Marquee races on tap at Del Mar, Saratoga

Del Mar and Saratoga are the two most popular race meets all year, and for good reasons: superb weather, fan-friendly atmospheres and great betting and horse racing.

The two tracks will reach their pinnacle this weekend in running their marquee races of the season – the Travers for 3-year-olds at Saratoga and the Pacific Classic for older horses at Del Mar.

Both races drew full fields, which always is a plus.

The Travers on Saturday drew 11, led by Alpha (5-2), who won the Jim Dandy, a prep for the Travers, last time out. The field might have expanded due to such horses as Haskell winner Paynter, Bodemeister and Hansen having to pass for differing reasons.

A horse I like to upset is Neck ‘n Neck (9-2), who ran second to Alpha in the Jim Dandy. Neck ‘n Neck was compromised last time by stalking a slow, unpressured pace set by the winner. Given an honest pace scenario, I think Neck ‘n Neck will play a big factor.

On Sunday, Pacific Classic favorite Game On Dude (5-2) is hoping for the same slow pace Alpha got in the Jim Dandy. The speedy Acclamation was injured and had to skip the Pacific Classic, so now Game On Dude should have an unfettered early lead.

The most intriguing new horse is the filly Amani from trainer Neil Drysdale. In her U.S. debut, she ran a fast closing third in the Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar. Before that, she had won 10 of 11 starts in Chile, including multiple Group 1 wins over males.

Drysdale is conservative by nature, so he must be particularly confident in the filly.

■ RACE BOOK STRIKE – Race fans outside of Nevada have been scratching their heads over the strike talk between the Las Vegas Dissemination Company and the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association.

Typically, a strike involving Nevada would be between the NPMA and a racetrack or organization over simulcast fees.

In fact, a lot of Las Vegas horseplayers aren’t even sure what the two parties do to make simulcast wagering go in this state. I went to each company’s website to use their words to describe what they do.

The NPMA “exists to serve as a liaison between the Nevada Gaming Control Board, 84 Nevada Pari-Mutuel books, the racetracks and the Las Vegas hub.” A hub serves as the clearinghouse for all of the betting.

The LVDC “provides a turnkey package of race information, pari-mutuel commingling, satellite racing signals, accounting, and banking services to its Nevada and non-Nevada customers.”

Thus, the LVDC provides the race signals obtained through Roberts Communications, sends out the overnight entries, provides results and settles the accounting among the race books and the tracks.

The NPMA was formed in 1989, giving the casino industry a united front in dealing with outside entities.

The LVDC, formed in 1988, became the sole disseminator in Nevada following its predecessors WINCO and Swanson News Service.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick.