ARCADIA, Calif. – Big City Lights has a few things going for him in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, which is like saying it was a little bit damp this week in Southern California. Gee, no kidding. A heavy rainstorm was expected to subside before racing resumes Saturday, and in late afternoon, Big City Lights will find himself in a familiar position. The veteran is odds-on to score a repeat victory in the six-furlong Palos Verdes. Big City Lights is better this year. Big City Lights won both recent starts in California-bred stakes by a combined margin of more than 16 lengths, earned a career-high 103 Beyer Speed Figure last out, and is 7 for 7 when he starts favored. Yes, Big City Lights looks formidable as the 2-5 Palos Verdes favorite. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. But maybe he is not a slam dunk from the inside post. It is not a deal-breaker, just an added challenge. “I can go bad in a good post, or go good in a bad post,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “One thing I do know is there’s nothing I can do about it.” Big City Lights is the best horse, with legitimate rivals directly outside – Grade 1-placed comebacker Anarchist in post 2, speedster Roll On Big Joe in post 3, and razor-sharp Bartholdy in post 4. Mbagnick and For All Mankind also are entered. Big City Lights, a five-time stakes winner owned by William Peeples, has won seven races and $578,420 from 13 starts. To win the Palos Verdes, the 6-year-old must negotiate traffic rallying from behind. Second-level allowance winner Roll On Big Joe will likely set the pace, but the main threat to Big City Lights is the streaking Bartholdy. Steve Knapp trains Bartholdy and co-owns him with John Haagsma and Robert Vanderdussen. They claimed Bartholdy for $50,000 from a maiden race last summer at Del Mar based on the idea Bartholdy was racing mostly on the wrong surface. “We thought he wanted to run on the dirt, that was the deciding factor,” Knapp said. Bartholdy finished second the day he was claimed and subsequently improved. In five starts since being claimed, Bartholdy has won three, placed twice, and earned $107,300, more than double his purchase price. The class hike from entry-level allowance to Grade 3 is hardly insurmountable, and Knapp believes the best is still ahead for Bartholdy, a gelding by Mendelssohn. Since his last-out allowance win, Bartholdy posted a series of fast workouts under jockey Tyler Baze. “Tyler keeps telling me [Bartholdy] keeps getting better every time he gets on him,” Knapp said. “By looking at the way he’s working, I think he’s getting better, too. He’s got three factors that possibly could make him a real good horse. “He’s got the breeding, he’s got the size, and he’s got natural speed. We just have to stay close enough where he can make his big move on the outside.” If the inside draw compromises Big City Lights, then the outside path just might lead to a Palos Verdes upset by Bartholdy, who is listed at 6-1. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.