Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar, Aug. 16

By Richard Eng

Post Time 4 p.m.

Race 1 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $24,000, Claiming $16,000, 3-year-olds and up

8 Salah Champ – Mike Mitchell hasn’t been that active, but when he does he produces; sliding down the claiming ladder.

4 Hustlin Nu – Claimed by Doug O’Neill; this barn has been on fire since the charity roast for O’Neill a week or so ago.

Long Shot – 5 Cunning Ride

Race 2 – 5 furlongs (turf), Purse $77,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

3 Field Report – Bill Spawr and Mike Smith have a long, successful relationship; tactical speed to sit a perfect trip.

7 Ballard Ruler – Julien Leparoux looks like a jockey where the light finally went on; he is patient and finishing fast in races.

Long Shot – 6 Hotradamus

Race 3 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $38,000, Maiden claiming $50,000, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds

9 Yodel Up a Storm – Claimed by John Sadler off a razor thin debut loss; one step of improvement should be enough.

2 Beth’s My Babe – Rafael Bejarano riding anything is worth a look; fairly weak field for a maiden claiming $50K.

Long Shot – 3 Marla Hooch

Race 4 – 1 mile, Purse $75,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

1 Passionate Diva – Doug O’Neill barn is the hottest thing going in SoCal right now; Garrett Gomez is riding everything hard.

8 Humor Me – Logical chalk from the Bob Baffert barn; filly ran a cropper in return last time, but her debut race was fast enough.

Long Shot – 9 Sealington

Race 5 – 1 mile, Purse $77,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

4 Romance Is Sosa – Claimed for $5K by Jerry Hollendorfer and he keeps getting better; just think, he runs for $77K purse today.

7 Jim’s No Preacher – This guy won for $8K in last and now he is going for a &77K purse; it’s the risk versus the reward.

Long Shot – 5 Sizzlin’ Joe

Race 6 – 1 mile (turf), $90,000 Sandy Blue Handicap, Fillies, 3-year-olds

8 Sarach – Talk about class relief, drops in from the grade 1 American Oaks; filly has lots of room to keep improving.

1 Oscar Party – This filly clearly has a high ceiling; switching from Wayne Catalano to Jim Cassidy, saves ground tonight.

Long Shot – 3 Macha

Race 7 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $25,000, Maiden claiming $25,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

1 Hair On Fire – Vladimir Cerin, on the goose egg, is desparate to win; he drops this one from MSW to maiden claiming $20k.

2 I’m No Patsy – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; like how Mario Gutierrez is riding.

Long Shot – 10 Little Bit Cactus

Best Bet – 1 Hair On Fire (race 7)

Del Mar Thursday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/3/$33.20; Long Shots, 7/1/$6.80; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Del Mar Totals – 366/82/$626.80; Long Shots, 178/23/$269.80; Best Bets, 22/4/$17.80

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #3 Mahna (3/1) in race 4 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, Hangover Kid won at Saratoga paying $13.80 to win, $6.90 to place and $4.00 to show. Stats – 136/89/$723.80; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick