LOS ALAMITOS : Be Welcome Top Pick in Anaheim Pacing Leg

Be Welcome, a 5-year-old Albatross offspring whose 2-, 3- and 4-year-old seasons all ended in leg injuries after one race, will be a big favorite tonight at Los Alamitos in the 10th race, second elimination of the Anaheim Pacing Series.

After finishing eighth in a nine-horse field on Jan. 8 to open his 5-year-old season, Be Welcome has won three of four starts, with a career-best winning mile time of 1:56 3/5 Saturday night. In the fourth, on Jan. 29, he finished third to You Better Bet, a 5-year-old with $200,000 in winnings in his career.

The Anaheim Pacing Series is the first of several events designed to give horses who are not in the top class a chance to race for bigger purses. It is a restricted event for colts and geldings who had not won three races and earned more than $5,000--$7,500 for California breds--as of Dec. 31.

Maxanali, a 3-year-old who will be one of the leading contenders in the first division, the seventh race, ended ’93 with two victories but had earned more than $18,000. Since then, he has won two races and added more than $12,000 to his bankroll.

The first four finishers in each division and the fifth-place horse with the faster time will qualify for the final next Thursday.