HORSE RACING TODAY AT HOLLYWOOD PARK By Richard Eng

[Lumi]

HORSE RACING
TODAY AT HOLLYWOOD PARK

By Richard Eng

Post Time 1 p.m.

Race 1 - 6 furlongs, Purse $33,000, Claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds and up

Luhuk's Dancer - Speedball may be alone in front early on; Joel Rosario plays catch me if you can.

Northern Soldier - Exits a decent try in the much tougher Los Angeles; second start under Brian Koriner.

Long Shot - Tontine Too

Race 2 - 7 1/2 furlongs, Purse $17,000, Maiden claiming $32,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

Juicy Lucy - Been close many times, now Doug O'Neill adds blinkers on; aggressive ride by Tyler Baze.

Goal Girl Michele - Another who turns back from a 2-turn route for this; should be grinding late.

Long Shot - Living Our Dream

Race 3 - 6 furlongs, Purse $13,000, Claiming $12,500, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

All Set - Claimed by Melody Conlon from Jeff Mullins; typically don't like that angle, mare has back class.

Change My Luck - Takes a big class drop to face much easier; draw a line thru the turf non-race.

Long Shot - Peace By Peace

Race 4 - 1 1/8th miles, $300,000 Vanity Handicap, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

Zenyatta - She is the champ and Rachel Alexandra wants no part of her; show wagering canceled for this.

Allicansayis Wow - Game run last time chasing Zenyatta in the Milady; nothing wrong with being second best.

Long Shot - Modification

Race 5 - 6 furlongs, Purse $15,000, Maiden claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds and up

Olympio's Jewel - Ran well in debut for Ron Ellis; his barn having a big meet, improvement is expected.

Swath - Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; Bobby Frankel barn is ice cold.

Long Shot - Minnie's Boy

Race 6 - 6 furlongs (turf, rail at 20 feet), Purse $48,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

Dee Dee's Legacy - Been away 9-months, but owns the best resume; like that Garrett Gomez takes the call.

De Car Guy - Many of these just graduated, not this guy; he's won 3-times, more than most in here.

Long Shot - Now and Zen

Race 7 - 6 furlongs, Purse $46,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

Elle a Gent - $450K baby facing a now or never race; Eric Guillot takes the blinkers off to relax her some.

All the Love - Typical Bruce Headley trained baby; only 2 races by age 4 and improving with each start.

Long Shot - Gutsy Lady

Race 8 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $19,000, Claiming $16,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

Startin Fresh - Won last time for $8K, now is boosted in class; key for me is she is in rare form right now.

wickednwackyingrid - Taking a huge class drop to face easier; she has been better on sod than synthetics.

Long Shot - Princess Susan M

Race 9 - 1 1/16th miles (turf, rail at 20 feet), Purse $58,000, Allowance, 3-year-olds and up

Crafty Power - Speedball looks to be a lonely leader; Joel Rosario nurses the fractions to the wire.

Becrux - There was a time Becrux would be 4/5 with these, but not now; sliding down the class ladder.

Long Shot - Awesome Gem

Race 10 - 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $40,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds

Fishin With T Ball - Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; bugboy should just leave.

Right to Work - FTS gets the services of Garrett Gomez; need not be much to get a paycheck tonight.

Long Shot - Seedless

Best Bet - Zenyatta (race 4)

Hollywood Park Friday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/5/$32.60; Long Shots, 8/2/$11.00; Best Bet, 1/1/$5.00

Hollywood Park Totals - 681/164/$1164.60; Long Shots, 339/59/$627.40; Best Bets, 38/14/$66.80

SIMULCAST PICK OF THE DAY - #4 Golden Tree (3/1) in race 3 at Churchill Downs. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Chinese Whisper ran second at Belmont Park paying $2.40 to place and $2.20 to show. Stats - 91/73/$545.10

 

[Lumi]

At the Gate - Saturday

At the Gate - Saturday

At the Gate - Saturday


It?s Ladies Day at the races, with Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta taking center stage within about ten minutes of each other, although they are separated by a synthetic surface and 3,000 miles.

Rachel Alexandra is the 1-5 favorite in the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park, and the undefeated Zenyatta is the 1-5 favorite in the $300,000 Vanity Handicap (G1) at Hollywood Park.


The two top female runners in the U.S. will race within 13 minutes of each other, and that is likely about as close as they will get this year.

Jess Jackson, the majority owner of Rachel Alexander said his filly will not compete over the ?plastic? surface at the Breeders? Cup, which will be held again this year over the Pro Ride surface at Santa Anita Park.

It will be exciting to see both in action today, but both appear to completely outclass their competition, and I am having a hard time coming up with a viable option to betting against the short priced favorites.

Thank goodness there are plenty of other races to wager on today.

My Multi Track Report for Saturday includes nine of my best plays from Monmouth Park, Belmont Park, and Colonial Downs.

The remainder of the card at Belmont Park has plenty of solid wagering opportunities as long as the weather holds up. The turf course was listed as yielding on Friday, and there was a deluge of rain after the eighth race, forcing the cancelation of the nightcap.

There are five races carded for the turf on Saturday, and with a big day expected with the appearance of Rachel Alexandra, I am sure the NYRA would love to keep all of the races on the turf.


Here is today's opener from Belmont Park to get our day off to a good start:

BEL Race 1 Clm $10,000N2L (1:00 ET)
#6 Come Soon 4/1
#2 Seeyouatsergios 8/5
#5 Lofty Banner 5/1
#7 Townie's Dream 7/2

Analysis: #6 Come Soon did not fire last out over a sealed track labeled as good at 9/5 at this level after a better effort two back. In that race he prompted a harp early pace over a track playing very quick and weakened in the stretch to finish fourth, earning a speed fig that fits well here. The gelding gets an upgrade in jocks from RRod to Castellano for a sharp barn in DiPrima, who is hitting at a 24% clip at the meet. He is back off just a week break, which we'll look at as a positive. The gelding gets the slight nod over the ML fav.

#2 Seeyouatsergios broke in the air at the start, was rushed up on the outside to duel for the lead, bumped around with the eventual winner and came up just a head short at the wire. The colt owns a solid pace profile throughout and while he steps out of the NY bred ranks, so does three others in here and this is not a real tough looking spot. Only real problem is the price is going to be on the light side.

Wagering
WIN: #6 to win at 3/1 or better.
EX: 2,6 / 2,5,6,7
TRI: 2,6 / 2,5,6,7 / 2,3,5,6,7

Today's Featured Race of the Day from Belmont Park:

BEL Race 7 Alw $44,000N1X (4:12 ET)
#4 Striking Rizzi 15/1
#10 Coronation Day 7/2
#2 Piazza Di Spagna 4/1
#7 Relatively Ready 5/2

Analysis: #4 Striking Rizzi makes his third start off the bench here and might be able to pull off the upset if he can run back to his effort three back. In that outing he beat $35K non-winners of three and did it over yielding footing, and her should catch similar footing here today. He was caught out wide two back off the bench, and last out faded to finish a well beaten seventh after tracking the early pace. Blinkers are added today and he put in a good looking breeze on 6/17. This guy is going to bounce back with a much better showing here and we should catch a generous price.

#10 Coronation Day broke his maiden last out in his eighth career start in a race taken off the turf. is two turf starts were not that shabby and he has a couple of sibs that are grass winners and his mom was a grass stakes winner. The gelding looks primed for a good effort in his third start of his current form cycle and the Weaver barn is showing signs of coming out of an early meet slump.

Wagering
WIN: #4 to win at 8/1 or better.
EX: 4,10 / 2,4,7,10
TRI: 4,10 / 2,4,7,10 / 2,4,6,7,8,10

Today's Featured Race of the Day from Monmouth Park:

MTH Race 6 Md Sp Wt (3:20 ET)
#8 Glimmer Gal 7/2
#6 Amazing Ariel 5/2
#4 Chocolate Blush 5/1
#5 Princess Madeline 3/1

Analysis: #8 Glimmer Gal dueled for the early lead while between rivals and tired in the stretch to finish seventh last out at 5/2. The race she exits has now produced three next out winners. Perhaps she did not care much for the sloppy surface because she ran better two back on a fast track in a third place finish. She is in good hands with the Iwinski barn and she looks like she just needs a cleaner trip to pick up her diploma in this spot.

#6 Amazing Ariel dueled for the early lead and weakened to finish fifth in her debut. She took some lay, sent off a bit below 3/1 in the field of eight. The Servis barn is 38% winners (with a +ROI) with second timers.

Wagering
WIN: #8 to win at 5/2 or better.
EX: 6,8 / 3,4,6,8
TRI: 6,8 / 3,4,6,8 / 2,3,4,5,6,8

Today's Featured Race of the Day from Colonial Downs:

CNL Race 9 $50,000 Da Hoss S. (4:39 ET)
#7 Baltimore Bob 8/1
#5 Jungle Fighter 4/1
#2 Auction Watch 5/2
#8 Midwatch 12/1

#7 Baltimore Bob is going to be decent value in here if we catch most of his 8/1 morning line. The colt has been facing tougher, exiting a eighth place finish in the Grade 2 Dixie where he was beaten 3 ? lengths for the top spot. Two back the colt had a tough post and raced wide much of the trip in the Henry Clark, which was off a two-month break. Three back he had to steady on the far turn in a sixth place finish in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida, which has turned out to be a highly rated race. The third place finisher Spice Route came back to win the Grade 2 Elkhorn and the fourth place finisher Mr. Sidney won the Grade 1 Maker?s Mark in his next outing. Our top pick is 3 for 4 at today?s distance and is making his third start of his current form cycle for the Garcia barn that has been ending out live runners at the meeting (18-6-5-3).

#5 Jungle Fighter looks primed for a good effort here in his second start off a eight-month layoff. Last out against allowance foes at Del Park the gelding bobbled on the far turn over the good ground while wide and ran out of gas in the stretch in a fifth place finish. The gelding is familiar with the Colonial turf, winning the Old Nelson and Kitten?s Joy in back to back stakes wins back in ?07. He is in good hands with the Nixon barn that is 3 for 9 (with a +ROI) with horses making their second start off a +180 day layoff.

#2 Auction Watch beat third level allowance company last out at Philly off a ten-month layoff for the very capable Sanna Hendricks barn. The gelding earned the top last out speed fig in the effort, his fifth win on grass in seven starts on the surface. The gelding was a late bloomer, running off three straight in his four-year-old campaign, and after getting outrun in a stake he was put on the shelf and came back as a steeplechase runner, the trainer?s specialty. That did not work out and he came back to win a Pa. bred stake last summer. It is tough to get a read on just how good this guy is, but to back him for the top spot I sure would like to see more than the 5/2 morning line.

Wagering
WIN: #7 to win at 9/2 or better.
EX: 5,7 / 2,5,7,8
TRI: 5,7 / 2,5,7,8 / 2,3,5,7,8,10

Live Longshots: These are price plays for exotic players looking to find a couple of extra contenders to use in their trifecta and superfecta wagers. Or for those with smaller bankrolls, you might want to get in a small win-place wager.

Belmont Park
R3: #2 Sterling Heat / #2b Morine?s Victory 12/1
R6: #5 Musical Splendor 12/1
R6: #2 Hello Gold 10/1
R7: #4 Striking Rizzi 15/1
R8: #3 Parc des Princes 10/1
R8: #4 Big Al 8/1
R9: #4 Malibu Prayer 10/1
R10: #13 Tudor King 15/1