneur logo
entrepreneur logo
We only list licensed sportsbooks
WorldSportsNetwork
WorldSportsNetwork
WorldSportsNetwork
WorldSportsNetwork
WorldSportsNetwork

We support responsible gambling. Gambling can be addictive, please play responsibly. If you need help, call 1-800-Gambler.

WSN.com is managed by Gentoo Media. Unless declared otherwise, all of the visible content on this site, such as texts and images, including the brand name and logo, belongs to Innovation Labs Limited (a Gentoo Media company) - Company Registration Number C44130, VAT ID: MT18874732, @GIG Beach Triq id-Dragunara, St. Julians, STJ3148, Malta.

Advertising Disclosure: WSN.com contains links to partner websites. When a visitor to our website clicks on one of these links and makes a purchase at a partner site, World Sports Network is paid a commission.

Copyright © 2024