2025 Santa Anita morning line odds: Racing writer gives Pick 3 selections for Dec. 28

Sunday is opening day at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and there's a Pick 3 that begins with the San Gabriel Stakes at 6:16 p.m. ET and ends with the American Oaks. Before you make any picks, you NEED to know how SportsLine writer Gene Menez has handicapped the sequence, considering the roll he has been on since last year's Breeders' Cup.

A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez covered an array of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for almost 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI's handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby in 2010.

In 2015, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby superfecta (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund and Frosted), which paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then in 2017, he tweeted out his Kentucky Derby picks, including Always Dreaming to win, and hit the Pick 4, which paid almost $6,900 on a $1 bet. In May of last year, Menez gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby.

Menez has been on a roll since last year's Breeders' Cup. He crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders' Cup Saturday for a $5,303 windfall. He nailed the winner, trifecta and superfecta in the Florida Derby for a $529.60 score and the winner and trifecta in the Blue Grass Stakes for a $761.96 jackpot. Hit the late Pick 4 on Kentucky Oaks day for $915.48. In the Kentucky Derby, he hammered the exacta and trifecta for a $1,045 payout.

And last month, Menez finished 115th out of 643 entries in the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, the biggest live-money handicapping tournament in the country.

For Sunday, Menez has handicapped the Pick 3 beginning with the San Gabriel Stakes, made his picks and constructed his tickets. We can tell you that Menez is high on Cliffs, a 6-1 shot in the American Oaks, the final leg of the Pick 3. "Trainer Cherie DeVaux usually has a female turf horse emerge at the end of the year, and this year that could be Cliffs, who ships out West for this test," Menez tells SportsLine. "She has two wins and a second in her last three starts and should be able to save ground from this cozy post." Cliffs is Menez's top pick in the American Oaks and the only horse from the race on his Pick 3 tickets.

In addition, Menez's top pick in one of the races is a longshot. This horse "draws inside and gets a rider upgrade" and could spice up the payouts. Menez is including this horse on his tickets, and so should you. You NEED to see Menez's analysis before making any selections.

So which longshot can win? And how has Menez constructed his tickets? ... Join SportsLine now to get selections at Santa Anita for Sunday, all from the horse racing writer who finished 115th in the 2025 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge.