Horse Racing, Del Mar, Aug. 15
Today at Del Mar
Post Time 2:05 p.m.
Race 1 – 1 mile (turf), Purse $40,000, Claiming $32,000, 3-year-olds and up
1 Slammer Time – Trainer change to Marty Jones from Gary Mandella; his turf races are much better than the synthetic ones.
6 Muny – Stretches out around 2-turns after a long sequence of sprint races; thus should be able to show early speed under Joe Talamo.
Long Shot – Aqua Fever
Race 2 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $25,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
6 Stride Em’ Out – When the ones with experience look this slow, the FTS look stronger; this FTS is from the respected Jeff Mullins barn.
11 Silver Luna – Tepid chalk in one of many wide open races; 11-of-19 in the money finishes, keeps grinding in the lane.
Long Shot – 13 Frank n’ Teddy
Race 3 – 1 mile, Purse $73,000, Optional claiming $62,500, 3-year-olds and up
1 Hoorayforhollywood – Speed and the rail for Bob Baffert; first leg of the pick 6 is the lone race you’ll see the win pool odds.
6 Great Warrior – Returns to 2-turn route after a pair of sprint tries; suspect will show more tactical speed and clock the early speed.
Long Shot – 3 McKenzies Way
Race 4 – 1 mile (turf), Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds
3 Power Broker – Bob Baffert horses can have a say in the early pick 6 races; beaten chalk in debut, has the pedigree to route and like turf.
6 Moreno – Was grossly overmatched as a maiden in the Best Pal; while the winner Know More was a maiden also, this was way different.
Long Shot – 4 Shining Copper
Race 5 – 1 mile, Purse $45,000, Claiming $32,000, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
2 My Gal Candy – Claimed by the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer and spotted nicely to win; like that Garrett Gomez remains loyal to the cause.
4 Inner Groove – Claimed by Jack Carava off a winning race; is bumped in class from $20K to $32K, but is in top form right now.
Long Shot – 3 Demure Halo
Race 6 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $32,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
8 Lia Juliana – Ron Ellis is winning second time out maidens at 38 percent; adds blinkers on, expect more speed tonight.
2 Warren’s Today – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; been away 13-months, gets Rafael Bejarano for return.
Long Shot – 6 Vonn Nez
Race 7 – 5 furlongs (turf), $85,000 Green Flash Handicap, 3-year-olds and up
5 Lakerville – Both Del Mar turf sprint wins were a carbon copy; Garrett Gomez sat in last and launched a rally at the top of the lane.
7 Koast – Like the turn back in distance from route to sprint; he has experience winning at 6-furlong sprints, will be closing late too.
Long Shot – 2 Silver Summation
Race 8 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $25,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up
3 Ever Alert – Has underachieved and now drops to the bottom for Adam Kitchingman; this is a first time gelding, so he could improve a lot.
8 Givimaway – Tepid chalk is sliding down the maiden claiming ladder to this bottom rung; not much to beat in this motley crew.
Long Shot – 4 A Day Away
Best Bet – 5 Lakerville (race 7)
Del Mar Sunday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 18/1/$8.00; Long Shots, 8/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/0/$0
Del Mar Totals – 331/86/$563.40; Long Shots, 167/18/$161.60; Best Bets, 18/10/$39.60
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #8 Parent’s Honor (3/1) in race 8 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Sunday, Gracefully Mean won at Monmouth Park paying $4.80 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.20 to show. Stats – 124/89/$758.80; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick