ARCADIA, Calif. – The difference in class between second-level allowance and stakes races is less distinct nowadays in California, though class boundaries have not evaporated entirely. The handicapping question is how much difference is there, really, between the class levels? The subject will be tested in a pair of second-level allowance sprints Friday at Santa Anita. Race 7 is a filly and mare turf sprint in which Ma Rae’s Girl drops from a runner-up finish in a stakes race to non-winners twice-other-than. On class, perhaps Ma Rae’s Girl should be favored instead of last-out first-level allowance winner Venganza, listed at 2-1 on the morning line. It’s a close call. Royal Charter could upset. Race 8 is a dirt sprint open to males; comebacker Elwood Blues and Bartholdy both drop from Grade 3 races. Bartholdy finished third last month, while program favorite Elwood Blues finished third last year. Elwood Blues is listed at 3-2, with Bartholdy at 5-2. The speedster Slider could upset. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Due to incoming weather, conditions Friday are uncertain. Rain was expected Wednesday and Thursday, but the Friday forecast is sunny and clear. Venganza had been off three months when she returned in an entry-level allowance on the hill. She was outrun early, the pace collapsed, and Venganza rallied from ninth to win going away. “I’d like to see it again,” trainer Richard Mandella said. Some bettors may be skeptical. Venganza had never run as well as last out. Seven starts into her career, Venganza may finally be getting her act together. “She’s always made us think she’s a really good filly,” Mandella said, acknowledging Venganza “disappointed us a few times.” Sired by Curlin and produced by Mandella-trained Grade 1 winner Avenge, Venganza and jockey Umberto Rispoli would benefit from another pace collapse Friday. But the field is relatively short on speed, which benefits Ma Rae’s Girl and Royal Charter. Doug O’Neill trains Ma Rae’s Girl, who set the pace and finished second last out in the $100,000 Wishing Well Stakes. Jockey Edwin Maldonado is back aboard Ma Rae’s Girl, who could be long gone as the speed of the field. Royal Charter looms the upsetter, based on her last-out second in a stakes-level hillside sprint. After five U.S. routes, trainer Leonard Powell shortened her. “She always showed a bit of speed, and we thought the cutback in distance would be well for her,” Powell said. Royal Charter chased the pace and finished 3 1/2 lengths behind Queen Maxima, who subsequently defeated Ma Rae’s Girl by the same margin. Others in the 6 1/2-furlong allowance are Safa, Control Function, Vibez, Vitalera, and Cliquish. Elwood Blues, the 3-2 morning-line favorite in race 8, returns from a one-year layoff as a first-time gelding. He won a second-level allowance last winter, finished third to The Chosen Vron in a Grade 3, then was sidelined. Elwood Blues returns for the optional $80,000 claim tag after he worked a solid six furlongs from the gate Feb. 28, in company with Grade 1 winner Gaming, a 3-year-old. Bob Baffert trains Elwood Blues, whose rider is Juan Hernandez. Bartholdy finished third three weeks ago as the favorite in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes and could vie for favoritism under jockey Tyler Baze, while rail-drawn Slider merits a look with blinkers added. “I think he wants to get to the lead,” trainer John Sadler said of Slider, who comes in off back-to-back thirds in a pair of second-level allowance races. Antonio Fresu rides Slider, who might be the one they have to catch in this 6 1/2-furlong sprint. Two starts back, Slider finished two lengths behind Roll On Big Joe, while Bartholdy finished 4 3/4 lengths behind Roll On Big Joe in the Palos Verdes. Using that common rival as a gauge, one could argue Slider should be second choice in the betting. Win or lose, Slider has a shot to steal it, though he will be hounded from the outside by Elwood Blues. Others in the field include Mission Beach, See Through It, and Moose Mitchell. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.